datasette/datasette/utils/actions_sql.py
Simon Willison 86334d233d Switch to CTE to handle 600+ actions at once
GPT-5.5 xhigh in Codex spotted this problem and fixed it with a CTE:

https://gisthost.github.io/?46076499ee685acddc988ff6b47a74b0
2026-06-13 11:09:28 -07:00

675 lines
25 KiB
Python

"""
SQL query builder for hierarchical permission checking.
This module implements a cascading permission system based on the pattern
from https://github.com/simonw/research/tree/main/sqlite-permissions-poc
It builds SQL queries that:
1. Start with all resources of a given type (from resource_type.resources_sql())
2. Gather permission rules from plugins (via permission_resources_sql hook)
3. Apply cascading logic: child → parent → global
4. Apply DENY-beats-ALLOW at each level
The core pattern is:
- Resources are identified by (parent, child) tuples
- Rules are evaluated at three levels:
- child: exact match on (parent, child)
- parent: match on (parent, NULL)
- global: match on (NULL, NULL)
- At the same level, DENY (allow=0) beats ALLOW (allow=1)
- Across levels, child beats parent beats global
"""
import asyncio
import re
from typing import TYPE_CHECKING
from datasette.utils.permissions import gather_permission_sql_from_hooks
if TYPE_CHECKING:
from datasette.app import Datasette
async def build_allowed_resources_sql(
datasette: "Datasette",
actor: dict | None,
action: str,
*,
parent: str | None = None,
include_is_private: bool = False,
) -> tuple[str, dict]:
"""
Build a SQL query that returns all resources the actor can access for this action.
Args:
datasette: The Datasette instance
actor: The actor dict (or None for unauthenticated)
action: The action name (e.g., "view-table", "view-database")
parent: Optional parent filter to limit results (e.g., database name)
include_is_private: If True, add is_private column showing if anonymous cannot access
Returns:
A tuple of (sql_query, params_dict)
The returned SQL query will have three columns (or four with include_is_private):
- parent: The parent resource identifier (or NULL)
- child: The child resource identifier (or NULL)
- reason: The reason from the rule that granted access
- is_private: (if include_is_private) 1 if anonymous cannot access, 0 otherwise
Example:
For action="view-table", this might return:
SELECT parent, child, reason FROM ... WHERE is_allowed = 1
Results would be like:
('analytics', 'users', 'role-based: analysts can access analytics DB')
('analytics', 'events', 'role-based: analysts can access analytics DB')
('production', 'orders', 'business-exception: allow production.orders for carol')
"""
# Get the Action object
action_obj = datasette.actions.get(action)
if not action_obj:
raise ValueError(f"Unknown action: {action}")
# If this action also_requires another action, we need to combine the queries
if action_obj.also_requires:
# Build both queries
main_sql, main_params = await _build_single_action_sql(
datasette,
actor,
action,
parent=parent,
include_is_private=include_is_private,
)
required_sql, required_params = await _build_single_action_sql(
datasette,
actor,
action_obj.also_requires,
parent=parent,
include_is_private=False,
)
# Merge parameters - they should have identical values for :actor, :actor_id, etc.
all_params = {**main_params, **required_params}
if parent is not None:
all_params["filter_parent"] = parent
# Combine with INNER JOIN - only resources allowed by both actions
combined_sql = f"""
WITH
main_allowed AS (
{main_sql}
),
required_allowed AS (
{required_sql}
)
SELECT m.parent, m.child, m.reason"""
if include_is_private:
combined_sql += ", m.is_private"
combined_sql += """
FROM main_allowed m
INNER JOIN required_allowed r
ON ((m.parent = r.parent) OR (m.parent IS NULL AND r.parent IS NULL))
AND ((m.child = r.child) OR (m.child IS NULL AND r.child IS NULL))
"""
if parent is not None:
combined_sql += "WHERE m.parent = :filter_parent\n"
combined_sql += "ORDER BY m.parent, m.child"
return combined_sql, all_params
# No also_requires, build single action query
return await _build_single_action_sql(
datasette, actor, action, parent=parent, include_is_private=include_is_private
)
async def _build_single_action_sql(
datasette: "Datasette",
actor: dict | None,
action: str,
*,
parent: str | None = None,
include_is_private: bool = False,
) -> tuple[str, dict]:
"""
Build SQL for a single action (internal helper for build_allowed_resources_sql).
This contains the original logic from build_allowed_resources_sql, extracted
to allow combining multiple actions when also_requires is used.
"""
# Get the Action object
action_obj = datasette.actions.get(action)
if not action_obj:
raise ValueError(f"Unknown action: {action}")
# Get base resources SQL from the resource class
base_resources_sql = await action_obj.resource_class.resources_sql(
datasette, actor=actor
)
permission_sqls = await gather_permission_sql_from_hooks(
datasette=datasette,
actor=actor,
action=action,
)
# If permission_sqls is the sentinel, skip all permission checks
# Return SQL that allows all resources
from datasette.utils.permissions import SKIP_PERMISSION_CHECKS
if permission_sqls is SKIP_PERMISSION_CHECKS:
cols = "parent, child, 'skip_permission_checks' AS reason"
if include_is_private:
cols += ", 0 AS is_private"
return f"SELECT {cols} FROM ({base_resources_sql})", {}
all_params = {}
rule_sqls = []
restriction_sqls = []
for permission_sql in permission_sqls:
# Always collect params (even from restriction-only plugins)
all_params.update(permission_sql.params or {})
# Collect restriction SQL filters
if permission_sql.restriction_sql:
restriction_sqls.append(permission_sql.restriction_sql)
# Skip plugins that only provide restriction_sql (no permission rules)
if permission_sql.sql is None:
continue
rule_sqls.append(f"""
SELECT parent, child, allow, reason, '{permission_sql.source}' AS source_plugin FROM (
{permission_sql.sql}
)
""".strip())
# If no rules, return empty result (deny all)
if not rule_sqls:
empty_cols = "NULL AS parent, NULL AS child, NULL AS reason"
if include_is_private:
empty_cols += ", NULL AS is_private"
return f"SELECT {empty_cols} WHERE 0", {}
# Build the cascading permission query
rules_union = " UNION ALL ".join(rule_sqls)
# Build the main query
query_parts = [
"WITH",
"base AS (",
f" {base_resources_sql}",
"),",
"all_rules AS (",
f" {rules_union}",
"),",
]
# If include_is_private, we need to build anonymous permissions too
if include_is_private:
anon_permission_sqls = await gather_permission_sql_from_hooks(
datasette=datasette,
actor=None,
action=action,
)
anon_sqls_rewritten = []
anon_params = {}
for permission_sql in anon_permission_sqls:
# Skip plugins that only provide restriction_sql (no permission rules)
if permission_sql.sql is None:
continue
rewritten_sql = permission_sql.sql
for key, value in (permission_sql.params or {}).items():
anon_key = f"anon_{key}"
anon_params[anon_key] = value
rewritten_sql = rewritten_sql.replace(f":{key}", f":{anon_key}")
anon_sqls_rewritten.append(rewritten_sql)
all_params.update(anon_params)
if anon_sqls_rewritten:
anon_rules_union = " UNION ALL ".join(anon_sqls_rewritten)
query_parts.extend(
[
"anon_rules AS (",
f" {anon_rules_union}",
"),",
]
)
else:
query_parts.extend(
[
"anon_rules AS (",
" SELECT NULL AS parent, NULL AS child, 0 AS allow, NULL AS reason WHERE 0",
"),",
]
)
# Continue with the cascading logic
query_parts.extend(
[
"child_lvl AS (",
" SELECT b.parent, b.child,",
" MAX(CASE WHEN ar.allow = 0 THEN 1 ELSE 0 END) AS any_deny,",
" MAX(CASE WHEN ar.allow = 1 THEN 1 ELSE 0 END) AS any_allow,",
" json_group_array(CASE WHEN ar.allow = 0 THEN ar.source_plugin || ': ' || ar.reason END) AS deny_reasons,",
" json_group_array(CASE WHEN ar.allow = 1 THEN ar.source_plugin || ': ' || ar.reason END) AS allow_reasons",
" FROM base b",
" LEFT JOIN all_rules ar ON ar.parent = b.parent AND ar.child = b.child",
" GROUP BY b.parent, b.child",
"),",
"parent_lvl AS (",
" SELECT b.parent, b.child,",
" MAX(CASE WHEN ar.allow = 0 THEN 1 ELSE 0 END) AS any_deny,",
" MAX(CASE WHEN ar.allow = 1 THEN 1 ELSE 0 END) AS any_allow,",
" json_group_array(CASE WHEN ar.allow = 0 THEN ar.source_plugin || ': ' || ar.reason END) AS deny_reasons,",
" json_group_array(CASE WHEN ar.allow = 1 THEN ar.source_plugin || ': ' || ar.reason END) AS allow_reasons",
" FROM base b",
" LEFT JOIN all_rules ar ON ar.parent = b.parent AND ar.child IS NULL",
" GROUP BY b.parent, b.child",
"),",
"global_lvl AS (",
" SELECT b.parent, b.child,",
" MAX(CASE WHEN ar.allow = 0 THEN 1 ELSE 0 END) AS any_deny,",
" MAX(CASE WHEN ar.allow = 1 THEN 1 ELSE 0 END) AS any_allow,",
" json_group_array(CASE WHEN ar.allow = 0 THEN ar.source_plugin || ': ' || ar.reason END) AS deny_reasons,",
" json_group_array(CASE WHEN ar.allow = 1 THEN ar.source_plugin || ': ' || ar.reason END) AS allow_reasons",
" FROM base b",
" LEFT JOIN all_rules ar ON ar.parent IS NULL AND ar.child IS NULL",
" GROUP BY b.parent, b.child",
"),",
]
)
# Add anonymous decision logic if needed
if include_is_private:
query_parts.extend(
[
"anon_child_lvl AS (",
" SELECT b.parent, b.child,",
" MAX(CASE WHEN ar.allow = 0 THEN 1 ELSE 0 END) AS any_deny,",
" MAX(CASE WHEN ar.allow = 1 THEN 1 ELSE 0 END) AS any_allow",
" FROM base b",
" LEFT JOIN anon_rules ar ON ar.parent = b.parent AND ar.child = b.child",
" GROUP BY b.parent, b.child",
"),",
"anon_parent_lvl AS (",
" SELECT b.parent, b.child,",
" MAX(CASE WHEN ar.allow = 0 THEN 1 ELSE 0 END) AS any_deny,",
" MAX(CASE WHEN ar.allow = 1 THEN 1 ELSE 0 END) AS any_allow",
" FROM base b",
" LEFT JOIN anon_rules ar ON ar.parent = b.parent AND ar.child IS NULL",
" GROUP BY b.parent, b.child",
"),",
"anon_global_lvl AS (",
" SELECT b.parent, b.child,",
" MAX(CASE WHEN ar.allow = 0 THEN 1 ELSE 0 END) AS any_deny,",
" MAX(CASE WHEN ar.allow = 1 THEN 1 ELSE 0 END) AS any_allow",
" FROM base b",
" LEFT JOIN anon_rules ar ON ar.parent IS NULL AND ar.child IS NULL",
" GROUP BY b.parent, b.child",
"),",
"anon_decisions AS (",
" SELECT",
" b.parent, b.child,",
" CASE",
" WHEN acl.any_deny = 1 THEN 0",
" WHEN acl.any_allow = 1 THEN 1",
" WHEN apl.any_deny = 1 THEN 0",
" WHEN apl.any_allow = 1 THEN 1",
" WHEN agl.any_deny = 1 THEN 0",
" WHEN agl.any_allow = 1 THEN 1",
" ELSE 0",
" END AS anon_is_allowed",
" FROM base b",
" JOIN anon_child_lvl acl ON b.parent = acl.parent AND (b.child = acl.child OR (b.child IS NULL AND acl.child IS NULL))",
" JOIN anon_parent_lvl apl ON b.parent = apl.parent AND (b.child = apl.child OR (b.child IS NULL AND apl.child IS NULL))",
" JOIN anon_global_lvl agl ON b.parent = agl.parent AND (b.child = agl.child OR (b.child IS NULL AND agl.child IS NULL))",
"),",
]
)
# Final decisions
query_parts.extend(
[
"decisions AS (",
" SELECT",
" b.parent, b.child,",
" -- Cascading permission logic: child → parent → global, DENY beats ALLOW at each level",
" -- Priority order:",
" -- 1. Child-level deny (most specific, blocks access)",
" -- 2. Child-level allow (most specific, grants access)",
" -- 3. Parent-level deny (intermediate, blocks access)",
" -- 4. Parent-level allow (intermediate, grants access)",
" -- 5. Global-level deny (least specific, blocks access)",
" -- 6. Global-level allow (least specific, grants access)",
" -- 7. Default deny (no rules match)",
" CASE",
" WHEN cl.any_deny = 1 THEN 0",
" WHEN cl.any_allow = 1 THEN 1",
" WHEN pl.any_deny = 1 THEN 0",
" WHEN pl.any_allow = 1 THEN 1",
" WHEN gl.any_deny = 1 THEN 0",
" WHEN gl.any_allow = 1 THEN 1",
" ELSE 0",
" END AS is_allowed,",
" CASE",
" WHEN cl.any_deny = 1 THEN cl.deny_reasons",
" WHEN cl.any_allow = 1 THEN cl.allow_reasons",
" WHEN pl.any_deny = 1 THEN pl.deny_reasons",
" WHEN pl.any_allow = 1 THEN pl.allow_reasons",
" WHEN gl.any_deny = 1 THEN gl.deny_reasons",
" WHEN gl.any_allow = 1 THEN gl.allow_reasons",
" ELSE '[]'",
" END AS reason",
]
)
if include_is_private:
query_parts.append(
" , CASE WHEN ad.anon_is_allowed = 0 THEN 1 ELSE 0 END AS is_private"
)
query_parts.extend(
[
" FROM base b",
" JOIN child_lvl cl ON b.parent = cl.parent AND (b.child = cl.child OR (b.child IS NULL AND cl.child IS NULL))",
" JOIN parent_lvl pl ON b.parent = pl.parent AND (b.child = pl.child OR (b.child IS NULL AND pl.child IS NULL))",
" JOIN global_lvl gl ON b.parent = gl.parent AND (b.child = gl.child OR (b.child IS NULL AND gl.child IS NULL))",
]
)
if include_is_private:
query_parts.append(
" JOIN anon_decisions ad ON b.parent = ad.parent AND (b.child = ad.child OR (b.child IS NULL AND ad.child IS NULL))"
)
query_parts.append(")")
# Add restriction list CTE if there are restrictions
if restriction_sqls:
# Wrap each restriction_sql in a subquery to avoid operator precedence issues
# with UNION ALL inside the restriction SQL statements
restriction_intersect = "\nINTERSECT\n".join(
f"SELECT * FROM ({sql})" for sql in restriction_sqls
)
query_parts.extend(
[",", "restriction_list AS (", f" {restriction_intersect}", ")"]
)
# Final SELECT
select_cols = "parent, child, reason"
if include_is_private:
select_cols += ", is_private"
query_parts.append(f"SELECT {select_cols}")
query_parts.append("FROM decisions")
query_parts.append("WHERE is_allowed = 1")
# Add restriction filter if there are restrictions
if restriction_sqls:
query_parts.append("""
AND EXISTS (
SELECT 1 FROM restriction_list r
WHERE (r.parent = decisions.parent OR r.parent IS NULL)
AND (r.child = decisions.child OR r.child IS NULL)
)""")
# Add parent filter if specified
if parent is not None:
query_parts.append(" AND parent = :filter_parent")
all_params["filter_parent"] = parent
query_parts.append("ORDER BY parent, child")
query = "\n".join(query_parts)
return query, all_params
async def build_permission_rules_sql(
datasette: "Datasette", actor: dict | None, action: str
) -> tuple[str, dict]:
"""
Build the UNION SQL and params for all permission rules for a given actor and action.
Returns:
A tuple of (sql, params) where sql is a UNION ALL query that returns
(parent, child, allow, reason, source_plugin) rows.
"""
# Get the Action object
action_obj = datasette.actions.get(action)
if not action_obj:
raise ValueError(f"Unknown action: {action}")
permission_sqls = await gather_permission_sql_from_hooks(
datasette=datasette,
actor=actor,
action=action,
)
# If permission_sqls is the sentinel, skip all permission checks
# Return SQL that allows everything
from datasette.utils.permissions import SKIP_PERMISSION_CHECKS
if permission_sqls is SKIP_PERMISSION_CHECKS:
return (
"SELECT NULL AS parent, NULL AS child, 1 AS allow, 'skip_permission_checks' AS reason, 'skip' AS source_plugin",
{},
[],
)
if not permission_sqls:
return (
"SELECT NULL AS parent, NULL AS child, 0 AS allow, NULL AS reason, NULL AS source_plugin WHERE 0",
{},
[],
)
union_parts = []
all_params = {}
restriction_sqls = []
for permission_sql in permission_sqls:
all_params.update(permission_sql.params or {})
# Collect restriction SQL filters
if permission_sql.restriction_sql:
restriction_sqls.append(permission_sql.restriction_sql)
# Skip plugins that only provide restriction_sql (no permission rules)
if permission_sql.sql is None:
continue
union_parts.append(f"""
SELECT parent, child, allow, reason, '{permission_sql.source}' AS source_plugin FROM (
{permission_sql.sql}
)
""".strip())
rules_union = " UNION ALL ".join(union_parts)
return rules_union, all_params, restriction_sqls
async def check_permissions_for_actions(
*,
datasette: "Datasette",
actor: dict | None,
actions: list[str],
parent: str | None,
child: str | None,
) -> dict[str, bool]:
"""
Check several actions for one actor and resource in a single query.
Args:
datasette: The Datasette instance
actor: The actor dict (or None)
actions: List of action names to check
parent: The parent resource identifier (e.g., database name, or None)
child: The child resource identifier (e.g., table name, or None)
Returns:
Dict mapping each action name to True (allowed) or False (denied)
Each action contributes its own tagged block of permission rules
(gathered from the permission_resources_sql hook, with parameters
namespaced per action to avoid collisions) plus an optional
restriction allowlist CTE. One internal database query resolves
the winning rule per action using the same specificity-then-deny
ordering as the rest of the permission system.
Note: this resolves each action independently - also_requires
dependencies are handled by the caller (Datasette.allowed_many).
"""
from datasette.utils.permissions import SKIP_PERMISSION_CHECKS
for action in actions:
if not datasette.actions.get(action):
raise ValueError(f"Unknown action: {action}")
# Dedupe while preserving order
unique_actions = list(dict.fromkeys(actions))
if not unique_actions:
return {}
# Gather hook results for each action concurrently - hooks within a
# single action still run sequentially, preserving existing semantics
gathered = await asyncio.gather(
*(
gather_permission_sql_from_hooks(
datasette=datasette, actor=actor, action=action
)
for action in unique_actions
)
)
if any(result is SKIP_PERMISSION_CHECKS for result in gathered):
return {action: True for action in unique_actions}
params = {"_check_parent": parent, "_check_child": child}
ctes = []
result_rows = []
verdicts = {}
for i, (action, permission_sqls) in enumerate(zip(unique_actions, gathered)):
prefix = f"a{i}_"
rule_parts = []
restriction_parts = []
for permission_sql in permission_sqls:
sql = permission_sql.sql
restriction_sql = permission_sql.restriction_sql
# Namespace this block's params so identical names used for
# different actions cannot collide
for key in permission_sql.params or {}:
new_key = prefix + key
params[new_key] = permission_sql.params[key]
pattern = re.compile(":" + re.escape(key) + r"(?![A-Za-z0-9_])")
if sql:
sql = pattern.sub(":" + new_key, sql)
if restriction_sql:
restriction_sql = pattern.sub(":" + new_key, restriction_sql)
if restriction_sql:
restriction_parts.append(restriction_sql)
# Skip plugins that only provide restriction_sql (no permission rules)
if sql is None:
continue
rule_parts.append(
f"SELECT parent, child, allow, reason, '{permission_sql.source}' AS source_plugin FROM (\n{sql}\n)"
)
if not rule_parts:
# No rules from any plugin - default deny. Restrictions can
# only restrict, never grant, so no SQL is needed at all
verdicts[action] = False
continue
ctes.append(f"a{i}_rules AS (\n" + "\nUNION ALL\n".join(rule_parts) + "\n)")
# Winning rule for this action: most specific depth first, then
# deny-beats-allow, then source_plugin as a stable tie-break
verdict_sql = f"""COALESCE((
SELECT allow FROM (
SELECT allow, source_plugin,
CASE
WHEN child IS NOT NULL THEN 2
WHEN parent IS NOT NULL THEN 1
ELSE 0
END AS depth
FROM a{i}_rules
WHERE (parent IS NULL OR parent = :_check_parent)
AND (child IS NULL OR child = :_check_child)
ORDER BY
depth DESC,
CASE WHEN allow = 0 THEN 0 ELSE 1 END,
source_plugin
LIMIT 1
)
), 0)"""
if restriction_parts:
# Database-level restrictions (parent, NULL) match all children
restriction_intersect = "\nINTERSECT\n".join(
f"SELECT * FROM ({sql})" for sql in restriction_parts
)
ctes.append(f"a{i}_restriction AS (\n{restriction_intersect}\n)")
verdict_sql = f"""({verdict_sql}) AND EXISTS (
SELECT 1 FROM a{i}_restriction r
WHERE (r.parent = :_check_parent OR r.parent IS NULL)
AND (r.child = :_check_child OR r.child IS NULL)
)"""
result_rows.append(f"({i}, ({verdict_sql}))")
if result_rows:
ctes.append(
"results(action_idx, is_allowed) AS (VALUES\n"
+ ",\n".join(result_rows)
+ "\n)"
)
query = (
"WITH\n" + ",\n".join(ctes) + "\nSELECT action_idx, is_allowed FROM results"
)
result = await datasette.get_internal_database().execute(query, params)
for row in result.rows:
verdicts[unique_actions[row[0]]] = bool(row[1])
return verdicts
async def check_permission_for_resource(
*,
datasette: "Datasette",
actor: dict | None,
action: str,
parent: str | None,
child: str | None,
) -> bool:
"""
Check if an actor has permission for a specific action on a specific resource.
Args:
datasette: The Datasette instance
actor: The actor dict (or None)
action: The action name
parent: The parent resource identifier (e.g., database name, or None)
child: The child resource identifier (e.g., table name, or None)
Returns:
True if the actor is allowed, False otherwise
"""
results = await check_permissions_for_actions(
datasette=datasette,
actor=actor,
actions=[action],
parent=parent,
child=child,
)
return results[action]