Permissions

HappyView uses a granular permission system to control access to the admin API. Each user has a set of permissions that determine which endpoints they can access. Permissions can be assigned individually, via templates, or both.

Permission list

HappyView defines 20 permissions organized by category:

Lexicons

Permission	Description
lexicons:create	Upload and upsert lexicons (local and network)
lexicons:read	List and view lexicon details
lexicons:delete	Delete lexicons

Records

Permission	Description
records:read	List and view indexed records
records:delete	Delete individual records
records:delete-collection	Bulk-delete all records in a collection

Script Variables

Permission	Description
script-variables:create	Create and update script variables
script-variables:read	List script variables (values are masked)
script-variables:delete	Delete script variables

Users

Permission	Description
users:create	Add new users
users:read	List and view user details
users:update	Modify user permissions
users:delete	Remove users

API Keys

Permission	Description
api-keys:create	Create new API keys
api-keys:read	List API keys
api-keys:delete	Revoke API keys

Operations

Permission	Description
backfill:create	Start backfill jobs
backfill:read	View backfill job status
stats:read	View record statistics
events:read	Query the event log

Permission templates

Templates are predefined sets of permissions that simplify user creation. Pass a template value when creating a user via POST /admin/users.

Viewer

Read-only access. Can browse lexicons, records, stats, events, and user lists but cannot modify anything.

Includes: lexicons:read, records:read, script-variables:read, users:read, api-keys:read, backfill:read, stats:read, events:read

Operator

Everything in Viewer, plus the ability to run backfill jobs and manage API keys.

Adds: backfill:create, api-keys:create, api-keys:delete

Manager

Everything in Operator, plus the ability to manage lexicons, records, and script variables.

Adds: lexicons:create, lexicons:delete, script-variables:create, script-variables:delete, records:delete

Full Access

All 20 permissions. Equivalent to granting every permission individually (but still not a super user).

Super user

The super user is a special user created automatically when the first person logs in to a fresh HappyView instance. The super user:

• Has unrestricted access to all endpoints, regardless of which permissions are assigned
• Is the only user who can call POST /admin/users/transfer-super
• Cannot be deleted
• Cannot have their permissions modified by other users

There is always exactly one super user. Super status can be transferred to another user via the dashboard or transfer endpoint in the Admin API.

Escalation guards

HappyView prevents privilege escalation:

• When creating a user or API key, you can only grant permissions that you yourself have. Attempting to grant a permission you lack returns 403 Forbidden.
• When updating a user's permissions, the same rule applies — you cannot grant permissions beyond your own.

Self-modification guards

Users cannot modify their own account in destructive ways:

• You cannot delete yourself
• You cannot revoke your own permissions

These guards prevent accidental lockout.

API key permissions

API keys have their own set of permissions, specified at creation time. The effective permissions of an API key are the intersection of:

1. The permissions assigned to the key
2. The permissions of the user who owns the key

This means if a user's permissions are later reduced, any API keys they created are also effectively reduced — even though the key's own permission list doesn't change.

For example, if a user with lexicons:create and lexicons:read creates a key with both permissions, and the user later loses lexicons:create, the key can only use lexicons:read.

Managing permissions

Via the dashboard

Go to Settings > Users to view and manage user permissions. Click on a user to see their current permissions and modify them. You can also assign templates when creating new users.

Via the API

• POST /admin/users — create a user with a template or explicit permissions
• PATCH /admin/users/{id}/permissions — grant or revoke individual permissions
• POST /admin/users/transfer-super — transfer super user status (super user only)

See the Admin API — Users for full details.

Next steps

• Admin API reference — endpoint documentation with required permissions
• API Keys — creating scoped API keys
• Event Logs — permission-denied events are logged for auditing