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Roles and Permissions via API

Last updated: Nov-05-2026

Note
This guide describes the Roles and Permissions system. A small number of accounts still use the legacy permissions system. If your account is one of them (there's no Role Management page in your Console Settings), see Legacy permissions.

Overview

Use the Permissions API to programmatically manage access control across your Cloudinary account. The API allows you to create and assign roles and define custom permission policies.

On this page:

This section covers:

  • Manage roles: How to manage roles via the Permissions API, including viewing, creating, updating, and assigning roles

  • Assign roles: How to assign roles to principals (users, groups, and API keys), scoped to the account or specific product environments, via the Permissions API

  • Define custom policies: How to define and apply custom permission policies using the Cedar-based schema

    Note
    Custom policies give you fine-grained control, but they can behave in unexpected ways if not configured correctly. Review them carefully and test to make sure they align with your intended access rules.

Plan availability:
The Permissions API is available on Enterprise plans only. It isn't available on the Free plan or on self-serve paid plans. Creating custom roles is also Enterprise only, whether you do it in the Console or via the Permissions API.

On the Free plan and on self-serve paid plans, you can:

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