Access Manager v3 API for Unreal SDK

Access Manager allows you to enforce security controls for client access to resources within the PubNub Platform. With Access Manager v3, your servers (that use a PubNub instance configured with a secret key) can grant their clients tokens with embedded permissions that provide access to individual PubNub resources:

  • For a limited period of time.
  • Through resource lists or patterns (regular expressions).
  • In a single API request, even if permission levels differ (read to channel1 and write to channel2).

You can add the authorizedUuid parameter to the grant request to restrict the token usage to one client with a given userId. Once specified, only this authorizedUuid will be able to use the token to make API requests for the specified resources, according to permissions given in the grant request.

User ID / UUID

User ID is also referred to as UUID/uuid in some APIs and server responses but holds the value of the userId parameter you set during initialization.

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Usage in Blueprints and C++

Grant token

Requires Access Manager add-on

This method requires that the Access Manager add-on is enabled for your key in the Admin Portal. Read the support page on enabling add-on features on your keys.

Requires Secret Key authentication

Granting permissions to resources should be done by administrators whose SDK instance has been initialized with a Secret Key (available on the Admin Portal on your app's keyset).

The GrantToken() method generates a time-limited authorization token with an embedded access control list. The token defines time to live (TTL), AuthorizedUser, and a set of permissions giving access to one or more resources:

  • Channels
  • ChannelGroups
  • Uuids (other users' object metadata, such as their names or avatars)

Only this AuthorizedUser will be able to use the token with the defined permissions. The authorized client will send the token to PubNub with each request until the token's TTL expires. Any unauthorized request or a request made with an invalid token will return a 403 with a respective error message.

The grant request allows your server to securely grant your clients access to the resources within the PubNub Platform. There is a limited set of operations the clients can perform on every resource:

ResourcePermissions
Channels
read, write, get, manage, update, join, delete
ChannelGroups
read, manage
Uuids
get, update, delete

For permissions and API operations mapping, refer to Manage Permissions with Access Manager v3.

Method(s)

PubnubSubsystem->GrantToken(
int Ttl,
FString AuthorizedUser,
const FPubnubGrantTokenPermissions& Permissions,
FOnGrantTokenResponse OnGrantTokenResponse,
FString Meta = ""
);
* required
ParameterDescription
Ttl *
Type: int
Time-To-Live (TTL) in minutes for the granted token.
AuthorizedUser *
Type: FString
The User ID that is authorized by this grant.
Permissions *Permissions applied to the listed resources.
OnGrantTokenResponse *The delegate for the operation's result.

You can also use a native callback of the type FOnGrantTokenResponseNative to handle the result using a lambda.
Meta
Type: FString
Additional metadata to be included in the token.

FPubnubGrantTokenPermissions

PropertyDescription
ChannelsA list of exact channel names and their associated permissions. Applied to the resources.channels section of the grant token.
ChannelGroupsA list of exact channel group names and their associated permissions. Applied to the resources.groups section of the grant token.
UsersA list of exact user IDs and their associated permissions. Applied to the resources.uuids section of the grant token.
ChannelPatternsA list of channel name patterns (regular expressions) and their associated permissions. Applied to the patterns.channels section of the grant token.
ChannelGroupPatternsA list of channel group name patterns (regular expressions) and their associated permissions. Applied to the patterns.groups section of the grant token.
UserPatternsA list of user ID patterns (regular expressions) and their associated permissions. Applied to the patterns.uuids section of the grant token.

FChannelGrant

FieldTypeDescription
Channel
FString
The ID of a single Channel if used in the "Channels" field of [FPubnubGrantTokenPermissions](#fpubnubgranttokenpermissions) or a regular expression pattern if used in the "ChannelPatterns" field.
Permissions
FPubnubChannelPermissions
Permissions to grant for the specified Channel name or pattern.

FChannelGroupGrant

FieldTypeDescription
ChannelGroup
FString
The name of a single Channel Group if used in the "ChannelGroups" field of [FPubnubGrantTokenPermissions](#fpubnubgranttokenpermissions) or a regular expression pattern if used in the "ChannelGroupPatterns" field.
Permissions
FPubnubChannelGroupPermissions
Permissions to grant for the specified Channel Group name or pattern.

FUserGrant

FieldTypeDescription
User
FString
The ID of a single User if used in the "Users" field of [FPubnubGrantTokenPermissions](#fpubnubgranttokenpermissions) or a regular expression pattern if used in the "UserPatterns" field.
Permissions
FPubnubUserPermissions
Permissions to grant for the specified User ID or pattern.

FPubnubChannelPermissions

FieldTypeDescription
Read
bool
Read permission. Applies to Subscribe, History, and Presence.
Write
bool
Write permission. Applies to Publish.
Delete
bool
Delete permission. Applies to History and App Context.
Get
bool
Get permission. Applies to App Context.
Update
bool
Update permission. Applies to App Context.
Manage
bool
Manage permission. Applies to Channel Groups and App Context.
Join
bool
Join permission. Applies to App Context.

FPubnubChannelGroupPermissions

FieldTypeDescription
Read
bool
Read permission. Applies to presence and history access for the group.
Manage
bool
Manage permission. Applies to modifying members of the group.

FPubnubUserPermissions

FieldTypeDescription
Delete
bool
Delete permission. Allows deletion of user metadata.
Get
bool
Get permission. Allows retrieval of user metadata.
Update
bool
Update permission. Allows updating of user metadata.

For a successful grant request, you must specify permissions for at least one User, channel, or group, either as a resource list or as a pattern (RegEx). You can specify the permissions in the following ways:

  • apply the same permission to multiple objects

    // permission1 as applied to all channels
    Channels = {channel1, channel2, channel3}
    Permisions = {permission1}
  • apply different permissions to multiple objects

    // the indexes in the Channels array correspond to the indexes in the Permissions array
    // so channel1 gets permission1, channel2 permission2, etc
    Channels = {channel1, channel2, channel3}
    Permisions = {permission1, permission2, permission3}

If you provide more than one permission to multiple objects, an error will be thrown.

// this throws an error as the permissions don't match the objects
Channels = {channe1, channel2, channel3}
Permisions = {permission1, permission2}

Sample code

Reference code
Set up your Unreal project and follow the instructions in the lines marked with ACTION REQUIRED before running the code.

Actor.h



Actor.cpp



Returns

This function is void, but the delegate returns the FOnGrantTokenResponse struct.

FOnGrantTokenResponse

FieldTypeDescription
Result
FPubnubOperationResult
The result of the operation.
Token
FString
The token that was granted.

FOnGrantTokenResponseNative

FieldTypeDescription
Result
const FPubnubOperationResult&
The result of the operation.
Token
FString
The token that was granted.

Other examples

Reference code
Set up your Unreal project and follow the instructions in the lines marked with ACTION REQUIRED before running the code.

Grant an authorized client different levels of access to various resources in a single call

The code below grants my-authorized-user:

  • Read access to channel-a, channel-group-b, and get to user-c.
  • Read/write access to channel-b, channel-c, channel-d, and get/update to user-d.

Actor.h



Actor.cpp



Grant an authorized client read access to multiple channels using RegEx

The code below grants my-authorized-user read access to all channels that match the channel-[A-Za-z0-9] RegEx pattern.

Actor.h



Actor.cpp



Grant an authorized client different levels of access to various resources and read access to channels using RegEx in a single call

The code below grants the my-authorized-user:

  • Read access to channel-a, channel-group-b, and get to user-c.
  • Read/write access to channel-b, channel-c, channel-d, and get/update to user-d.
  • Read access to all channels that match the channel-[A-Za-z0-9] RegEx pattern.
Actor.h


Actor.cpp


Error Responses

If you submit an invalid request, the server returns the 400 error status code with a descriptive message informing which of the provided arguments is missing or incorrect. These can include, for example, issues with a RegEx, a timestamp, or permissions.

Revoke token

Requires Access Manager add-on

This method requires that the Access Manager add-on is enabled for your key in the Admin Portal. Read the support page on enabling add-on features on your keys.

Enable token revoke

To revoke tokens, you must first enable this feature on the Admin Portal. To do that, navigate to your app's keyset and mark the Revoke v3 Token checkbox in the ACCESS MANAGER section.

The RevokeToken() method allows you to disable an existing token and revoke all permissions embedded within. You can only revoke a valid token previously obtained using the GrantToken() method.

Use this method for tokens with TTL less than or equal to 30 days. If you need to revoke a token with a longer TTL, contact support.

For more information, refer to Revoke permissions.

Method(s)

PubnubSubsystem->RevokeToken(
FString Token,
FOnRevokeTokenResponse OnRevokeTokenResponse
);
* required
ParameterDescription
Token *
Type: FString
Default:
n/a
Existing token with embedded permissions.
OnRevokeTokenResponse *
Default:
n/a
The delegate for the operation's result.

You can also use a native callback of the type FOnRevokeTokenResponseNative to handle the result using a lambda.

Sample code

Reference code
Set up your Unreal project and follow the instructions in the lines marked with ACTION REQUIRED before running the code.

Actor.h



Actor.cpp



Returns

This function is void, but the delegate returns the FOnRevokeTokenResponse struct.

FOnRevokeTokenResponse

FieldTypeDescription
Result
FPubnubOperationResult
The result of the operation.

FOnRevokeTokenResponseNative

FieldTypeDescription
Result
const FPubnubOperationResult&
The result of the operation.

Other Examples

Reference code
Set up your Unreal project and follow the instructions in the lines marked with ACTION REQUIRED before running the code.

Revoke a token with lambda

You can use a lambda function to handle the response:

Actor.h


Actor.cpp


Revoke a token with result struct

You can use the result struct to handle the response:

Actor.h


Actor.cpp


Error Responses

If you submit an invalid request, the server returns an error status code with a descriptive message informing which of the provided arguments is missing or incorrect. Depending on the root cause, this operation may return the following errors:

  • 400 Bad Request
  • 403 Forbidden
  • 503 Service Unavailable

Parse token

The ParseToken() method decodes an existing token and returns the object containing permissions embedded in that token. The client can use this method for debugging to check the permissions to the resources or find out the token's TTL details.

Method(s)

PubnubSubsystem->ParseToken(FString Token);
* required
ParameterDescription
Token *
Type: FString
Existing token with embedded permissions.

Sample code

Reference code
Set up your Unreal project and follow the instructions in the lines marked with ACTION REQUIRED before running the code.

Actor.h



Actor.cpp



Returns

{
"Version": 2,
"Timestamp": 1752200000,
"TTL": 30,
"Resources": {
"Channels": {
"my_first_channel": {
"Read": true,
"Write": false,
"Manage": true,
"Delete": true,
"Get": false,
"Update": true,
"Join": true
}
show all 33 lines

Error Responses

If you receive an error while parsing the token, it may suggest that the token is damaged. In that case, request the server to issue a new one.

Set token

The SetAuthToken() method is used by the client devices to update the authentication token granted by the server.

Method(s)

PubnubSubsystem->SetAuthToken(FString Token);
* required
ParameterDescription
Token *
Type: FString
Default:
n/a
Existing token with embedded permissions.

Sample code

Reference code
Set up your Unreal project and follow the instructions in the lines marked with ACTION REQUIRED before running the code.

Actor.h



Actor.cpp



Returns

This method doesn't return any response value.

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