# add-permissions

> Add permissions to an API key using the Unkey CLI without removing existing permissions. Grant additional access rights with a single command.

Add permissions to a key without affecting existing permissions.

Use this for privilege upgrades, enabling new features, or plan changes that grant additional capabilities. Permissions granted through roles remain unchanged. Duplicate permissions are ignored automatically, making this operation idempotent.

**Important:** Changes take effect immediately with up to 30-second propagation across regions. Any permissions that do not exist will be auto-created if the root key has the required permissions.

**Required permissions:**
- `api.*.update_key` (to update keys in any API)
- `api.<api_id>.update_key` (to update keys in a specific API)

<Note>
See the [API reference](/api-reference/keys/add-key-permissions) for the full HTTP endpoint documentation.
</Note>

## Usage

```bash
unkey api keys add-permissions [flags]
```

## Flags

<ParamField body="--key-id" type="string" required>
The key ID to add permissions to. This is the database identifier returned from `keys.createKey` (e.g., `key_2cGKbMxRyIzhCxo1Idjz8q`). Do not confuse this with the actual API key string that users include in requests.
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="--permissions" type="string[]" required>
Comma-separated list of permission names to add. Adding permissions never removes existing permissions or role-based permissions. Duplicate permissions are ignored automatically. Permissions that do not yet exist will be auto-created if the root key has permissions, otherwise the operation will fail with a 403 error.
</ParamField>

## Global Flags

| Flag | Type | Description |
|------|------|-------------|
| `--root-key` | string | Override root key (`$UNKEY_ROOT_KEY`) |
| `--api-url` | string | Override API base URL (default: `https://api.unkey.com`) |
| `--config` | string | Path to config file (default: `~/.unkey/config.toml`) |
| `--output` | string | Output format. Use `json` for raw JSON |
| `--body` | string | Send this JSON string as the request body. You cannot combine it with request-building flags. |

## Examples

<CodeGroup>
```bash Basic
unkey api keys add-permissions --key-id=key_1234abcd --permissions=documents.read,documents.write
```
```bash JSON output for scripting
unkey api keys add-permissions --key-id=key_1234abcd --permissions=billing.manage --output=json
```
```bash Grant broad access
unkey api keys add-permissions --key-id=key_1234abcd --permissions=admin.read,admin.write,admin.delete
```
</CodeGroup>

## Output

Default output shows the request ID, followed by the permissions now assigned to the key:

```text
req_2c9a0jf23l4k567

[
  {
    "id": "perm_1234567890abcdef",
    "name": "documents.read",
    "slug": "documents.read"
  },
  {
    "id": "perm_abcdef1234567890",
    "name": "documents.write",
    "slug": "documents.write"
  }
]
```

With `--output=json`, the full response envelope is returned:

```json
{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_2c9a0jf23l4k567"
  },
  "data": [
    {
      "id": "perm_1234567890abcdef",
      "name": "documents.read",
      "slug": "documents.read"
    },
    {
      "id": "perm_abcdef1234567890",
      "name": "documents.write",
      "slug": "documents.write"
    }
  ]
}
```