neo/IMPLEMENTATION_SUMMARY.md

Authorization System Implementation Summary

✅ Implementation Complete

A comprehensive polymorphic record sharing and authorization system has been implemented with CASL, Objection.js, and NestJS.

What Was Built

Backend (NestJS + Objection.js + CASL)

1. Database Layer

• ✅ Migration for authorization tables (20250128000001_add_authorization_system.js)
• ✅ Updated Prisma schema with new models
• ✅ Objection.js models: ObjectField, RoleRule, RecordShare
• ✅ Updated existing models with new relations

2. Authorization Core

• ✅ AbilityFactory - Builds CASL abilities from 3 layers (global, role, share)
• ✅ Query scoping utilities for SQL-level authorization
• ✅ Guards and decorators (AbilitiesGuard, @CheckAbility(), @CurrentUser())
• ✅ Middleware for attaching abilities to requests

3. API Endpoints

• ✅ ShareController - CRUD for record shares

  • POST /shares - Create share
  • GET /shares/record/:objectDefinitionId/:recordId - List shares
  • GET /shares/granted - Shares granted by user
  • GET /shares/received - Shares received by user
  • PATCH /shares/:id - Update share
  • DELETE /shares/:id - Revoke share

• ✅ RoleController - Role management

  • Standard CRUD for roles
  • RoleRuleController for CASL rules

• ✅ ObjectAccessController - Object-level permissions

  • GET/PUT /setup/objects/:apiName/access
  • POST /setup/objects/:apiName/fields/:fieldKey/permissions
  • PUT /setup/objects/:apiName/field-permissions

Frontend (Nuxt 3 + Vue 3)

4. Object Management Enhancement

• ✅ Added "Access & Permissions" tab to object setup page
• ✅ ObjectAccessSettings.vue component:
  • Configure access model (public/owner/mixed)
  • Set public CRUD permissions
  • Configure owner field
  • Set field-level read/write permissions

5. Role Management

• ✅ New page: /setup/roles
• ✅ RolePermissionsEditor.vue component:
  • Configure CRUD permissions per object
  • Apply conditions (e.g., own records only)
  • Visual permission matrix

6. Record Sharing

• ✅ RecordShareDialog.vue component:
  • List current shares
  • Add new shares with permissions
  • Field-level scoping
  • Expiration dates
  • Revoke shares

Key Features

🌍 Global Object Policies

• Public/private access models
• Default CRUD permissions per object
• Configurable owner field
• Field-level default permissions

👥 Role-Based Access

• CASL rules stored in database
• Per-object permissions
• Condition-based rules (e.g., ownerId matching)
• Multiple actions per rule

🔗 Per-Record Sharing

• Polymorphic design (works with any object type)
• Grant read/update access to specific users
• Optional field-level scoping
• Expiration and revocation support
• Track who granted each share

🔒 SQL Query Scoping

• Critical for list endpoints
• Ensures users only see authorized records
• Combines ownership + sharing logic
• Works with public access flags

File Structure

backend/
├── migrations/tenant/
│   └── 20250128000001_add_authorization_system.js
├── src/
│   ├── auth/
│   │   ├── ability.factory.ts (CASL ability builder)
│   │   ├── query-scope.util.ts (SQL scoping utilities)
│   │   ├── guards/
│   │   │   └── abilities.guard.ts
│   │   ├── decorators/
│   │   │   ├── auth.decorators.ts
│   │   │   └── check-ability.decorator.ts
│   │   └── middleware/
│   │       └── ability.middleware.ts
│   ├── models/
│   │   ├── object-field.model.ts
│   │   ├── role-rule.model.ts
│   │   └── record-share.model.ts
│   ├── rbac/
│   │   ├── share.controller.ts
│   │   └── role.controller.ts
│   └── object/
│       └── object-access.controller.ts

frontend/
├── components/
│   ├── ObjectAccessSettings.vue
│   ├── RecordShareDialog.vue
│   └── RolePermissionsEditor.vue
└── pages/
    ├── setup/
    │   ├── objects/[apiName].vue (enhanced with access tab)
    │   └── roles.vue
    └── ...

docs/
└── AUTHORIZATION_SYSTEM.md (comprehensive documentation)

Next Steps

1. Run the Migration

cd backend
npm run migrate:latest

2. Initialize Existing Objects

Set default access models for existing object definitions:

UPDATE object_definitions 
SET 
  access_model = 'owner',
  public_read = false,
  public_create = false,
  public_update = false,
  public_delete = false,
  owner_field = 'ownerId'
WHERE access_model IS NULL;

3. Apply Query Scoping

Update existing controllers to use query scoping:

import { applyReadScope } from '@/auth/query-scope.util';

// In your list endpoint
async findAll(@CurrentUser() user: User) {
  const objectDef = await ObjectDefinition.query(this.knex)
    .findOne({ apiName: 'YourObject' });
  
  let query = YourModel.query(this.knex);
  query = applyReadScope(query, user, objectDef, this.knex);
  
  return query;
}

4. Add Route Protection

Use guards on sensitive endpoints:

@UseGuards(JwtAuthGuard, AbilitiesGuard)
@CheckAbility({ action: 'update', subject: 'Post' })
async update(@Body() data: any) {
  // Only users with 'update' permission on 'Post' can access
}

5. Frontend Integration

Add sharing button to record detail pages:

<template>
  <div>
    <!-- Your record details -->
    <Button @click="showShareDialog = true">
      <Share class="w-4 h-4 mr-2" />
      Share
    </Button>
    
    <RecordShareDialog
      :open="showShareDialog"
      :object-definition-id="objectDefinition.id"
      :record-id="record.id"
      :fields="objectDefinition.fields"
      @close="showShareDialog = false"
    />
  </div>
</template>

Testing Checklist

• Run database migration successfully
• Create a test role with permissions
• Configure object access settings via UI
• Share a record with another user
• Verify shared record appears in grantee's list
• Verify query scoping filters unauthorized records
• Test field-level permissions
• Test share expiration
• Test share revocation
• Test role-based access with conditions

Performance Considerations

1. Index Usage: The migration creates proper indexes on foreign keys and commonly queried columns
2. Query Scoping: Uses SQL EXISTS subqueries for efficient filtering
3. Ability Caching: Consider caching abilities per request (already done via middleware)
4. Batch Loading: When checking multiple records, batch the share lookups

Security Notes

⚠️ Important: Always use SQL query scoping for list endpoints. Never fetch all records and filter in application code.

✅ Best Practices:

• Share creation requires ownership verification
• Only grantors can update/revoke shares
• Expired/revoked shares are excluded from queries
• Field-level permissions are enforced on write operations

Documentation

Full documentation available in:

• AUTHORIZATION_SYSTEM.md - Comprehensive guide
• Inline code comments in all new files
• JSDoc comments on key functions

Support

For questions or issues:

1. Check the documentation in docs/AUTHORIZATION_SYSTEM.md
2. Review example usage in the controllers
3. Examine the test cases (when added)