API Authorization Patterns

Authorization patterns are the methods and policies that control WHO can access WHAT in your APIs, regardless of which gateway you use. These guides show you different ways to implement access control, from simple scope checks to complex policy-based decisions.

💡 Why this matters
The right authorization pattern helps you enforce business rules like "managers can approve over $1000" or "users can only see their own data."

Common patterns:

• Dynamic Scopes - Rules that adapt based on user context
• OPA Policies - Complex authorization rules using Rego language
• Metadata - Decisions based on application or developer attributes
• GraphQL - Field-level authorization for GraphQL APIs

Need to set up your gateway first? See API Gateway Integrations for gateway-specific setup.