Roles & Permissions

Global roles, space-level roles, and the rank-based permission system.

Updated 11d ago

Supa Hub uses a dual-layer role system: global roles that apply site-wide, and space-level roles that apply within individual spaces.

Global Roles

Every user is assigned exactly one global role via the user_global_roles table. New users automatically receive the member role on signup.

Role	Rank	Capabilities
admin	100	Full site control: manage users, assign roles, configure site settings, moderate all content
moderator	80	Content moderation: pin/hide/suspend/delete posts, manage spaces, edit site rules
member	50	Standard user: create posts, comment, react, join spaces, follow users
suspended	20	Limited: can sign in but most actions are restricted
banned	0	No access

How Rank Checks Work

Permissions are checked using numeric rank comparisons (roleRank >= threshold), not role name strings. This means:

roleRank >= 100 → admin only
roleRank >= 80 → moderator and admin
roleRank >= 50 → member, moderator, and admin
roleRank >= 20 → suspended and above

This design makes it easy to add new roles between existing ones without changing permission logic.

Configurable Permissions

Some permission thresholds are stored in the hub_site_config table and can be changed by admins via the admin panel:

Config Key	Default	Description
space_creation_min_rank	80	Who can create new spaces

Admins can change this to 50 (all members) or 100 (admin only) from the Site Config page at /admin/config.

Space-Level Roles

Within each space, members have a separate role defined in hub_space_members:

Role	Capabilities
admin	Full control of the space: edit settings, manage members, moderate posts
moderator	Moderate posts within the space: pin, hide, delete
member	Post content and comment within the space
guest	View-only access
suspended	Restricted within this space
banned	No access to this space

Space Role vs Global Role

Space roles and global roles are independent. A user with global member role can be a space admin. A global moderator has moderation powers across all spaces regardless of their space-level role. Permission resolution for post moderation: Permission resolution for post deletion:

Permission Matrix

Action	Member (50)	Moderator (80)	Admin (100)	Space Mod	Post Owner
Create post	✓	✓	✓	—	—
Edit own post	—	—	—	—	✓
Delete post	—	✓	✓	✓	✓
Pin/unpin post	—	✓	✓	✓	—
Hide/unhide post	—	✓	✓	✓	—
Suspend post	—	—	✓	—	—
Create space	configurable	configurable	✓	—	—
Edit space	—	✓	✓	✓	—
Delete/hide space	—	✓	✓	—	—
Manage space members	—	—	—	✓	—
Edit site rules	—	✓	✓	—	—
Manage users/roles	—	—	✓	—	—
Site configuration	—	—	✓	—	—
Comment	✓	✓	✓	—	—
Edit own comment	—	—	—	—	✓
Delete comment	—	✓	✓	✓	✓
React to posts	✓	✓	✓	—	—
Follow users	✓	✓	✓	—	—

First Admin Setup

After deploying for the first time:

Sign up as the first user
Open the Supabase dashboard
In the user_global_roles table, change your role_id from member to admin
You can now access the admin panel at /admin on the auth app and manage all other users' roles from the UI

Role

Rank

Capabilities

admin

100

Full site control: manage users, assign roles, configure site settings, moderate all content

moderator

Content moderation: pin/hide/suspend/delete posts, manage spaces, edit site rules

member

Standard user: create posts, comment, react, join spaces, follow users

suspended

Limited: can sign in but most actions are restricted

banned

No access

Config Key

Default

Description

space_creation_min_rank

Who can create new spaces

Role

Capabilities

admin

Full control of the space: edit settings, manage members, moderate posts

moderator

Moderate posts within the space: pin, hide, delete

member

Post content and comment within the space

guest

View-only access

suspended

Restricted within this space

banned

No access to this space

Action

Member (50)

Moderator (80)

Admin (100)

Space Mod

Post Owner

Create post

✓

—

Edit own post

—

✓

Delete post

—

✓

Pin/unpin post

—

✓

—

Hide/unhide post

—

✓

—

Suspend post

—

✓

—

Create space

configurable

✓

—

Edit space

—

✓

—

Delete/hide space

—

✓

—

Manage space members

—

✓

—

Edit site rules

—

✓

—

Manage users/roles

—

✓

—

Site configuration

—

✓

—

Comment

✓

—

Edit own comment

—

✓

Delete comment

—

✓

React to posts

✓

—

Follow users

✓

—