The answer
Store permissions on the user (array of strings like 'post:delete', 'user:ban'). Write a requirePermission factory that checks req.user.permissions.includes(perm). More flexible than roles but harder to manage at scale.
Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) in Node.js
How do I do permission-based access control in Node.js?
More FAQs in Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) in Node.js
Add a role field on the user. Write an auth middleware that verifies the JWT and sets req.user. Write a requireRole factory that checks req.user.role. Apply to routes: router.use('/admin', auth, requireRole('admin')). Check resource ownership for user-specific resources.
401 Unauthorized means not authenticated (no token or invalid token). 403 Forbidden means authenticated but not authorized (wrong role or permission). Check auth first, then authorization.
In the handler, compare req.user.userId to the resource's owner. If they do not match and the user is not an admin, return 403. Example: if (req.user.role !== 'admin' && req.user.userId !== req.params.id) return res.status(403).
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