Access Manager v3 API for Android SDK
Access Manager v3 lets you enforce security controls for client access to resources on the PubNub platform. With Access Manager v3, your servers (that use a PubNub instance configured with a secret key) can grant clients tokens with embedded permissions that provide access to individual PubNub resources:
- For a limited time period.
- Through resource lists or regular expression (RegEx) patterns.
- In one API request, even when permissions differ (for example,
read
tochannel1
andwrite
tochannel2
).
You can add the authorizedUUID
parameter to restrict token usage to one client with a given UUID. Only this authorizedUUID
can use the token to make API requests for the specified resources and permissions.
For more information about Access Manager v3, refer to Manage Permissions with Access Manager v3.
Grant token
Requires Access Manager add-on
This method requires that the Access Manager add-on is enabled for your key in the Admin Portal. Read the support page on enabling add-on features on your keys.
Requires Secret Key authentication
Granting permissions to resources should be done by administrators whose SDK instance has been initialized with a Secret Key (available on the Admin Portal on your app's keyset).
The grantToken()
method generates a time-limited authorization token with an embedded access control list. The token defines time to live (ttl
), authorizedUUID
, and a set of permissions giving access to one or more resources:
channels
channelGroups
uuids
(other users' object metadata, such as their names or avatars)
Only this authorizedUUID
will be able to use the token with the defined permissions. The authorized client will send the token to PubNub with each request until the token's ttl
expires. Any unauthorized request or a request made with an invalid token will return a 403
with a respective error message.
- Permissions
- TTL (time to live)
- RegEx patterns
- Authorized UUID
The grant request allows your server to securely grant clients access to resources on the PubNub platform. Each resource type supports a specific set of operations:
Resource | Permissions |
---|---|
channels | read , write , get , manage , update , join , delete |
channelGroups | read , manage |
uuids | get , update , delete |
For permissions and API operations mapping, refer to Manage Permissions with Access Manager v3.
The ttl
(time to live) parameter defines how many minutes the permissions remain valid. After expiration, the client must get a new token to maintain access. ttl
is required for every grant call. There is no default value. The maximum value is 43,200 (30 days).
For more details, see TTL in Access Manager v3.
Use regular expression (RegEx) patterns to set permissions without listing each resource. Set RegEx permissions as patterns
before making a grant request.
For more details, see RegEx in Access Manager v3.
Setting an authorizedUUID
in the token specifies which client should use this token in every request to PubNub. If you do not set authorizedUUID
during the grant request, the token can be used by any client with any UUID. Restrict tokens to a single authorizedUUID
to prevent impersonation.
For more details, see Authorized UUID in Access Manager v3.
Method(s)
grantToken()
.ttl(Integer)
.meta(Object)
.authorizedUUID(String)
.channels(List<ChannelGrant>)
.channelGroups(List<ChannelGroupGrant>)
.uuids(List<UUIDGrant>)
Parameter | Description |
---|---|
ttl *Type: Number Default: n/a | Total number of minutes for which the token is valid.
|
meta Type: Object Default: n/a | Extra metadata to be published with the request. Values must be scalar only; arrays or objects are not supported. |
authorizedUUID Type: String Default: n/a | Single uuid which is authorized to use the token to make API requests to PubNub. |
channels Type: List Default: n/a | All channel grants provided either as a list or a RegEx pattern. |
channelGroups Type: List Default: n/a | All channel group grants provided either as a list or a RegEx pattern. |
uuids Type: List Default: n/a | All uuid grants provided either as a list or a RegEx pattern. |
Required key/value mappings
For a successful grant request, you must specify permissions for at least one uuid
, channel
, or channelGroup
, either as a resource list or as a pattern (RegEx).
Sample code
pubnub.grantToken()
.ttl(15)
.authorizedUUID("my-authorized-uuid")
.channels(Arrays.asList(ChannelGrant.name("my-channel").read()))
.async(new PNCallback<PNGrantTokenResult>() {
@Override
public void onResponse(@Nullable PNGrantTokenResult result, @NotNull PNStatus status) {
if (status.isError()) {
// Handle error
}
else {
// Handle result
}
}
});
Returns
{"token":"p0thisAkFl043rhDdHRsCkNyZXisRGNoYW6hanNlY3JldAFDZ3Jwsample3KgQ3NwY6BDcGF0pERjaGFuoENnctokenVzcqBDc3BjoERtZXRhoENzaWdYIGOAeTyWGJI"}
Other examples
Grant an authorized client different levels of access to various resources in a single call
The code below grants my-authorized-uuid
:
- Read access to
channel-a
,channel-group-b
, and get touuid-c
. - Read/write access to
channel-b
,channel-c
,channel-d
, and get/update touuid-d
.
pubnub.grantToken()
.ttl(15)
.authorizedUUID("my-authorized-uuid")
.channels(Arrays.asList(
ChannelGrant.name("channel-a").read(),
ChannelGrant.name("channel-b").read().write(),
ChannelGrant.name("channel-c").read().write(),
ChannelGrant.name("channel-d").read().write()))
.channelGroups(Collections.singletonList(
ChannelGroupGrant.id("channel-group-b").read()))
.uuids(Arrays.asList(
UUIDGrant.id("uuid-c").get(),
UUIDGrant.id("uuid-d").get().update()))
.async(new PNCallback<PNGrantTokenResult>() {
@Override
show all 24 linesGrant an authorized client read access to multiple channels using RegEx
The code below grants my-authorized-uuid
read access to all channels that match the channel-[A-Za-z0-9]
RegEx pattern.
pubnub.grantToken()
.ttl(15)
.authorizedUUID("my-authorized-uuid")
.channels(Collections.singletonList(
ChannelGrant.pattern("^channel-[A-Za-z0-9]*$").read()))
.async(new PNCallback<PNGrantTokenResult>() {
@Override
public void onResponse(@Nullable PNGrantTokenResult result, @NotNull PNStatus status) {
if (status.isError()) {
// Handle error
}
else {
// Handle result
}
}
show all 16 linesGrant an authorized client different levels of access to various resources and read access to channels using RegEx in a single call
The code below grants the my-authorized-uuid
:
- Read access to
channel-a
,channel-group-b
, and get touuid-c
. - Read/write access to
channel-b
,channel-c
,channel-d
, and get/update touuid-d
. - Read access to all channels that match the
channel-[A-Za-z0-9]
RegEx pattern.
pubnub.grantToken()
.ttl(15)
.authorizedUUID("my-authorized-uuid")
.channels(Arrays.asList(
ChannelGrant.name("channel-a").read(),
ChannelGrant.name("channel-b").read().write(),
ChannelGrant.name("channel-c").read().write(),
ChannelGrant.name("channel-d").read().write(),
ChannelGrant.pattern("^channel-[A-Za-z0-9]*$").read()))
.channelGroups(Collections.singletonList(
ChannelGroupGrant.id("channel-group-b").read()))
.uuids(Arrays.asList(
UUIDGrant.id("uuid-c").get(),
UUIDGrant.id("uuid-d").get().update()))
.async(new PNCallback<PNGrantTokenResult>() {
show all 25 linesError responses
If you submit an invalid request, the server returns HTTP 400 with a message that identifies the missing or incorrect argument. Causes can include a RegEx issue, an invalid timestamp, or incorrect permissions. The server returns the error details under the PubNubException
class.
Revoke token
Enable token revoke
This method requires that the Access Manager add-on is enabled for your key in the Admin Portal. Also, to revoke tokens, you must first enable this feature. To do that, navigate to your app's keyset and mark the Revoke v3 Token checkbox in the ACCESS MANAGER section.
The revokeToken()
method allows you to disable an existing token and revoke all permissions embedded within. You can only revoke a valid token previously obtained using the grantToken()
method.
Use this method for tokens with ttl
less than or equal to 30 days. If you need to revoke a token with a longer ttl
, contact support.
For more information, refer to Revoke permissions.
Method(s)
revokeToken()
.token(String token)
Parameter | Description |
---|---|
token *Type: String Default: n/a | Existing token with embedded permissions. |
Sample code
pubnub.revokeToken()
.token("p0thisAkFl043rhDdHRsCkNyZXisRGNoYW6hanNlY3JldAFDZ3Jwsample3KgQ3NwY6BDcGF0pERjaGFuoENnctokenVzcqBDc3BjoERtZXRhoENzaWdYIGOAeTyWGJI")
Returns
When the token revocation request is successful, this method returns a PNRevokeTokenResult
.
Error Responses
If you submit an invalid request, the server returns an error status code with a descriptive message informing which of the provided arguments is missing or incorrect. Depending on the root cause, this operation may return the following errors:
400 Bad Request
403 Forbidden
503 Service Unavailable
Parse token
The parseToken()
method decodes an existing token and returns the object containing permissions embedded in that token. The client can use this method for debugging to check the permissions to the resources or find out the token's ttl
details.
Method(s)
parseToken(String token)
Parameter | Description |
---|---|
token *Type: String Default: n/a | Current token with embedded permissions. |
Sample code
pubnub.parseToken("p0thisAkFl043rhDdHRsCkNyZXisRGNoYW6hanNlY3JldAFDZ3Jwsample3KgQ3NwY6BDcGF0pERjaGFuoENnctokenVzcqBDc3BjoERtZXRhoENzaWdYIGOAeTyWGJI")
Returns
{
"version":2,
"timestamp":1629394579,
"ttl":15,
"authorized_uuid": "user1",
"resources":{
"uuids":{
"user1":{
"read":false,
"write":false,
"manage":false,
"delete":false,
"get":true,
"update":true,
"join":false
show all 76 linesError Responses
If you receive an error while parsing the token, it may suggest that the token is damaged. In that case, request the server to issue a new one.
Set token
The setToken()
method is used by the client devices to update the authentication token granted by the server.
Method(s)
setToken(String token)
Parameter | Description |
---|---|
token *Type: String Default: n/a | Current token with embedded permissions. |
Sample code
pubnub.setToken("p0thisAkFl043rhDdHRsCkNyZXisRGNoYW6hanNlY3JldAFDZ3Jwsample3KgQ3NwY6BDcGF0pERjaGFuoENnctokenVzcqBDc3BjoERtZXRhoENzaWdYIGOAeTyWGJI")
Returns
This method doesn't return any response value.