Not every authenticated user should have the same permissions.
A business application might have:
Admin
Manager
User
Each role can perform different actions.
Define Roles First
Before writing policies, define what each role actually needs.
For example:
| Role | Typical Access |
|---|---|
| Admin | Full management |
| Manager | Team and operational data |
| User | Personal data |
These are application requirements, not automatic Supabase roles.
Store Role Information
Roles can be associated with users or organization memberships.
For team applications, membership-based roles are often more flexible.
user_id
organization_id
role
UI Permissions
The frontend can use the role to decide which navigation items to display.
For example:
Admin → Settings
Manager → Team
User → Profile
Database Permissions
The database should enforce important restrictions as well.
For example:
User → Read own records
Manager → Read team records
Admin → Manage organization
Avoid Role Checks Only in JavaScript
A JavaScript condition is useful for the interface.
It should not be the only security mechanism.
Database policies provide another layer.
Testing
Test every role separately.
Create test accounts and verify both allowed and blocked actions.
Final Thoughts
RBAC works best when the permissions are simple and clearly documented.
Use the frontend to create a good user experience and database policies to enforce sensitive access rules.