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Authorization Overview

Authorization in Promethium​

Authorization specifies what accesses an authenticated user has within a system. Once the identity of a user or service has been established, Promethium determines what accesses the authenticated request has.

This is done by checking what operation a given user/service wants to perform within Promethium & whether it is allowed to do so.

There are two core pillars of authorization:

  1. UI Authorization – Controls which users can access what capabilities within Promethium UIs
  2. Data Authorization – Controls which data users can see and query what data across connected platforms

Understanding both is essential for properly securing your environment and scaling access across teams.

1. UI Authorization​

UI authorization in Promethium is based on role-based access control (RBAC). Roles determine which features and actions are available to a user in the UI.

For example:

CapabilityWho Can Access (Example Roles)
Manage connected data sourcesadmin only
Modify a column descriptiondata_steward, lead_analyst

Administrators can define and assign roles during onboarding or within the admin console.

2. Data Authorization​

While UI roles control which users can do, data authorization controls what data they can see and query.

This is enforced through:

  • Data access policies on individual objects or groups of objects (Domains)
  • Row- and column-level access polices for fine grained access

This ensures that if a user accesses data via a Promethium UI or a 3rd party product, they’ll only receive results from datasets they’re allowed to see.

Why Authorization Matters​

Authorization protects:

  • Sensitive information (e.g., HR, finance, customer PII)
  • Compliance requirements (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA, SOC 2)
  • Team boundaries (e.g., marketing can't query engineering data)

It also improves user experience by showing people only what’s relevant to them — reducing clutter and minimizing errors.

Authorization Components​

1. Users​

Users are individuals or systems who access the Promethium platform.

2. Permission Sets​

Permission Sets are a logical grouping of privileges. They control access to:

  • Application screens and features
  • Functional capabilities (e.g., create tables, view dashboards)
  • System operations (e.g., manage data sources, configure connections)

3. Roles​

Roles are collections of Permission Sets assigned to users.

4. Domains​

Domains are logical groupings of data objects (tables, views, datamaps).