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ADR-0012: Permission-Based Authorization and System Bootstrap
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Architecture
1. Introduction and Goals
2. Architecture Constraints
3. Context and Scope
4. Solution Strategy
5. Building Block View
6. Runtime View
7. Deployment View
8. Crosscutting Concepts
9. Architecture Decisions
10. Quality Requirements
11. Risks and Technical Debt
12. Glossary
The arrival bundle format
Decisions (ADRs)
Decisions (ADRs)
ADR-0001: Content-Addressed Document Storage with PostgreSQL as Source of Truth
ADR-0002: Single Instance with Scope Hierarchy and Copy-on-Derive
ADR-0003: Fixed Life Cycle States with Configurable Review Processes
ADR-0004: Global Catalogs for Roles and Document Types with Per-Scope Activation
ADR-0005: Modular Monolith
ADR-0006: Three-Layer Search with In-Database Index and Pluggable LLM
ADR-0007: Angular Frontend with Server-Side-Only Enforcement
ADR-0008: Flyway Migrations and jOOQ Codegen from the Migrated Schema
ADR-0009: RLS Enforcement via a Session-Scoped Authorized Scope Set
ADR-0010: Self-Managed QMS via an Internal Mandator
ADR-0011: Authentication via OIDC SSO with Server-Side (BFF) Sessions
ADR-0012: Permission-Based Authorization and System Bootstrap
ADR-0012: Permission-Based Authorization and System Bootstrap
Table of contents
Context
Decision
Options Considered
Consequences
Requirements
ADR-0013: User Identity Lifecycle
ADR-0014: Electronic Signatures (Part 11 / Annex 11-Capable)
ADR-0015: Document Effectivity, Periodic Review & Validity
ADR-0016: Data Retention, Disposal & Privacy (FADP / GDPR)
ADR-0017: Multi-Part Version Content
ADR-0018: Non-Functional Targets (Capacity, Availability, Security)
ADR-0019: Notifications & Tasks
ADR-0020: Internationalization (Content Language, Time Zones, Formatting)
ADR-0021: General Typed Document Relationships
ADR-0022: Read-Acknowledgement & Questionnaires
ADR-0023: Migration / Import — Current Released State
ADR-0024: Draft / In-Review Cancellation
ADR-0025: Disposal & Erasure Mechanics (Storage, Index, Backups)
ADR-0026: RLS Runtime Safety — Connection-Pool Scope Isolation
ADR-0027: RLS Boundary — Content-Plane vs Control-Plane
ADR-0028: Stateless Encrypted Token-State Cookie (no server-side session store)
ADR-0029: Document Content Model — Draft-Freeze, Content-Table RLS, Append-Only Audit
ADR-0030: Review & Life-Cycle Realization Model
ADR-0031: Released-base readability enforcement & copy-on-derive mechanics
ADR-0032: Frontend realization — Quinoa, Angular Material, i18n & E2E
ADR-0033: CSRF control for the BFF session — SameSite + JSON content-type
ADR-0034: Notification realization — in-process domain events + system-context fan-out
ADR-0035: Fan-out contract as shipped — gate semantics, count disclosure, audit protocol
ADR-0036: Repository layer — services carry rules, repositories carry jOOQ
ADR-0037: Task scheduler — in-process tick, advisory-lock election, SQL sweep
ADR-0038: Periodic-review realization — derived due date, policy-gated confirmation
ADR-0039: Sweep & periodic-review contract as shipped — grants, guards, addressing
ADR-0040: Disposal-due surfacing — closure-anchored retention, scope-level legal hold
ADR-0041: Email channel & notification i18n — notification-as-outbox, structured messages
ADR-0042: Disposal execution — document tombstoning, single-actor hard-gated destruction
ADR-0043: Disposal blob deletion is post-commit, GC-backstopped
ADR-0044: Search FTS baseline — event-indexed, RLS-scoped search_index
ADR-0045: Image Attachments as Content Parts (Rich-Content Slice R2)
ADR-0046: Four-Eyes — Submitter Excluded from Approval
ADR-0047: Four-Eyes — Submitter-Only Exclusion
ADR-0048: Document Organization — Folder Tree per Scope
ADR-0049: Content Model Round 2 — Type Categories, Template Instantiation, Trace Relations, Completeness Rules
ADR-0050: Live Frontend — SSE State Push, CodeMirror 6, Draft Presence
ADR-0051: In-Text Document Links (doc: Scheme)
ADR-0052: Addressees & Read-Acknowledgement (REQ-TRN Realization)
ADR-0053: Addressees Per Document + Process Owner (amends ADR-0052 K-1)
ADR-0054: Process Owner Is a Role (amends ADR-0053 P-3)
ADR-0055: WYSIWYG Editing Mode over Markdown (editor step R4)
ADR-0056: Visual-Editor Chrome via Milkdown Crepe (gated adoption)
ADR-0057: Content Record Is the ProseMirror Document Tree; Markdown Becomes a Derived Projection
ADR-0058: PM_DOC Is the Only Content Format (pre-production cut; amends ADR-0057 §5)
ADR-0059: Editor Engine Switches to TipTap (spike-gated; supersedes the Milkdown/Crepe choice)
ADR-0060: Backup & Restore — Scripted Ordered Backup with Automated Restore Rehearsal
ADR-0061: CSV — Generated Validation Package per Release
ADR-0062: SBOM — CycloneDX over the Production Layers, Validated Against the Artifact
ADR-0063: User Identity Binds on Subject Only (Issuer Becomes Provenance)
ADR-0064: Per-Document Workflow Role Bindings (Author / Reviewer / Releaser), Enforced
ADR-0065: Diagrams — Excalidraw as the Manual Layer, Mermaid Stays for Text-First/UML
ADR-0066: WITHDRAW — the Author Side May Reclaim a Version from Review
ADR-0067: Review Comments — Anchored, Immutable, Resolvable
ADR-0068: Confluence/Jira QMS Import — Staged, Read-Only, Repeatable
ADR-0069: Arbitrary File Attachments — Download-Only Confinement
ADR-0070: Training Questionnaires — Versioned, Auto-Scored, Release-Gated
ADR-0071: Training Plans — Document Obligations + External Trainings & Certifications
ADR-0072: Diagrams — Self-Hosted draw.io Replaces Excalidraw
ADR-0073: Per-Scope QMS Configuration Surface
ADR-0074: PDF Export of Released Documents — Server-Side via Apache FOP over the Canonical Projection
ADR-0075: Source History Import — Continuity Without Forged Audit
ADR-0076: Periodic-review status visibility (completing MVP gap #2)
ADR-0077: Requirement Items — Keyed Blocks Inside Controlled Documents
ADR-0078: Generalized Trace Items (Traceability Model — Stage A)
ADR-0079: Risk & Risk-Control Items (Traceability Model — Stage B)
ADR-0080: Traceability Workspace — Hub, Sub-Pages, and Role-Gated Views
ADR-0081: Draft-Only Trace-Structure Changes, Server-Enforced
ADR-0082: Table-Shaped Risk Authoring over Risk Blocks
ADR-0083: The TD Dossier — a Versioned, Cross-Scope, Regulatory-Structured Deliverable
ADR-0084: Validation & Regulatory Axes (Traceability Model — Stage C)
ADR-0085: Relation-Layer Consolidation — One Trace Vocabulary, One Surface
ADR-0086: Requirement Traceability Chains — End-to-End Path View + Flat Path Export
ADR-0087: The Scope Traceability Report — One Derived Overview Artifact, Never a Controlled Document
ADR-0088: Verification Evidence Classes — Planned vs. Verified, Derived at the Read Layer
ADR-0089: Recurring Obligations — Periodic Tasks With Record Evidence, Not Calendar Series
ADR-0090: Release & Versioning Policy — Deliberate Releases, One Auditor-Facing Number
ADR-0091: Release Modes — Single-Person Record Release With a Structural Four-Eyes Floor
ADR-0092: Orphan-Blob Garbage Collection With a Quarantine Bin
ADR-0093: One Scope Context — the Toolbar Switcher Is the Only Scope Selector
ADR-0094: Calendar-Anchored Obligation Schedules (Clamped, Never Too Late)
ADR-0095: Key-Rule Governance — Free Until First Use, Then Frozen
ADR-0096: Transition Permissions — Always Visible, Deny Unless Granted
ADR-0097: A Governed Provisioning Surface — MANAGE_SCOPES
ADR-0098: Org Chart × Role System — Marriage at the Evidence Level, Never in Authorization
ADR-0099: The User Manual is an In-App Topic Reference, Not a Document
ADR-0100: LQMS Is the Living Quality Management System
ADR-0101: The Executable Validation Journey (PQ Evidence That Cannot Drift)
ADR-0102: Typed Template Variables (text | date | number — and Deliberately No Enum)
ADR-0103: npm audit Joins the Verification Gate as a Second Standing Input
ADR-0104: The Issued Dossier Is a Persisted Artifact of Record — and Clones to a New Draft
ADR-0105: Navigation Information Architecture — Group by Moment-of-Use
ADR-0106: The Client Reflection Follows Assignments, Not Only Content Reach
ADR-0107: The Audit Append Gate Follows Assignment Reach, Not Content Reach
ADR-0108: Mandator Membership — Invite-Accept, with Pre-Assigned Responsibilities
ADR-0109: Organization Founding Is Its Own Process
ADR-0110: The Audit Trail Is Not a Read Model
ADR-0111: The Imported-Person Model, and Project Portability's First Doctrines
ADR-0112: The Element-Kind Catalog — Semantics in the Model, Not Only in the Code
ADR-0113: Project Arrival Import — Records Arrive as They Are, People Arrive as They Were
ADR-0114: The Operating Model Arrives — Roles as Functions, Names as Words, People as This Instance's Decision
ADR-0115: Collaborative Draft Editing — Two Carets, One Truth, Honest Credit
ADR-0116: The System Maintenance Surface — the App Backs Itself Up, the Host Keeps One Dumb Job
ADR-0117: Role Documentation — a Link, a Finding, Per-Source Recognizers; Substitution Rejected
ADR-0118: The Offline QMS Copy — the Repo Carries the Audit Pack, Not a Second Renderer
ADR-0119: Module-Internal Package Structure — Capabilities First, Layers Second, the Root Is the Surface
ADR-0120: The Shared Kernel — the Domain-Exception Vocabulary Leaves the Authorization Module
ADR-0121: The Project Administrator Role — Per-Scope Administration With Read Access, Seeded in the Base Catalog
ADR-0122: Organization-Level Administration — the Cascade Stays, Becomes Visible, and Founds Projects
ADR-0123: Draft Save-Points — Every Save Restorable, Kept for the Life of the Version
ADR-0124: The Birth Path Completes Without Borrowing Content Clothes
ADR-0125: The Export Twin — Export Emits an Arrival Bundle
ADR-0126: Project Dissolution — the Un-Birth of an Unused Scope
ADR-0127: The Base-QMS Layers — One Library, Derived Adaptations, Local Records
ADR-0128: The GLOBAL Cascade Carries Administration, Never Content
ADR-0129: Role Identity from a GLOBAL Assignment Acts in GLOBAL Alone
ADR-0130: Break-Glass — the Project Administrator's Escalation Is a First-Class, Witnessed, Self-Expiring Act
ADR-0131: Role Substitution as Declared Adoption Edges — Emergency Cover Is Governed, Own-Name, Timed Staffing
ADR-0132: Dual-Hat Reviewer Satisfaction Is a Declared Policy Choice — the Strict Floor Stays the Default
ADR-NNNN:
</span> </a> </li> </ul> </nav> </li> <li class="md-nav__item md-nav__item--nested"> <input class="md-nav__toggle md-toggle " type="checkbox" id="__nav_5" > <div class="md-nav__link md-nav__container"> <a href="../../requirements/" class="md-nav__link "> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Requirements </span> </a> <label class="md-nav__link " for="__nav_5" id="__nav_5_label" tabindex="0"> <span class="md-nav__icon md-icon"></span> </label> </div> <nav class="md-nav" data-md-level="1" aria-labelledby="__nav_5_label" aria-expanded="false"> <label class="md-nav__title" for="__nav_5"> <span class="md-nav__icon md-icon"></span> Requirements </label> <ul class="md-nav__list" data-md-scrollfix> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../requirements/stakeholder_requirements/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Stakeholder Requirements </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../requirements/gap-analysis/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Requirements Gap Analysis </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../requirements/req_admin/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Software Requirements: Administration, Permissions & Onboarding </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../requirements/req_api_ui/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Software Requirements: API & User Interface </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../requirements/req_audit_reporting/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Software Requirements: Audit Trail & Regulatory Reporting </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../requirements/req_auth/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Software Requirements: Authentication & Session </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../requirements/req_backup/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Software Requirements: Backup & Restore </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../requirements/req_catalogs/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Software Requirements: Catalogs, Roles & Users </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../requirements/req_data_protection/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Software Requirements: Data Protection, Retention & Disposal </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../requirements/req_documents/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Software Requirements: Documents, Versions & Storage </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../requirements/req_dossiers/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Software Requirements: Technical Documentation Dossiers </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../requirements/req_effectivity/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Software Requirements: Effectivity, Periodic Review & Validity </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../requirements/req_gspr/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Software Requirements: Regulatory Conformity (GSPR / Essential Principles) </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../requirements/req_i18n/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Software Requirements: Internationalization </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../requirements/req_lifecycle/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Software Requirements: Life Cycle & Reviews </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../requirements/req_memberships/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Software Requirements: Mandator Membership & Invitations </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../requirements/req_migration/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Software Requirements: Migration & Import </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../requirements/req_nfr/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Software Requirements: Non-Functional </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../requirements/req_notifications/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Software Requirements: Notifications & Tasks </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../requirements/req_obligations/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Software Requirements: Recurring Obligations </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../requirements/req_relationships/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Software Requirements: Document Relationships </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../requirements/req_risk/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Software Requirements: Risk Management (ISO 14971 Hazards & Controls) </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../requirements/req_sbom/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Software Requirements: Software Bill of Materials & Supply-Chain Assurance </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../requirements/req_search/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Software Requirements: Search </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../requirements/req_separation/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Software Requirements: Scopes, Mandators & Separation </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../requirements/req_signatures/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Software Requirements: Electronic Signatures </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../requirements/req_training/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Software Requirements: Read-Acknowledgement & Questionnaires </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../requirements/req_users/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Software Requirements: User Identity & Lifecycle </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../requirements/req_validation/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Software Requirements: Design Validation & the Validation Traceability Axis </span> </a> </li> </ul> </nav> </li> <li class="md-nav__item md-nav__item--nested"> <input class="md-nav__toggle md-toggle " type="checkbox" id="__nav_6" > <div class="md-nav__link md-nav__container"> <a href="../../process/" class="md-nav__link "> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Process (IEC 62304) </span> </a> <label class="md-nav__link " for="__nav_6" id="__nav_6_label" tabindex="0"> <span class="md-nav__icon md-icon"></span> </label> </div> <nav class="md-nav" data-md-level="1" aria-labelledby="__nav_6_label" aria-expanded="false"> <label class="md-nav__title" for="__nav_6"> <span class="md-nav__icon md-icon"></span> Process (IEC 62304) </label> <ul class="md-nav__list" data-md-scrollfix> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../process/configuration_management_plan/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Configuration Management Plan </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../process/problem_resolution/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Problem Resolution Process </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../process/risk_management/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Risk Management </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../process/software_development_plan/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Software Development Plan </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../process/verification_plan/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Verification Plan </span> </a> </li> </ul> </nav> </li> <li class="md-nav__item md-nav__item--nested"> <input class="md-nav__toggle md-toggle " type="checkbox" id="__nav_7" > <label class="md-nav__link" for="__nav_7" id="__nav_7_label" tabindex="0"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Operations </span> <span class="md-nav__icon md-icon"></span> </label> <nav class="md-nav" data-md-level="1" aria-labelledby="__nav_7_label" aria-expanded="false"> <label class="md-nav__title" for="__nav_7"> <span class="md-nav__icon md-icon"></span> Operations </label> <ul class="md-nav__list" data-md-scrollfix> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../operations/genesis-installation/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Genesis: Birthing an LQMS Installation with a Base Library </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../operations/deployment/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> LQMS Deployment Guide </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../operations/server-deployment/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> LQMS Server Deployment (single Linux host, public HTTPS) </span> </a> </li> </ul> </nav> </li> <li class="md-nav__item md-nav__item--nested"> <input class="md-nav__toggle md-toggle " type="checkbox" id="__nav_8" > <div class="md-nav__link md-nav__container"> <a href="../../traceability/" class="md-nav__link "> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Traceability </span> </a> <label class="md-nav__link " for="__nav_8" id="__nav_8_label" tabindex="0"> <span class="md-nav__icon md-icon"></span> </label> </div> <nav class="md-nav" data-md-level="1" aria-labelledby="__nav_8_label" aria-expanded="false"> <label class="md-nav__title" for="__nav_8"> <span class="md-nav__icon md-icon"></span> Traceability </label> <ul class="md-nav__list" data-md-scrollfix> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../traceability/matrix/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Requirements Traceability Matrix </span> </a> </li> </ul> </nav> </li> <li class="md-nav__item md-nav__item--nested"> <input class="md-nav__toggle md-toggle " type="checkbox" id="__nav_9" > <div class="md-nav__link md-nav__container"> <a href="../../validation/" class="md-nav__link "> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Validation (tool lane) </span> </a> <label class="md-nav__link " for="__nav_9" id="__nav_9_label" tabindex="0"> <span class="md-nav__icon md-icon"></span> </label> </div> <nav class="md-nav" data-md-level="1" aria-labelledby="__nav_9_label" aria-expanded="false"> <label class="md-nav__title" for="__nav_9"> <span class="md-nav__icon md-icon"></span> Validation (tool lane) </label> <ul class="md-nav__list" data-md-scrollfix> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../validation/templates/ai-authorship-posture/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> AI-Authorship Posture — How LQMS Is Built, and Why the Validation Evidence Does Not Rest on It (TEMPLATE) </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../validation/templates/intended-use/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Intended-Use Specification — LQMS as a QMS / Document-Control Tool (TEMPLATE) </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../validation/templates/tool-risk-assessment/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Tool-Risk Assessment — LQMS as a QMS Tool (TEMPLATE) </span> </a> </li> </ul> </nav> </li> <li class="md-nav__item md-nav__item--nested"> <input class="md-nav__toggle md-toggle " type="checkbox" id="__nav_10" > <label class="md-nav__link" for="__nav_10" id="__nav_10_label" tabindex="0"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Regulatory </span> <span class="md-nav__icon md-icon"></span> </label> <nav class="md-nav" data-md-level="1" aria-labelledby="__nav_10_label" aria-expanded="false"> <label class="md-nav__title" for="__nav_10"> <span class="md-nav__icon md-icon"></span> Regulatory </label> <ul class="md-nav__list" data-md-scrollfix> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="../../regulatory/mdr-annex-i-skeleton/" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> MDR Annex I — GSPR authoring skeleton (paraphrased) </span> </a> </li> </ul> </nav> </li> <li class="md-nav__item md-nav__item--nested"> <input class="md-nav__toggle md-toggle " type="checkbox" id="__nav_11" > <div class="md-nav__link md-nav__container"> <a 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class="md-ellipsis"> Decision </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="#options-considered" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Options Considered </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="#consequences" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Consequences </span> </a> </li> <li class="md-nav__item"> <a href="#requirements" class="md-nav__link"> <span class="md-ellipsis"> Requirements </span> </a> </li> </ul> </nav> </div> </div> </div> <div class="md-content" data-md-component="content"> <article class="md-content__inner md-typeset"> <a href="https://github.com/nburri/lqms/edit/main/docs/decisions/adr-0012-authorization-and-bootstrap.md" title="Edit this page" class="md-content__button md-icon"> <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><path d="M10 20H6V4h7v5h5v3.1l2-2V8l-6-6H6c-1.1 0-2 .9-2 2v16c0 1.1.9 2 2 2h4zm10.2-7c.1 0 .3.1.4.2l1.3 1.3c.2.2.2.6 0 .8l-1 1-2.1-2.1 1-1c.1-.1.2-.2.4-.2m0 3.9L14.1 23H12v-2.1l6.1-6.1z"/></svg> </a> <h1 id="adr-0012-permission-based-authorization-and-system-bootstrap">ADR-0012: Permission-Based Authorization and System Bootstrap<a class="headerlink" href="#adr-0012-permission-based-authorization-and-system-bootstrap" title="Permanent link">¶</a></h1> <ul> <li><strong>Status:</strong> accepted</li> <li><strong>Date:</strong> 2026-06-17</li> <li><strong>Deciders:</strong> Nicolas Burri</li> <li><strong>Relates to:</strong> <a href="../adr-0002-single-instance-scope-hierarchy/">ADR-0002</a>, <a href="../adr-0003-fixed-lifecycle-configurable-reviews/">ADR-0003</a>, <a href="../adr-0004-global-catalogs-with-scope-activation/">ADR-0004</a>, <a href="../adr-0010-self-managed-qms-internal-mandator/">ADR-0010</a>, <a href="../adr-0011-authentication-oidc-bff/">ADR-0011</a>; GAP-03</li> <li><strong>Refined by:</strong> <a href="../adr-0027-rls-content-vs-control-plane/">ADR-0027</a> (scope/mandator/catalogs/authz are control-plane, permission-governed, not under content RLS), <a href="../adr-0121-project-administrator-role/">ADR-0121</a> (admin ≠ content: the recorded, narrow deviation at project level), <a href="../adr-0128-global-cascade-classification/">ADR-0128</a> (the GLOBAL cascade narrowed to ADMINISTRATIVE-class permissions), <a href="../adr-0129-global-role-identity/">ADR-0129</a> (role identity from a GLOBAL assignment acts in GLOBAL alone)</li> </ul> <h2 id="context">Context<a class="headerlink" href="#context" title="Permanent link">¶</a></h2> <p>Authentication is decided (ADR-0011), and review policies govern document life-cycle transitions (ADR-0003). What is undefined is <strong>functional and administrative authorization</strong>: who may create a scope, manage the catalog, assign roles, configure a review policy (REQ-CAT-001's "authorized users" hole). A fresh installation also has a chicken-and-egg bootstrap problem (assigning roles needs an admin, but none exists yet), and — per ADR-0010 — should come up ready to manage the organization's own QMS.</p> <h2 id="decision">Decision<a class="headerlink" href="#decision" title="Permanent link">¶</a></h2> <p><strong>A closed set of permissions, configurably mapped to roles</strong> (mirroring ADR-0003's fixed-mechanism / configurable-policy stance):</p> <ul> <li>The system defines a <strong>fixed, closed set of named permissions</strong> spanning content/ functional capabilities (e.g. <code>CREATE_DOCUMENT</code>, <code>EDIT_DRAFT</code>, <code>DERIVE</code>, <code>VIEW</code>, <code>ASK_LLM</code>) and administrative ones (e.g. <code>ASSIGN_ROLES</code>, <code>CONFIGURE_REVIEW_POLICY</code>, <code>ACTIVATE_CATALOG_ENTRIES</code>, <code>MANAGE_LLM_POLICY</code>, <code>MANAGE_SCOPES</code>, <code>MANAGE_CATALOG</code>, <code>MANAGE_USERS</code>, <code>EXPORT_BACKUP</code>). New permissions require code; their assignment does not. <br><em>(Amended 2026-07-29, V073: this list originally named <code>CREATE_SCOPE</code> and <code>CREATE_MANDATOR</code>. Both were minted by this ADR's vocabulary sweep before any write surface existed and were never enforced anywhere; when ADR-0097 built that surface it chose ONE permission, <code>MANAGE_SCOPES</code>, covering all four provisioning acts. V071 backfilled every <code>CREATE_SCOPE</code> holder with <code>MANAGE_SCOPES</code>, V073 deleted the two dead rows, and the enumeration above now reads as the closed set actually is.)</em> <br><em>(Amended 2026-08-05, V078: this list also named <code>UPLOAD</code>, <code>SEARCH</code> and <code>VIEW_AUDIT</code>. V077's description rewrite forced an enforcement audit of the whole catalog and found seven permissions gated by no surface. These three were retired because their acts DO ship and are deliberately gated by something else — search by <code>VIEW</code> + scope isolation, upload by <code>EDIT_DRAFT</code>, the audit trail and scope activity by <code>VIEW</code> in the scope. Retaining <code>VIEW_AUDIT</code> would not have been neutral: it would have narrowed a disclosure boundary decided the other way, an unproven variation point. The four remaining reserved names — <code>ASK_LLM</code>, <code>MANAGE_LLM_POLICY</code>, <code>EXPORT_BACKUP</code>, <code>ERASE_PERSONAL_DATA</code> — were KEPT: they name capabilities the roadmap owes, not gates another permission already covers.)</em></li> <li>Each <strong>catalog role is configurably mapped to a permission set</strong> (extends ADR-0004); changing the mapping requires <code>MANAGE_CATALOG</code>.</li> <li><strong>Scope-cascading effect:</strong> holding a role in a scope grants its permissions within that scope and its descendant scopes. A role held at the <strong>global scope</strong> grants them installation-wide (system administration); at a <strong>mandator</strong> scope, across that mandator's projects (delegated administration); at a <strong>project</strong> scope, locally.</li> <li><strong>Admin and content permissions are independent.</strong> System-administration permissions do <strong>not</strong> implicitly grant content read; reading a scope's documents requires a content permission effective there. The default/recommended catalog keeps content permissions project-local, so an installation administrator does not implicitly see customer data — preserving mandator separation (STR-003).</li> </ul> <blockquote> <p><strong>Amendment (2026-09-04 — recording ADR-0121, ADR-0128 and ADR-0129).</strong> The two bullets above are <strong>narrowed at the GLOBAL scope</strong>, and a reader of this ADR alone would otherwise learn a separation-relevant falsehood (found by the 2026-09-04 ADR-coherence review as its first hard contradiction). What now holds:</p> <ul> <li><strong>The cascade is classified, not universal.</strong> From an assignment at the <strong>GLOBAL</strong> scope, only <strong>ADMINISTRATIVE-class</strong> permissions cascade installation-wide; <strong>CONTENT-class</strong> permissions from a GLOBAL assignment are effective <strong>in GLOBAL alone</strong> (<a href="../adr-0128-global-cascade-classification/">ADR-0128</a>). "A role held at the global scope grants them installation-wide" is therefore true of the administration half only. The <strong>MANDATOR</strong>-anchor and <strong>PROJECT</strong> readings above are untouched.</li> <li><strong>Role identity cascades the same way.</strong> Workflow authority — the role-gated approve/release/revoke acts, which carry no permission at all — likewise stops at GLOBAL when it comes from a GLOBAL assignment (<a href="../adr-0129-global-role-identity/">ADR-0129</a>). The MANDATOR-anchor role cascade is deliberately kept.</li> <li><strong>"Admin ≠ content" stays absolute at GLOBAL, and has one recorded exception below it.</strong> <a href="../adr-0121-project-administrator-role/">ADR-0121</a> §"ADR-0012 is amended in scope, not repealed" grants the seeded Project Administrator read-class content (VIEW, VIEW_TRACEABILITY) <em>at project level</em>, behind that project's own activation + staffing act — a scoped, argued deviation (cross-tenant vs. within-tenant), not a general relaxation. The classification is machine-checked (<code>PermissionClassificationTest</code>), so the vocabulary polices itself.</li> </ul> <p>The doctrine these three amendments serve is the one this ADR wrote down: an installation administrator does not implicitly see customer data. They make it structural where this text left it to catalog convention. - <strong>Boundary with review policies:</strong> life-cycle transitions (submit/approve/release/ revoke) remain governed by review policies (ADR-0003); the permission model governs all other functional and administrative actions.</p> </blockquote> <p><strong>Bootstrap & onboarding:</strong></p> <ul> <li>A <strong>deployment-configured bootstrap identity</strong> (an OIDC subject/email) is granted system administration <strong>idempotently on startup</strong> — initial setup and break-glass recovery. The system shall not allow removing the last administrative capability and leaving none.</li> <li>On first initialization the system <strong>auto-creates the global base scope and an internal mandator with a "QMS Operations" scope</strong> (ADR-0010).</li> <li>Onboarding a project = create scope → activate catalog roles/types → staff roles → configure review policies, each gated by the corresponding permission.</li> </ul> <h2 id="options-considered">Options Considered<a class="headerlink" href="#options-considered" title="Permanent link">¶</a></h2> <ul> <li><strong>Built-in administrative roles with fixed permission sets</strong> (rejected): predictable and minimal to validate, but not reconfigurable — organizations would have to staff our admin roles instead of reusing their own, the kind of imposed-role friction the project set out to avoid.</li> </ul> <h2 id="consequences">Consequences<a class="headerlink" href="#consequences" title="Permanent link">¶</a></h2> <ul> <li>Schema: a <code>permission</code> reference set (enumerated/closed), a <code>role</code>↔<code>permission</code> mapping (extends the catalog), and role assignments per scope (ADR-0004). The deferred <code>mandator.internal</code> flag (ADR-0010) is built together with this mandator/administration management.</li> <li>Scope-context resolution (ADR-0009/0011) must expand a held scope to its subtree when computing the authorized scope set and effective permissions.</li> <li>Larger authorization surface to validate (CSV); the closed permission set keeps it bounded, and the break-glass bootstrap prevents lock-out.</li> <li>All administrative actions are audited (REQ-AUD-001).</li> </ul> <h2 id="requirements">Requirements<a class="headerlink" href="#requirements" title="Permanent link">¶</a></h2> <p>Introduces STR-017 and the REQ-ADM group (pending requirements baseline v1.1).</p> </article> </div> <script>var target=document.getElementById(location.hash.slice(1));target&&target.name&&(target.checked=target.name.startsWith("__tabbed_"))</script> </div> <button type="button" class="md-top md-icon" data-md-component="top" hidden> <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><path d="M13 20h-2V8l-5.5 5.5-1.42-1.42L12 4.16l7.92 7.92-1.42 1.42L13 8z"/></svg> Back to top </button> </main> <footer class="md-footer"> <nav class="md-footer__inner md-grid" aria-label="Footer" > <a href="../adr-0011-authentication-oidc-bff/" class="md-footer__link md-footer__link--prev" aria-label="Previous: ADR-0011: Authentication via OIDC SSO with Server-Side (BFF) Sessions"> <div class="md-footer__button md-icon"> <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><path d="M20 11v2H8l5.5 5.5-1.42 1.42L4.16 12l7.92-7.92L13.5 5.5 8 11z"/></svg> </div> <div class="md-footer__title"> <span class="md-footer__direction"> Previous </span> <div class="md-ellipsis"> ADR-0011: Authentication via OIDC SSO with Server-Side (BFF) Sessions </div> </div> </a> <a href="../adr-0013-user-identity-lifecycle/" class="md-footer__link md-footer__link--next" aria-label="Next: ADR-0013: User Identity Lifecycle"> <div class="md-footer__title"> <span class="md-footer__direction"> Next </span> <div class="md-ellipsis"> ADR-0013: User Identity Lifecycle </div> </div> <div class="md-footer__button md-icon"> <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><path d="M4 11v2h12l-5.5 5.5 1.42 1.42L19.84 12l-7.92-7.92L10.5 5.5 16 11z"/></svg> </div> </a> </nav> <div class="md-footer-meta md-typeset"> <div class="md-footer-meta__inner md-grid"> <div class="md-copyright"> <div class="md-copyright__highlight"> Built from <code>v0.9.56-4-g06c7f811</code> (commit <code>06c7f811</code>, 2026-09-09) — the same Markdown the repository ships. </div> </div> </div> </div> </footer> </div> <div class="md-dialog" data-md-component="dialog"> <div class="md-dialog__inner md-typeset"></div> </div> <script id="__config" type="application/json">{"base": "../..", "features": ["navigation.instant", "navigation.tracking", "navigation.top", "navigation.footer", "navigation.indexes", "toc.follow", "search.suggest", "search.highlight", "content.code.copy", "content.action.edit"], "search": "../../assets/javascripts/workers/search.6ce7567c.min.js", "translations": {"clipboard.copied": "Copied to clipboard", "clipboard.copy": "Copy to clipboard", "search.result.more.one": "1 more on this page", "search.result.more.other": "# more on this page", "search.result.none": "No matching documents", "search.result.one": "1 matching document", "search.result.other": "# matching documents", "search.result.placeholder": "Type to start searching", "search.result.term.missing": "Missing", "select.version": "Select version"}}</script> <script src="../../assets/javascripts/bundle.83f73b43.min.js"></script> </body> </html>