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Users & Access Levels

Mathesar allows you to set up users with different access levels. A user’s access levels determine what they can do with the data managed in Mathesar.

Mathesar’s installation process includes setting up the first user. This user is an Admin.

Managing Users

  1. Click on the gear icon on the top right of the application and select Administration.
  2. In the left sidebar, click on Users.

Note

  • Only Admins can add new users.
  • Mathesar does not send invitation emails to new users (yet). You’ll need to send the user their username and password yourself.
  • The user will be prompted to change the password when they log in for the first time.

User Types

Users can be either Admin or Standard users.

Admin users

Admin users:

  • can manage other users (view, add, edit, delete)
  • have Manager permissions on all databases and schemas

You cannot set granular permissions for an Admin user.

Standard users

By default, Standard users cannot see anything in Mathesar. They will need to be granted database or schema roles individually.

Database Roles

There are three levels of database roles:

  • Managers own the database. They can edit all data in the database, as well as edit the structure of data (e.g. create tables, add and remove columns, etc.). They also manage access to the database.
  • Editors can edit all data in the database, but cannot change the underlying data structures or manage access.
  • Viewers have read-only access to all data in the database. They cannot make any changes.

Manager

  • Receives Manager permissions on all schemas in the database.
  • Can view, add, and remove other users’ access to the database.
  • Can view, add, edit, and remove any schema in the database.
  • Can view, add, edit, and remove any table in the database.
  • Can view, add, edit, and remove any column in the database.
  • Can view, add, edit, and remove any constraint in the database.
  • Can view, add, edit, and remove any record in the database.
  • Can view, add, edit, and remove any exploration in the database.
  • Can perform “extract column” and “move column” actions

Editor

  • Receives Editor permissions on all schemas in the database.
  • Can view any schema in the database.
  • Can view any table in the database.
  • Can view any column in the database.
  • Can view any constraint in the database.
  • Can view, add, edit, and remove any exploration in the database.
  • Can view, add, edit, and remove any record in the database.

Viewer

  • Receives Viewer permissions on all schemas in the database.
  • Can view any schema in the database.
  • Can view any table in the database.
  • Can view any column in the database.
  • Can view any constraint in the database.
  • Can view any exploration in the database.
  • Can use the Data Explorer to create ad-hoc explorations using data in the database, but cannot save them.

Managing Database Roles

Note

  • Only Admins and Database Managers can manage access to a database.
  1. Click on the Mathesar logo on the top left of the application to go to the database page.
  2. Click on the Manage Access button.

Schema Roles

There are three levels of schema roles:

  • Managers own the schema. They can edit all data in the schema, as well as edit the structure of data (e.g. create tables, add and remove columns, etc.). They also manage access to the schema.
  • Editors can edit all data in the schema, but cannot change the underlying data structures or manage access.
  • Viewers have read-only access to all data in the schema. They cannot make any changes.

Manager

  • Can view, add, and remove other users’ access to the schema.
  • Can view, add, edit, and remove any schema in the schema.
  • Can view, add, edit, and remove any table in the schema.
  • Can view, add, edit, and remove any column in the schema.
  • Can view, add, edit, and remove any constraint in the schema.
  • Can view, add, edit, and remove any record in the schema.
  • Can view, add, edit, and remove any exploration in the schema.
  • Can perform “extract column” and “move column” actions

Editor

  • Can view any table in the schema.
  • Can view any column in the schema.
  • Can view any constraint in the schema.
  • Can view, add, edit, and remove any record in the schema.
  • Can view, add, edit, and remove any exploration in the schema.

Viewer

  • Can view any table in the schema.
  • Can view any column in the schema.
  • Can view any constraint in the schema.
  • Can view any exploration in the schema.
  • Can use the Data Explorer to create ad-hoc explorations using data in the schema, but cannot save them.

Managing Schema Roles

Note

  • Only Admins, Database Managers, and Schema Managers can manage access to a schema.
  1. Click on the Mathesar logo on the top left of the application to go to the database page.
  2. Select the appropriate schema from the list to navigate to the schema’s homepage.
  3. Click on the Manage Access button.

Order of Precedence

If a user has both a Database Role and a Schema Role for a schema within the same database, the Schema Role will only have an effect if it grants more permissions.

Examples:

  • If a user is a Database Manager but has Viewer permissions on a given schema, the schema role has no effect.
  • If a user is a Database Editor but has Manager permissions on a given schema, the schema role will take precedence.