# get-permission

> Retrieve details about a specific permission in your Unkey workspace using the CLI including its name, description, and creation date.

Retrieve details about a specific permission including its name, description, and metadata.

Use this to inspect a permission's current state, verify its configuration, or look up its name and description. The returned data includes the permission's unique ID, human-readable name, URL-safe slug, and optional description.

**Required permissions:**
- `rbac.*.read_permission` (to read permissions in any workspace)

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

## Usage

```bash
unkey api permissions get-permission [flags]
```

## Flags

<ParamField body="--permission" type="string" required>
The unique identifier of the permission to retrieve. Must be a valid permission ID that begins with `perm_` and exists within your workspace.
</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 permissions get-permission --permission=perm_1234567890abcdef
```
```bash JSON output for scripting
unkey api permissions get-permission --permission=perm_1234567890abcdef --output=json
```
```bash Pipe the permission name to another command
PERM_NAME=$(unkey api permissions get-permission --permission=perm_1234567890abcdef --output=json | jq -r '.data.name')
echo "Permission name: $PERM_NAME"
```
</CodeGroup>

## Output

Default output shows the request ID, followed by the permission details:

```text
req_1234abcd

{
  "id": "perm_1234567890abcdef",
  "name": "documents.read",
  "slug": "documents-read",
  "description": "Allows reading document resources"
}
```

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

```json
{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_1234abcd"
  },
  "data": {
    "id": "perm_1234567890abcdef",
    "name": "documents.read",
    "slug": "documents-read",
    "description": "Allows reading document resources"
  }
}
```