> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://developerdocs.instructure.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://developerdocs.instructure.com/services/journey/api/permissions.md). # Permissions Journey does not maintain its own roles or access-control lists. Once a request has been authenticated (see [authentication](/services/journey/api/authentication.md)), Journey delegates authorization to Canvas by calling the Canvas account permissions API for the caller against a target account. A user's effective permissions on a Journey resource are whatever Canvas reports for that user on the resource's account. ## How permission checks work Endpoints that require a Canvas permission resolve a target `accountId` and then ask Canvas whether the caller holds the required permission on that account. The account is resolved from the request — typically the `accountId` API argument, falling back to the `x-canvas-account-id` header. When an endpoint does not name a specific permission, the default check is `read_as_admin`. Different endpoints require different Canvas permissions depending on what they do — for example a course-management endpoint may require `manage_courses_admin`. The required permission and the account it is checked against are part of each endpoint's contract. Some endpoints perform a **non-throwing** check instead: they look up whether the caller is a Canvas admin and adjust their behavior accordingly (for example returning a richer result for admins) rather than rejecting non-admins outright. ## 401 vs 403 `401 Unauthorized` means the request has no valid Canvas JWT — see [authentication](/services/journey/api/authentication.md). `403 Forbidden` means the JWT was accepted but the caller lacks the required Canvas permission on the resolved account, or the account ID could not be resolved from the request. Depending on how Canvas responds, a denied permission may surface as either status — Canvas explicitly denying access maps to `403`, while a permission key that is present-but-false in Canvas's response may surface as `401`. For the response envelope, see [errors](/services/journey/api/errors.md). --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com. ## Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter, and the optional `goal` query parameter: ``` GET https://developerdocs.instructure.com/services/journey/api/permissions.md?ask=&goal= ``` `ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. `goal` is optional and describes the broader end goal you are ultimately trying to accomplish on behalf of the user. GitBook uses it to tailor the answer towards what is most useful for that goal. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.