List roles

Retrieve all roles in your workspace including their assigned permissions.
Results are paginated and sorted by their id.

Required Permissions

Your root key must have the following permission:

rbac.*.read_role

1 min read

post/v2/permissions.listRoles

Request example

package main

import(
	"context"
	"os"
	unkey "github.com/unkeyed/sdks/api/go/v2"
	"github.com/unkeyed/sdks/api/go/v2/models/components"
	"log"
)

func main() {
    ctx := context.Background()

    s := unkey.New(
        unkey.WithSecurity(os.Getenv("UNKEY_ROOT_KEY")),
    )

    res, err := s.Permissions.ListRoles(ctx, components.V2PermissionsListRolesRequestBody{
        Limit: unkey.Pointer[int64](50),
        Cursor: unkey.Pointer("eyJrZXkiOiJyb2xlXzEyMzQifQ=="),
        Search: unkey.Pointer("admin"),
    })
    if err != nil {
        log.Fatal(err)
    }
    if res.V2PermissionsListRolesResponseBody != nil {
        for {
            // handle items

            res, err = res.Next()

            if err != nil {
                // handle error
            }

            if res == nil {
                break
            }
        }
    }
}

Response

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "data": [
    {
      "id": "role_1234567890abcdef",
      "name": "support.readonly",
      "description": "Provides read-only access for customer support representatives to view user accounts and support tickets",
      "permissions": [
        {
          "id": "perm_1234567890abcdef",
          "name": "users.read",
          "slug": "users-read",
          "description": "Allows reading user profile information and account details"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "pagination": {
    "cursor": "eyJrZXkiOiJrZXlfMTIzNCIsInRzIjoxNjk5Mzc4ODAwfQ==",
    "hasMore": true
  }
}

post/v2/permissions.listRoles

Authorization

Authorizationstringheaderrequired#

Unkey uses bearer tokens for authentication. Public integrations use root keys, while the dashboard proxy uses short-lived JWTs.
To authenticate, include the token in the Authorization header of each request:

Authorization: Bearer unkey_123

Root keys have specific permissions attached to them, controlling what operations they can perform. Legacy permissions use tuple strings like api.*.create_key; resource permissions use Unkey Resource Names plus actions, like unkey:v1:ws_123:keyspaces/*#create_key.
Security best practices:

Keep root keys secure and never expose them in client-side code
Use different root keys for different environments
Rotate keys periodically, especially after team member departures
Create keys with minimal necessary permissions following least privilege principle
Monitor key usage with audit logs.

Body

application/json

limitinteger#

Maximum number of roles to return in a single response.
Use smaller values for faster response times and better UI performance.
Use larger values when you need to process many roles efficiently.
Results exceeding this limit will be paginated with a cursor for continuation.

Default: 100

Range: 1–100

cursorstring#

Pagination cursor from a previous response to fetch the next page of roles.
Include this when you need to retrieve additional roles beyond the first page.
Each response containing more results will include a cursor value that can be used here.
Leave empty or omit this field to start from the beginning of the role list.

Length: max 1024

searchstring#

Free-form text to filter roles. Returns roles whose ID, name, or description contains the search string. Matching is case-insensitive.

Length: max 256

Responses

application/json

Roles retrieved successfully

metaobjectrequired#

Metadata object included in every API response. This provides context about the request and is essential for debugging, audit trails, and support inquiries. The requestId is particularly important when troubleshooting issues with the Unkey support team.

Show child attributes

requestIdstringrequired#

A unique id for this request. Always include this ID when contacting support about a specific API request. This identifier allows Unkey's support team to trace the exact request through logs and diagnostic systems to provide faster assistance.

dataobject[]required#

Array of roles with their assigned permissions.

Items: max 1000

Show child attributes

idstringrequired#

The unique identifier for this role within Unkey's system.
Generated automatically when the role is created and used to reference this role in API operations.
Always begins with 'role_' followed by alphanumeric characters and underscores.

namestringrequired#

The human-readable name for this role that describes its function.
Should be descriptive enough for administrators to understand what access this role provides.
Use clear, semantic names that reflect the job function or responsibility level.
Names must be unique within your workspace to avoid confusion during role assignment.

descriptionstring#

Optional detailed explanation of what this role encompasses and what access it provides.
Helps team members understand the role's scope, intended use cases, and security implications.
Include information about what types of users should receive this role and what they can accomplish.
Not visible to end users - this is for internal documentation and access control audits.

permissionsobject[]#

Complete list of permissions currently assigned to this role.
Each permission grants specific access rights that will be inherited by any keys or users assigned this role.
Use this list to understand the full scope of access provided by this role.
Permissions can be added or removed from roles without affecting the role's identity or other properties.
Empty array indicates a role with no permissions currently assigned.

Items: max 100

Show child attributes

idstringrequired#

The unique identifier for this permission within Unkey's system.
Generated automatically when the permission is created and used to reference this permission in API operations.
Always begins with 'perm_' followed by alphanumeric characters and underscores.

Length: 3–255Pattern: ^[a-zA-Z0-9_]+$

namestringrequired#

The human-readable name for this permission that describes its purpose.
Should be descriptive enough for developers to understand what access it grants.
Use clear, semantic names that reflect the resources or actions being permitted.
Names must be unique within your workspace to avoid confusion and conflicts.

Length: 1–512

slugstringrequired#

The unique URL-safe identifier for this permission.

Length: 1–512Pattern: ^[a-zA-Z0-9_:\-\.\*]+$

descriptionstring#

Optional detailed explanation of what this permission grants access to.
Helps team members understand the scope and implications of granting this permission.
Include information about what resources can be accessed and what actions can be performed.
Not visible to end users - this is for internal documentation and team clarity.

Length: max 512

paginationobjectrequired#

Pagination metadata for list endpoints. Provides information necessary to traverse through large result sets efficiently using cursor-based pagination.

Show child attributes

cursorstring#

Opaque pagination token for retrieving the next page of results.
Include this exact value in the cursor field of subsequent requests.
Cursors are temporary and may expire after extended periods.

Length: 1–1024

hasMorebooleanrequired#

Indicates whether additional results exist beyond this page.
When true, use the cursor to fetch the next page.
When false, you have reached the end of the result set.

metaobjectrequired#

Show child attributes

requestIdstringrequired#

errorobjectrequired#

Base error structure following Problem Details for HTTP APIs (RFC 7807). This provides a standardized way to carry machine-readable details of errors in HTTP response content.

Show child attributes

detailstringrequired#

A human-readable explanation specific to this occurrence of the problem. This provides detailed information about what went wrong and potential remediation steps. The message is intended to be helpful for developers troubleshooting the issue.

statusintegerrequired#

HTTP status code that corresponds to this error. This will match the status code in the HTTP response. Common codes include 400 (Bad Request), 401 (Unauthorized), 403 (Forbidden), 404 (Not Found), 409 (Conflict), and 500 (Internal Server Error).

titlestringrequired#

A short, human-readable summary of the problem type. This remains constant from occurrence to occurrence of the same problem and should be used for programmatic handling.

typestringrequired#

A URI reference that identifies the problem type. This provides a stable identifier for the error that can be used for documentation lookups and programmatic error handling. When followed, this URI should provide human-readable documentation for the problem type.

errorsobject[]required#

List of individual validation errors that occurred in the request. Each error provides specific details about what failed validation, where the error occurred in the request, and suggestions for fixing it. This granular information helps developers quickly identify and resolve multiple issues in a single request without having to make repeated API calls.

Show child attributes

locationstringrequired#

JSON path indicating exactly where in the request the error occurred. This helps pinpoint the problematic field or parameter. Examples include:

'body.name' (field in request body)
'body.items[3].tags' (nested array element)
'path.apiId' (path parameter)
'query.limit' (query parameter)
Use this location to identify exactly which part of your request needs correction.

messagestringrequired#

Detailed error message explaining what validation rule was violated. This provides specific information about why the field or parameter was rejected, such as format errors, invalid values, or constraint violations.

fixstring#

A human-readable suggestion describing how to fix the error. This provides practical guidance on what changes would satisfy the validation requirements. Not all validation errors include fix suggestions, but when present, they offer specific remediation advice.

List permissions Set role permissions