Set role permissions

Atomically replaces all permissions directly assigned to a role. An empty permissions array removes every permission from the role. Permissions that do not exist are created when the caller has permission to create them.

Required Permissions

Your root key must have:

rbac.*.add_permission_to_role
rbac.*.remove_permission_from_role

When any requested permission slug does not exist, it must also have:

rbac.*.create_permission

POST

permissions.setRolePermissions

Typescript (SDK)

import { Unkey } from "@unkey/api";

const unkey = new Unkey({
  rootKey: process.env["UNKEY_ROOT_KEY"] ?? "",
});

async function run() {
  const result = await unkey.permissions.setRolePermissions({
    roleId: "proj_1234abcd",
    permissions: [
      "<value 1>",
    ],
  });

  console.log(result);
}

run();

curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.unkey.com/v2/permissions.setRolePermissions \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer <token>' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '
{
  "roleId": "proj_1234abcd",
  "permissions": [
    "<string>"
  ]
}
'

import requests

url = "https://api.unkey.com/v2/permissions.setRolePermissions"

payload = {
    "roleId": "proj_1234abcd",
    "permissions": ["<string>"]
}
headers = {
    "Authorization": "Bearer <token>",
    "Content-Type": "application/json"
}

response = requests.post(url, json=payload, headers=headers)

print(response.text)

const options = {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {Authorization: 'Bearer <token>', 'Content-Type': 'application/json'},
  body: JSON.stringify({roleId: 'proj_1234abcd', permissions: ['<string>']})
};

fetch('https://api.unkey.com/v2/permissions.setRolePermissions', options)
  .then(res => res.json())
  .then(res => console.log(res))
  .catch(err => console.error(err));

<?php

$curl = curl_init();

curl_setopt_array($curl, [
  CURLOPT_URL => "https://api.unkey.com/v2/permissions.setRolePermissions",
  CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
  CURLOPT_ENCODING => "",
  CURLOPT_MAXREDIRS => 10,
  CURLOPT_TIMEOUT => 30,
  CURLOPT_HTTP_VERSION => CURL_HTTP_VERSION_1_1,
  CURLOPT_CUSTOMREQUEST => "POST",
  CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS => json_encode([
    'roleId' => 'proj_1234abcd',
    'permissions' => [
        '<string>'
    ]
  ]),
  CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER => [
    "Authorization: Bearer <token>",
    "Content-Type: application/json"
  ],
]);

$response = curl_exec($curl);
$err = curl_error($curl);

curl_close($curl);

if ($err) {
  echo "cURL Error #:" . $err;
} else {
  echo $response;
}

package main

import (
	"fmt"
	"strings"
	"net/http"
	"io"
)

func main() {

	url := "https://api.unkey.com/v2/permissions.setRolePermissions"

	payload := strings.NewReader("{\n  \"roleId\": \"proj_1234abcd\",\n  \"permissions\": [\n    \"<string>\"\n  ]\n}")

	req, _ := http.NewRequest("POST", url, payload)

	req.Header.Add("Authorization", "Bearer <token>")
	req.Header.Add("Content-Type", "application/json")

	res, _ := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)

	defer res.Body.Close()
	body, _ := io.ReadAll(res.Body)

	fmt.Println(string(body))

}

HttpResponse<String> response = Unirest.post("https://api.unkey.com/v2/permissions.setRolePermissions")
  .header("Authorization", "Bearer <token>")
  .header("Content-Type", "application/json")
  .body("{\n  \"roleId\": \"proj_1234abcd\",\n  \"permissions\": [\n    \"<string>\"\n  ]\n}")
  .asString();

require 'uri'
require 'net/http'

url = URI("https://api.unkey.com/v2/permissions.setRolePermissions")

http = Net::HTTP.new(url.host, url.port)
http.use_ssl = true

request = Net::HTTP::Post.new(url)
request["Authorization"] = 'Bearer <token>'
request["Content-Type"] = 'application/json'
request.body = "{\n  \"roleId\": \"proj_1234abcd\",\n  \"permissions\": [\n    \"<string>\"\n  ]\n}"

response = http.request(request)
puts response.read_body

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "data": [
    {
      "id": "perm_1234567890abcdef",
      "name": "users.read",
      "slug": "users-read",
      "description": "Allows reading user profile information and account details"
    }
  ]
}

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "error": {
    "detail": "Property foo is required but is missing.",
    "status": 404,
    "title": "Not Found",
    "type": "https://unkey.com/docs/errors/unkey/resource/not_found",
    "errors": [
      {
        "location": "body.permissions[0].name",
        "message": "Must be at least 3 characters long",
        "fix": "Ensure the name uses only alphanumeric characters, underscores, and hyphens"
      }
    ]
  }
}

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "error": {
    "detail": "Property foo is required but is missing.",
    "status": 404,
    "title": "Not Found",
    "type": "https://unkey.com/docs/errors/unkey/resource/not_found"
  }
}

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "error": {
    "detail": "Property foo is required but is missing.",
    "status": 404,
    "title": "Not Found",
    "type": "https://unkey.com/docs/errors/unkey/resource/not_found"
  }
}

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "error": {
    "detail": "Property foo is required but is missing.",
    "status": 404,
    "title": "Not Found",
    "type": "https://unkey.com/docs/errors/unkey/resource/not_found"
  }
}

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "error": {
    "detail": "Property foo is required but is missing.",
    "status": 404,
    "title": "Not Found",
    "type": "https://unkey.com/docs/errors/unkey/resource/not_found"
  }
}

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "error": {
    "detail": "Property foo is required but is missing.",
    "status": 404,
    "title": "Not Found",
    "type": "https://unkey.com/docs/errors/unkey/resource/not_found"
  }
}

Authorizations

Authorization

string

header

required

Unkey uses bearer tokens for authentication. Public integrations use root keys, while the dashboard proxy uses short-lived JWTs. To authenticate, include the token in the Authorization header of each request:

Authorization: Bearer unkey_123

Root keys have specific permissions attached to them, controlling what operations they can perform. Legacy permissions use tuple strings like api.*.create_key; resource permissions use Unkey Resource Names plus actions, like unkey:v1:ws_123:keyspaces/*#create_key. Security best practices:

Keep root keys secure and never expose them in client-side code
Use different root keys for different environments
Rotate keys periodically, especially after team member departures
Create keys with minimal necessary permissions following least privilege principle
Monitor key usage with audit logs.

Body

application/json

roleId

string

required

The ID of the role whose directly assigned permissions will be replaced.

Required string length: 3 - 255

Pattern: ^[a-zA-Z0-9_-]+$

Example:

"proj_1234abcd"

permissions

string[]

required

The complete set of permission slugs to assign directly to the role. Missing permissions are created when authorized. An empty array clears all direct permissions.

Required string length: 1 - 128

Pattern: ^[a-zA-Z0-9_:\-\.\*]+$

Response

Permissions set successfully.

meta

object

required

Metadata object included in every API response. This provides context about the request and is essential for debugging, audit trails, and support inquiries. The requestId is particularly important when troubleshooting issues with the Unkey support team.

Show child attributes

data

object[]

required

Complete list of permissions now directly assigned to the role.

Show child attributes

Last modified on August 25, 2026

⌘I

Typescript (SDK)

import { Unkey } from "@unkey/api";

const unkey = new Unkey({
  rootKey: process.env["UNKEY_ROOT_KEY"] ?? "",
});

async function run() {
  const result = await unkey.permissions.setRolePermissions({
    roleId: "proj_1234abcd",
    permissions: [
      "<value 1>",
    ],
  });

  console.log(result);
}

run();

curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.unkey.com/v2/permissions.setRolePermissions \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer <token>' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '
{
  "roleId": "proj_1234abcd",
  "permissions": [
    "<string>"
  ]
}
'

import requests

url = "https://api.unkey.com/v2/permissions.setRolePermissions"

payload = {
    "roleId": "proj_1234abcd",
    "permissions": ["<string>"]
}
headers = {
    "Authorization": "Bearer <token>",
    "Content-Type": "application/json"
}

response = requests.post(url, json=payload, headers=headers)

print(response.text)

const options = {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {Authorization: 'Bearer <token>', 'Content-Type': 'application/json'},
  body: JSON.stringify({roleId: 'proj_1234abcd', permissions: ['<string>']})
};

fetch('https://api.unkey.com/v2/permissions.setRolePermissions', options)
  .then(res => res.json())
  .then(res => console.log(res))
  .catch(err => console.error(err));

<?php

$curl = curl_init();

curl_setopt_array($curl, [
  CURLOPT_URL => "https://api.unkey.com/v2/permissions.setRolePermissions",
  CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
  CURLOPT_ENCODING => "",
  CURLOPT_MAXREDIRS => 10,
  CURLOPT_TIMEOUT => 30,
  CURLOPT_HTTP_VERSION => CURL_HTTP_VERSION_1_1,
  CURLOPT_CUSTOMREQUEST => "POST",
  CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS => json_encode([
    'roleId' => 'proj_1234abcd',
    'permissions' => [
        '<string>'
    ]
  ]),
  CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER => [
    "Authorization: Bearer <token>",
    "Content-Type: application/json"
  ],
]);

$response = curl_exec($curl);
$err = curl_error($curl);

curl_close($curl);

if ($err) {
  echo "cURL Error #:" . $err;
} else {
  echo $response;
}

package main

import (
	"fmt"
	"strings"
	"net/http"
	"io"
)

func main() {

	url := "https://api.unkey.com/v2/permissions.setRolePermissions"

	payload := strings.NewReader("{\n  \"roleId\": \"proj_1234abcd\",\n  \"permissions\": [\n    \"<string>\"\n  ]\n}")

	req, _ := http.NewRequest("POST", url, payload)

	req.Header.Add("Authorization", "Bearer <token>")
	req.Header.Add("Content-Type", "application/json")

	res, _ := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)

	defer res.Body.Close()
	body, _ := io.ReadAll(res.Body)

	fmt.Println(string(body))

}

HttpResponse<String> response = Unirest.post("https://api.unkey.com/v2/permissions.setRolePermissions")
  .header("Authorization", "Bearer <token>")
  .header("Content-Type", "application/json")
  .body("{\n  \"roleId\": \"proj_1234abcd\",\n  \"permissions\": [\n    \"<string>\"\n  ]\n}")
  .asString();

require 'uri'
require 'net/http'

url = URI("https://api.unkey.com/v2/permissions.setRolePermissions")

http = Net::HTTP.new(url.host, url.port)
http.use_ssl = true

request = Net::HTTP::Post.new(url)
request["Authorization"] = 'Bearer <token>'
request["Content-Type"] = 'application/json'
request.body = "{\n  \"roleId\": \"proj_1234abcd\",\n  \"permissions\": [\n    \"<string>\"\n  ]\n}"

response = http.request(request)
puts response.read_body

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "data": [
    {
      "id": "perm_1234567890abcdef",
      "name": "users.read",
      "slug": "users-read",
      "description": "Allows reading user profile information and account details"
    }
  ]
}

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "error": {
    "detail": "Property foo is required but is missing.",
    "status": 404,
    "title": "Not Found",
    "type": "https://unkey.com/docs/errors/unkey/resource/not_found",
    "errors": [
      {
        "location": "body.permissions[0].name",
        "message": "Must be at least 3 characters long",
        "fix": "Ensure the name uses only alphanumeric characters, underscores, and hyphens"
      }
    ]
  }
}

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "error": {
    "detail": "Property foo is required but is missing.",
    "status": 404,
    "title": "Not Found",
    "type": "https://unkey.com/docs/errors/unkey/resource/not_found"
  }
}

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "error": {
    "detail": "Property foo is required but is missing.",
    "status": 404,
    "title": "Not Found",
    "type": "https://unkey.com/docs/errors/unkey/resource/not_found"
  }
}

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "error": {
    "detail": "Property foo is required but is missing.",
    "status": 404,
    "title": "Not Found",
    "type": "https://unkey.com/docs/errors/unkey/resource/not_found"
  }
}

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "error": {
    "detail": "Property foo is required but is missing.",
    "status": 404,
    "title": "Not Found",
    "type": "https://unkey.com/docs/errors/unkey/resource/not_found"
  }
}

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "error": {
    "detail": "Property foo is required but is missing.",
    "status": 404,
    "title": "Not Found",
    "type": "https://unkey.com/docs/errors/unkey/resource/not_found"
  }
}