WorkOS Docs Homepage
Fine-Grained Authorization
API referenceDashboardSign In

Google Docs

Build a Google Docs-like authorization model in which users have varying levels of access to documents they can collaborate on with each other.

Explore the example from this guide in the FGA Playground, where you can interact with the schema, warrants, and access checks in real-time!

Implement an authorization model similar to Google Docs document sharing. Allow users to grant read and/or write access to other users on individual documents and folders containing other nested documents and/or folders.

When to Use it

Consider this authorization model for:

  • User Generated Content: Your application supports user-generated content (e.g. documents, notes, images, etc.) and users can share access to this content with each other
  • Collaboration: You want to allow users to collaborate on content or resources together

Schema

schema.txt

Example

1. Apply the schema

Create a file called schema.txt containing the schema definition from above. Then use the CLI to apply this schema to your WorkOS FGA environment.

Note: make sure to select the correct environment with the CLI

2. Create warrants

Create warrants that associate users and documents. The example schema defines the following relationships:

  • documents with other documents (i.e. folders)
  • users with documents (using one of the defined roles: owner, editor, or viewer)

Let’s create a few warrants between documents doc-1, doc-2, doc-3, folder-1, folder-f2, and user user_2oDscjroNWtzxzYEnEzT9P7VYEe:

Create warrants

3. Check access

With our environment setup, we can check whether the user can read a document’s contents.

Check if a user has permission to read a document's contents