Permission Actions
Permission actions are the fine-grained controls that determine what a member can do in Kazinex Workflows. Every UI button, API endpoint, and data write is gated by one or more permission actions.
There are 14 permission actions organised into four categories: Document, Workflow, Correspondence & Transmittal, and Admin.
How permission actions work
A member has a permission action if:
- Their org role grants it, OR
- Their project role grants it, OR
- A permission override explicitly grants it
See Permissions Overview for the full layering model.
Document permissions
view_documents
What it controls: Access to the Documents tab; viewing document records, metadata, and file previews.
| Role | Has by default |
|---|---|
| org_admin | Yes |
| org_manager | Yes |
| member | Yes (in assigned projects) |
| workflow_responder | No |
| project_admin | Yes |
| initiator | Yes |
| reviewer | Yes |
| viewer | Yes |
When to override: Grant to workflow_responder if they need to view the documents they are reviewing (most setups require this).
create_documents
What it controls: Creating new document records; uploading the first revision.
| Role | Has by default |
|---|---|
| project_admin | Yes |
| initiator | Yes |
| reviewer | No |
| viewer | No |
When to override: Grant to reviewer if they also act as document controllers on small projects. Restrict initiator to prevent document creation if uploading should be restricted to document controllers only.
edit_documents
What it controls: Editing document metadata (title, classification, status). Does not include uploading new revisions — that is controlled by upload_revisions.
| Role | Has by default |
|---|---|
| project_admin | Yes |
| initiator | Yes (own documents) |
| reviewer | No |
| viewer | No |
upload_revisions
What it controls: Uploading new file revisions to existing document records.
| Role | Has by default |
|---|---|
| project_admin | Yes |
| initiator | Yes |
| reviewer | No |
| viewer | No |
When to override: Grant to reviewer when reviewers are expected to upload marked-up files as part of their review response.
delete_documents
What it controls: Deleting document records. This is a destructive action — deleted documents and their revisions cannot be recovered.
| Role | Has by default |
|---|---|
| project_admin | Yes |
| initiator | No |
| reviewer | No |
| viewer | No |
When to override: Rarely needed. Grant only to document controllers on projects where test documents need regular cleanup.
Workflow permissions
create_workflows
What it controls: Starting new workflow instances from templates.
| Role | Has by default |
|---|---|
| project_admin | Yes |
| initiator | Yes |
| reviewer | No |
| viewer | No |
respond_to_workflows
What it controls: Completing workflow steps (approve, reject, review with comments, delegate, etc.). This is the core action for reviewers.
| Role | Has by default |
|---|---|
| project_admin | Yes |
| initiator | Yes |
| reviewer | Yes |
| viewer | No |
| workflow_responder | Yes (only for steps assigned to them) |
manage_workflows
What it controls: Administrative workflow actions — terminating instances, reassigning steps across users, cancelling in bulk.
| Role | Has by default |
|---|---|
| project_admin | Yes |
| initiator | No |
| reviewer | No |
| viewer | No |
When to override: Grant to senior initiators who need to terminate stale workflow instances without requiring project admin involvement.
Correspondence & Transmittal permissions
send_correspondence
What it controls: Creating and sending correspondence (RFI, NCR, TQ, etc.); composing replies.
| Role | Has by default |
|---|---|
| project_admin | Yes |
| initiator | Yes |
| reviewer | No |
| viewer | No |
When to override: Grant to reviewer when reviewers are expected to send RFIs directly to contractors.
issue_transmittals
What it controls: Creating and issuing transmittals to recipients.
| Role | Has by default |
|---|---|
| project_admin | Yes |
| initiator | Yes |
| reviewer | No |
| viewer | No |
view_reports
What it controls: Accessing the Reports tab; viewing and creating saved reports; exporting report data to Excel.
| Role | Has by default |
|---|---|
| project_admin | Yes |
| initiator | Yes |
| reviewer | Yes |
| viewer | No |
When to override: Grant to viewer if clients or external observers need to see project health reports. Restrict from reviewer if report data is commercially sensitive.
Admin permissions
manage_project_settings
What it controls: Editing project settings — name, metadata fields, numbering schemes, review matrix rules, access control groups, distribution lists.
| Role | Has by default |
|---|---|
| project_admin | Yes |
| org_admin | Yes |
| org_manager | Yes |
| initiator | No |
| reviewer | No |
| viewer | No |
manage_team
What it controls: Inviting members to the project, changing project roles, removing members.
| Role | Has by default |
|---|---|
| project_admin | Yes |
| org_admin | Yes |
view_audit_log
What it controls: Accessing the Audit Log and Activity Log for documents, workflows, and correspondence.
| Role | Has by default |
|---|---|
| project_admin | Yes |
| org_admin | Yes |
| initiator | Yes (own items) |
| reviewer | No |
| viewer | No |
When to override: Grant to reviewer when the project requires peer review of audit records for quality assurance.
Permission actions quick reference
| Action | project_admin | initiator | reviewer | viewer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
view_documents | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
create_documents | ✓ | ✓ | — | — |
edit_documents | ✓ | ✓ | — | — |
upload_revisions | ✓ | ✓ | — | — |
delete_documents | ✓ | — | — | — |
create_workflows | ✓ | ✓ | — | — |
respond_to_workflows | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — |
manage_workflows | ✓ | — | — | — |
send_correspondence | ✓ | ✓ | — | — |
issue_transmittals | ✓ | ✓ | — | — |
view_reports | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — |
manage_project_settings | ✓ | — | — | — |
manage_team | ✓ | — | — | — |
view_audit_log | ✓ | ✓* | — | — |
*Initiators can view audit logs for items they created.
For org-role permissions see Organization Roles.
For the full matrix including org roles, see Permission Actions Matrix.
What's next
- Permission Overrides — granting or restricting actions beyond the default role
- Permissions Best Practices — common patterns and security guidance
- Permission Actions Matrix — full role × action grid including org roles