abp-authorization

ABP Authorization Skill

Trigger

User asks about permissions, authorization, roles, policies, permission groups, resource-based authorization, or access control in ABP Framework.

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Core Concepts

ABP extends ASP.NET Core Authorization with a Permission System that auto-registers permissions as policies. Two permission types exist:

1. Standard (Global) Permissions — Apply globally (e.g., "can create documents")
2. Resource-Based Permissions — Target specific instances (e.g., "can edit Document #123")

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Permission System

Defining Permissions

Create a class inheriting PermissionDefinitionProvider:

using Volo.Abp.Authorization.Permissions;

namespace Acme.BookStore.Permissions
{
    public class BookStorePermissionDefinitionProvider : PermissionDefinitionProvider
    {
        public override void Define(IPermissionDefinitionContext context)
        {
            var myGroup = context.AddGroup(
                "BookStore",
                LocalizableString.Create<BookStoreResource>("BookStore")
            );

            myGroup.AddPermission(
                "BookStore_Author_Create",
                LocalizableString.Create<BookStoreResource>("Permission:BookStore_Author_Create")
            );
        }
    }
}

• ABP auto-discovers this class — no registration needed
• Typically placed in Application.Contracts project
• Permission name becomes usable as an ASP.NET Core policy name

Permission Groups

• context.AddGroup("GroupName") creates a new group
• Groups appear as tabs in the UI permission dialog
• Use LocalizableString.Create<TResource>("Key") for localized display names

Permission Options

myGroup.AddPermission(
    "BookStore_Books_Manage",
    LocalizableString.Create<BookStoreResource>("Permission:ManageBooks"),
    multiTenancySide: MultiTenancySides.Tenant  // Host, Tenant, or Both (default)
);

Multi-tenancy side options:

• MultiTenancySides.Host — Available only on host side
• MultiTenancySides.Tenant — Available only on tenant side
• MultiTenancySides.Both (default) — Available on both

Child Permissions

Permissions can have parent-child relationships for hierarchical UI display:

var booksPermission = myGroup.AddPermission("BookStore_Books_Manage");
booksPermission.AddChild("BookStore_Books_Create");
booksPermission.AddChild("BookStore_Books_Edit");
booksPermission.AddChild("BookStore_Books_Delete");

Enable/Disable Permissions

myGroup.AddPermission("BookStore_Feature", isEnabled: false); // Disabled by default

Permission Depending on a Condition

// Depending on Features
myGroup.AddPermission("BookStore_Advanced")
    .WithFeatureDependency("AdvancedFeature");

// Depending on Global Features
myGroup.AddPermission("BookStore_Preview")
    .WithGlobalFeatureDependency("PreviewModule");

// Custom condition
myGroup.AddPermission("BookStore_Special")
    .WithStateChecker(() => MyStaticChecker.IsSpecialEnabled);

Overriding Permissions with Custom Policies

myGroup.AddPermission("BookStore_Special")
    .WithPolicyDependency(new MyCustomPolicyRequirement());

Changing Permission Definitions of Dependent Modules

[DependsOn(typeof(AbpIdentityModule))]
public class MyModule : AbpModule
{
    public override void PreConfigureServices(ServiceConfigurationContext context)
    {
        PreConfigure<PermissionDefinitionContext>(options =>
        {
            // Modify identity module permissions before they're finalized
        });
    }
}

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Using Permissions

In Controllers / Page Models

[Authorize("BookStore_Author_Create")]
public async Task<IActionResult> CreateAsync(CreateAuthorDto input)
{
    // ...
}

In Application Services

public class AuthorAppService : ApplicationService, IAuthorAppService
{
    public async Task<AuthorDto> CreateAsync(CreateAuthorDto input)
    {
        await AuthorizationService.CheckAsync("BookStore_Author_Create");
        // or
        if (!await AuthorizationService.IsGrantedAsync("BookStore_Author_Create"))
        {
            throw new AbpAuthorizationException("...");
        }
        // ...
    }
}

Using IAuthorizationService

public class MyService : ITransientDependency
{
    private readonly IAuthorizationService _authorizationService;

    public MyService(IAuthorizationService authorizationService)
    {
        _authorizationService = authorizationService;
    }

    public async Task DoWorkAsync()
    {
        await _authorizationService.CheckAsync("BookStore_Author_Create");
    }
}

Shortcut methods in base classes: await CheckPolicyAsync("...") (throws an exception if not granted) and await IsGrantedAsync("...") (returns a bool, does not throw).

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Current User

Authenticated user information is accessed via the CurrentUser property — it is available out of the box in base classes (ApplicationService, DomainService, AbpController) and requires no injection:

public class BookAppService : ApplicationService
{
    public async Task DoSomethingAsync()
    {
        var userId   = CurrentUser.Id;             // Guid?
        var userName = CurrentUser.UserName;
        var email    = CurrentUser.Email;
        var isAuth   = CurrentUser.IsAuthenticated;
        var roles    = CurrentUser.Roles;
        var tenantId = CurrentUser.TenantId;
    }
}

// Inject ICurrentUser in services that don't derive from a base class
public class MyService : ITransientDependency
{
    private readonly ICurrentUser _currentUser;
    public MyService(ICurrentUser currentUser) => _currentUser = currentUser;
}

Ownership Verification

public async Task UpdateMyBookAsync(Guid bookId, UpdateBookDto input)
{
    var book = await _bookRepository.GetAsync(bookId);

    if (book.CreatorId != CurrentUser.Id)
    {
        throw new AbpAuthorizationException();
    }
    // update...
}

Security: never trust client input for the user identity — always use CurrentUser and verify ownership inside the application service.

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Resource-Based Authorization

For fine-grained, per-instance permissions:

// Define a resource permission
var booksGroup = context.AddGroup("BookStore_Books");
var bookPermission = booksGroup.AddResourcePermission(
    "BookStore_Books_Edit",
    typeof(Book),
    LocalizableString.Create<BookStoreResource>("Permission:EditBook")
);

Resource-based permissions are managed through the Resource Permission Management Dialog on individual resource instances (not the global permissions dialog).

See: Resource-Based Authorization

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Multi-Tenancy Integration

• Permissions can be scoped to Host, Tenant, or Both
• When setting permissions for users/roles, use ISettingManager or the Identity module UI
• Tenant-specific permissions are stored per-tenant in the database

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UI Integration

• Permissions dialog available with Identity module pre-installed
• Permission groups shown as tabs
• Standard permissions shown in global dialog
• Resource-based permissions managed per-resource instance

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Best Practices

1. Naming convention: ModuleName_Entity_Action (e.g., BookStore_Books_Create)
2. Always localize permission display names using LocalizableString.Create<TResource>()
3. Group logically — one group per module or feature area
4. Use child permissions for hierarchical UI (Manage > Create/Edit/Delete)
5. Set multi-tenancy side explicitly if your app is multi-tenant
6. Use resource-based permissions for instance-level access control
7. Check permissions early in application service methods to fail fast

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Common Patterns

CRUD Permissions

var books = myGroup.AddPermission("BookStore_Books_Manage");
books.AddChild("BookStore_Books_Create");
books.AddChild("BookStore_Books_Edit");
books.AddChild("BookStore_Books_Delete");
books.AddChild("BookStore_Books_ViewList");

Permission Check in App Service Base Class

public abstract class BookStoreAppService : ApplicationService
{
    protected BookStoreAppService()
    {
        LocalizationResource = typeof(BookStoreResource);
    }

    protected virtual async Task CheckPolicyAsync(string policyName)
    {
        await AuthorizationService.CheckAsync(policyName);
    }
}

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Related Modules

• Identity Module — User and role management, permission UI
• Permission Management Module — Resource permission management dialog
• Setting Management Module — Feature-based permission toggling

Related

• Settings & Features — feature-dependent permissions, IFeatureChecker
• Multi-Tenancy — per-tenant permissions (MultiTenancySides)
• Exception Handling — AbpAuthorizationException
• UI — permission checks in the UI (IsGrantedAsync, Authorize)
• ABP Docs: https://abp.io/docs/latest/framework/fundamentals/authorization