> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.spice.ai/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.spice.ai/docs/enterprise/features/policy.md).

# Authorization Policy

Spice.ai Enterprise enforces fine-grained authorization using [Cedar](https://www.cedarpolicy.com/), the open-source policy language developed by AWS. Policies decide, on every request, whether an authenticated principal may perform a given action on a Spice resource.

{% hint style="info" %}
Cedar-based authorization policy is a **Spice.ai Enterprise** feature. It is layered on top of [Authentication](/docs/enterprise/features/authentication.md) — authentication establishes *who* the principal is; policy decides *what* they can do.
{% endhint %}

## Authorization Model

Policy evaluation is the standard Cedar `(principal, action, resource, context)` decision. Spice.ai supplies an embedded Cedar schema that defines the entity types, actions, and attributes available in policies.

### Entity types

| Entity            | Description                                                                                                                                                               | Notable attributes  |
| ----------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------- |
| `Spice::User`     | An authenticated principal (OIDC subject, API key identity, …). `in [Role]`                                                                                               | `org_id`            |
| `Spice::Role`     | A role the user belongs to. For OIDC principals, sourced from the configured role/group claims; for API-key principals, the key's `read` or `read_write` permission level | —                   |
| `Spice::Dataset`  | A registered dataset (table) in the runtime                                                                                                                               | `catalog`, `schema` |
| `Spice::Model`    | An LLM model available for inference                                                                                                                                      | —                   |
| `Spice::Tool`     | A tool (built-in or MCP) available for execution                                                                                                                          | —                   |
| `Spice::Endpoint` | An API endpoint category (e.g. `chat`, `search`, `sql`)                                                                                                                   | —                   |

### Actions

| Action                     | Applies to        | Description                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |
| -------------------------- | ----------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| `Spice::Action::"query"`   | `Spice::Dataset`  | `SELECT` / scan of a dataset.                                                                                                                                                                                                  |
| `Spice::Action::"read"`    | `Spice::Dataset`  | Reading a dataset's contents. Carries the fine-grained **row filter** and **column mask** annotations (see [Row Filters and Column Masks](#row-filters-and-column-masks)). A `read` permit also implicitly authorizes `query`. |
| `Spice::Action::"insert"`  | `Spice::Dataset`  | `INSERT` write path.                                                                                                                                                                                                           |
| `Spice::Action::"update"`  | `Spice::Dataset`  | `UPDATE` write path.                                                                                                                                                                                                           |
| `Spice::Action::"delete"`  | `Spice::Dataset`  | `DELETE` write path.                                                                                                                                                                                                           |
| `Spice::Action::"ddl"`     | `Spice::Dataset`  | DDL operations on a dataset.                                                                                                                                                                                                   |
| `Spice::Action::"invoke"`  | `Spice::Model`    | Inference / chat completion.                                                                                                                                                                                                   |
| `Spice::Action::"execute"` | `Spice::Tool`     | Tool invocation (built-in or MCP).                                                                                                                                                                                             |
| `Spice::Action::"access"`  | `Spice::Endpoint` | Reaching an endpoint category.                                                                                                                                                                                                 |

The Cedar schema is fixed by the runtime; policies reference these types and actions directly.

## Configuration

Policies are configured under `runtime.authorization` in `spicepod.yaml`. Authentication must be configured separately under `runtime.auth` — see [Authentication](/docs/enterprise/features/authentication.md).

```yaml
runtime:
  auth:
    oidc:
      issuer_url: https://auth.example.com/
      audience:
        - spice-runtime

  authorization:
    enabled: true              # default: true
    default: allow             # allow | deny  — decision when no policy matches
    provider: local            # local | operator | cloud
    policies:
      - name: analysts-read-only
        cedar: |
          permit(
            principal in Spice::Role::"analyst",
            action == Spice::Action::"query",
            resource
          );
      - name: block-pii
        path: ./policies/block-pii.cedar
```

### `runtime.authorization` fields

| Field      | Type                                            | Default | Description                                                                                                                             |
| ---------- | ----------------------------------------------- | ------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `enabled`  | bool                                            | `true`  | Toggles policy evaluation.                                                                                                              |
| `default`  | `allow` \| `deny`                               | `allow` | Decision when no policy matches. Set to `deny` for production deny-by-default deployments.                                              |
| `provider` | `local` \| `operator` \| `cloud`                | `local` | Source of policies. `local` reads inline / file; `operator` polls the Spice K8s Operator; `cloud` polls the Spice Cloud Management API. |
| `policies` | list of [`PolicyDefinition`](#policydefinition) | `[]`    | Policy entries (used with `provider: local`).                                                                                           |
| `operator` | object                                          | —       | Operator provider config. Fields: `endpoint`, `poll_interval` (default `30s`).                                                          |
| `cloud`    | object                                          | —       | Cloud provider config. Fields: `poll_interval` (default `60s`).                                                                         |

#### PolicyDefinition

| Field   | Type   | Description                                                                                      |
| ------- | ------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| `name`  | string | Human-readable identifier used in logs and decision diagnostics.                                 |
| `cedar` | string | Inline Cedar policy text. Mutually compatible with `path`; both may be used together.            |
| `path`  | string | Path to a `.cedar` file, resolved relative to `spicepod.yaml`. Mutually compatible with `cedar`. |

## Policy Examples

### Default-deny baseline

```yaml
runtime:
  authorization:
    default: deny
    policies:
      - name: admins-everything
        cedar: |
          permit(
            principal in Spice::Role::"admin",
            action,
            resource
          );
```

### Read-only analysts

```cedar
permit(
  principal in Spice::Role::"analyst",
  action == Spice::Action::"query",
  resource
);

forbid(
  principal in Spice::Role::"analyst",
  action in [
    Spice::Action::"insert",
    Spice::Action::"update",
    Spice::Action::"delete",
    Spice::Action::"ddl"
  ],
  resource
);
```

### Restrict a dataset to a single role

```cedar
forbid(
  principal,
  action,
  resource == Spice::Dataset::"sales.public.orders"
)
unless { principal in Spice::Role::"sales-ops" };
```

### Block a PII schema from non-privileged roles

To mask individual columns rather than block access entirely, use [column masks](#row-filters-and-column-masks).

```cedar
forbid(
  principal,
  action == Spice::Action::"query",
  resource
)
when {
  resource.catalog == "customers" &&
  resource.schema == "pii" &&
  !(principal in Spice::Role::"compliance")
};
```

### Limit model invocation to a paid tier

```cedar
permit(
  principal in Spice::Role::"premium",
  action == Spice::Action::"invoke",
  resource == Spice::Model::"gpt-4o"
);
```

### Endpoint-level access (e.g. lock down `/v1/sql`)

```cedar
forbid(
  principal,
  action == Spice::Action::"access",
  resource == Spice::Endpoint::"sql"
)
unless { principal in Spice::Role::"engineer" };
```

## Policy Providers

| Provider   | Use case                                                    | Reload                                                                      |
| ---------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `local`    | Inline Cedar text and/or `.cedar` files in the spicepod.    | Reloaded on Spicepod restart or operator-driven config rollout.             |
| `operator` | Centralized policy distribution via the Spice K8s Operator. | Polled at `poll_interval` (default `30s`); engine atomically swaps the set. |
| `cloud`    | Centralized policy distribution via Spice Cloud.            | Polled at `poll_interval` (default `60s`); engine atomically swaps the set. |

Policy reloads are **atomic**: in-flight requests complete against the previous policy set, and subsequent requests evaluate against the new set. Empty policy fetches do not silently disable enforcement — combined with `default: deny`, an empty set denies everything.

## Row Filters and Column Masks

Beyond coarse allow/deny, policies enforce **fine-grained access** — row-level filtering and column-level masking — on the `read` action. The runtime compiles these from Cedar **policy annotations** into SQL that is applied to the table scan, so filtered rows and masked values are never materialized for the request: they are enforced before any downstream operator (or the client) observes them.

Annotations attach to a `permit` policy for `Spice::Action::"read"`. A `read` permit also implicitly authorizes `query`, so a single `read` policy can grant masked, row-filtered access in one rule.

### Annotations

| Annotation                             | Effect                                                                                                                                      |
| -------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `@row_filter("<sql predicate>")`       | Adds a SQL boolean predicate as a row filter. May be repeated with a suffix (e.g. `@row_filter_region`); multiple filters are AND-combined. |
| `@mask_<column>("<sql expr>")`         | Replaces `<column>` with the SQL scalar expression.                                                                                         |
| `@column_mask_<column>("<sql expr>")`  | Equivalent to `@mask_<column>`.                                                                                                             |
| `@column_mask("<column>=<sql expr>")`  | Equivalent, with the column named in the annotation value.                                                                                  |
| `@mask_tag_<tag>("<sql expr>")`        | Replaces every column carrying `<tag>` (see [Tagging columns](#tagging-columns)).                                                           |
| `@column_mask_tag("<tag>=<sql expr>")` | Equivalent, with the tag named in the annotation value.                                                                                     |
| `@target_table("<dataset>")`           | Scopes the annotations to a single dataset when the policy matches more than one.                                                           |

Row filters and mask expressions are evaluated with the request's identity, so they can reference the [identity SQL functions](/docs/enterprise/features/authentication.md#identity-sql-functions) (`current_user_id()`, `current_org_id()`, `current_user_has_role('...')`) for per-user or per-tenant access.

### Example

```cedar
// Physicians: full access to patients in their own organization.
@id("physician_read")
@row_filter("org = current_org_id()")
permit(
  principal in Spice::Role::"physician",
  action == Spice::Action::"read",
  resource == Spice::Dataset::"patients"
);

// Analysts: same org scoping, but SSN and any PHI-tagged column are masked.
@id("analyst_read")
@row_filter("org = current_org_id()")
@mask_ssn("'XXX-XX-XXXX'")
@mask_tag_phi("'REDACTED'")
permit(
  principal in Spice::Role::"analyst",
  action == Spice::Action::"read",
  resource == Spice::Dataset::"patients"
);
```

With these policies, an analyst running `SELECT * FROM patients` sees only their organization's rows with `ssn` and any PHI-tagged column replaced, while a physician sees their organization's rows unmasked — from the same query.

### Tagging columns

Tag-based masks (`@mask_tag_*` / `@column_mask_tag`) target columns by the dataset's column metadata:

```yaml
datasets:
  - from: postgres:patients
    name: patients
    columns:
      - name: diagnosis
        metadata:
          tags:
            - phi
```

### Rules

* Fine-grained annotations are honored only on `permit` policies. Attaching one to a `forbid` is a load-time error.
* A row filter must evaluate to a Boolean; a column mask expression must return the column's data type. Type mismatches **fail closed** — the query errors rather than returning unmasked data.
* If two matching policies define conflicting masks for the same column or tag, policy load fails.
* To deny access outright, use a `forbid` on `read`/`query` rather than a mask.

{% hint style="info" %}
The [identity SQL functions](/docs/enterprise/features/authentication.md#identity-sql-functions) are also available directly in dataset views and ad-hoc `WHERE` clauses for row-level logic outside of policy enforcement.
{% endhint %}

## Distributed Cluster Behavior

In a [`SpicepodCluster`](/docs/enterprise/kubernetes-operator/spicepodcluster.md), the scheduler is the source of truth for policy. Executors pull policy as part of the `GetAppDefinition` bootstrap RPC and re-evaluate when policy changes are pushed; the same Cedar decision applies regardless of which scheduler routes a request. Policy diagnostics (matched policy IDs, decision) are emitted as structured logs and surface in `runtime.task_history`.

## Production Checklist

* [ ] `runtime.authorization.enabled: true` and `default: deny` for production deployments.
* [ ] Roles are sourced from a trusted identity provider (OIDC groups or API key tags) — see [Authentication](/docs/enterprise/features/authentication.md).
* [ ] Policy files are stored in Git and rolled out via GitOps (Argo CD / Flux) rather than ad-hoc edits on the cluster.
* [ ] An "admin escape hatch" `permit` rule exists and is restricted to a small `Spice::Role::"admin"` group with audited membership.
* [ ] Policy decision logs are forwarded to the SIEM together with authentication logs.
* [ ] Cedar policies are validated in CI with `cedar validate` against the embedded Spice schema before merge.

## See also

* [Authentication](/docs/enterprise/features/authentication.md)
* [Security](/docs/enterprise/production/security.md)
* [Distributed Query](/docs/enterprise/features/distributed-query.md)
* [Cedar policy language reference](https://docs.cedarpolicy.com/)


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