Approve access requests

Instead of granting everything up front, let people ask when they need more. A member requests a role on an environment and explains why. An owner or admin approves or rejects it. Each step is recorded in the audit log.

Example. Kiteline is a fictional company. Amara is a Reader on payments-api / production. During an on-call shift she needs to change a value, so she requests the Editor role. Priya approves it.

Requesting access

Open Access requests and choose Request access:

1. Environment: any environment you can see.
2. Who it's for: yourself. An operator of that environment, or an owner or admin, can also request for another member or for a machine or token.
3. Role: Editor, Reader, Specific files or Operator. For a machine or token, choose the delivery instead: Environment key or Selected files. For Specific files or Selected files, pick the files.
4. Reason: what the access is for. The person deciding sees it, and it goes into the audit log.

Choose Send request. Owners and admins see it right away.

There can be only one open request per environment for the same person, machine or token. A second one is refused while the first is open. The requester can cancel their own open request with Cancel.

Deciding on a request

Owners and admins see the queue in Access requests, under Open (N). Each row shows the environment, who it's for, what's asked, the reason, and who asked and when. Open requests also appear in Pending actions.

Approving

Choose Approve…. The Approve request? window repeats who gets what on which environment, and what guarantees it:

• Cryptography: the environment key, or a file copy, is sealed to the recipient's certified key in your browser. You need to hold the environment key yourself to do that.
• Server: the request closes only if the access change was actually applied.

Choose Approve. If the change can't be applied, for example because someone else changed the environment's access at the same moment, the request stays open with the reason, and you can try again.

Rejecting

Choose Reject…. You can add a note, which goes into the audit log. The request is closed as Rejected.

Where the access shows up

Access granted through a request shows as by request in the Environment access matrix on the member's page, separately from direct and via access profile. In the environment's access list, it appears like any other grant.

Requests for machines

An operator who set up a machine can request access for it. When approved, the approving owner's or admin's browser delivers the environment key or the file copy to the machine, which picks it up at its next check.

Network-restricted environments

In an environment with a network rule, delivering a key or file copy to a recipient who never had one requires an explicit confirmation. The approving app shows who added the recipient and when, from the signed access list, before you confirm. Delivering a file copy counts as writing the environment's contents, so for Specific files or Selected files you also need to be inside the allowed networks. See Network rules.

Taking access away again

There's no expiry on an environment role. When the reason for the request is gone, such as the end of an on-call shift, remove the access on the member's page or in the environment's access list. If the person had the environment key, the environment is marked as needing rotation. See Rotate environment keys.

Who can do what