---
source_url: https://www.pubnub.com/docs/sdks/vue/api-reference/access-manager
title: Access Manager API for Vue SDK
updated_at: 2026-06-15T12:15:29.211Z
---

> Documentation Index
> For a curated overview of PubNub documentation, see: https://www.pubnub.com/docs/llms.txt
> For the full list of all documentation pages, see: https://www.pubnub.com/docs/llms-full.txt


# Access Manager API for Vue SDK

:::note Access Manager v2
This is the outdated Access Manager v2 API. For details about the latest version, see [Access Manager v3](https://www.pubnub.com/docs/general/security/access-control).
:::

Access Manager extends PubNub's existing security framework by allowing developers to create and enforce secure access to channels and channel groups throughout the PubNub Real-Time Network.

As soon as Access Manager is enabled, no pub/sub-operations can be done without first explicitly providing an authorization token to the PubNub object. If an invalid token is provided, the requesting client will receive a Forbidden Error.

Learn more in [Access Manager v2](https://www.pubnub.com/docs/general/security/access-control-v2).

## Grant

:::note Requires Access Manager add-on
This method requires that the *Access Manager* add-on is enabled for your key in the [Admin Portal](https://admin.pubnub.com/). Read the [support page](https://support.pubnub.com/hc/en-us/articles/360051974791-How-do-I-enable-add-on-features-for-my-keys-) on enabling add-on features on your keys.
:::

:::warning Requires Secret Key authentication
Granting permissions to resources should be done by administrators whose SDK instance has been [initialized](https://www.pubnub.com/docs/sdks/vue/api-reference/configuration) with a **Secret Key** (available on the [Admin Portal](https://admin.pubnub.com/) on your app's keyset).
:::

### Description

This function establishes access permissions for Access Manager by setting the `read` or `write` attribute to `true`. A `grant` with `read` or `write` set to `false` (or not included) will revoke any previous grants with `read` or `write` set to `true`. Permissions can be applied to any one of three levels:

1. Application level privileges are based on `subscribeKey` applying to all associated channels.
2. Channel level privileges are based on a combination of `subscribeKey` and `channel` name.
3. User level privileges are based on the combination of `subscribeKey`, `channel` and auth Key.

:::warning
For NTP synchronization, please ensure that you have configured NTP on your server to keep the clock in sync. This is to prevent system clock drift leading to 400 `Invalid Timestamp` error response.
[https://support.pubnub.com/hc/en-us/articles/360051973331-Why-do-I-get-Invalid-Timestamp-when-I-try-to-grant-permission-using-Access-Manager-](https://support.pubnub.com/hc/en-us/articles/360051973331-Why-do-I-get-Invalid-Timestamp-when-I-try-to-grant-permission-using-Access-Manager-)
:::

### Wildcard permissions

Wildcard notation allows you to grant permissions to multiple channels at a time and later revoke these permissions in the same manner. You can only go one level deep using wildcards. In other words:

* `a.*` grants access on all channels that begin with `a.`.
* `*` or `a.b.*` won't work this way. If you grant on `*` or `a.b.*`, the grant treats `*` or `a.b.*` as a channel name, not a wildcard.

:::warning Wildcard revokes
You can revoke permissions with wildcards from one level deep, like `a.*`, only when you initially used wildcards to grant permissions to `a.*`.
:::

## Grant rules

When a user attempts to access a PubNub resource, Access Manager will evaluate any existing rules using the following order of precedence before access to a channel is granted to the user:

1. Application Level - Access Manager privileges are always evaluated first at the Application level. If either read or write attribute is set to true for a subscribeKey, Access Manager will immediately grant access for that attribute without proceeding to check permissions at either Channel or User levels. If an attribute is set to false at the Application level, Access Manager proceeds to evaluate the attribute at the next most granular level. Use application level grants with cautionWhen access is granted on an application level, all channels and users will have access.Application level grants can also happen due to a bug in your code. For example, Null parameters for channels and auth-keys can cause accidental application level grants.
2. Channel Level - After first verifying an attribute at the Application level, Access Manager evaluates the attribute at the Channel level. If an attribute is set to true for a combination of subscribeKey and channel, Access Manager grants access for that attribute at the Channel level without proceeding to check whether there may be user level permissions.
3. User Level - As a final step Access Manager evaluates the attributes at the User level. If an attribute is set to true for subscribeKey, channel and auth Key, access is granted for that attribute.

:::note
If an argument of the `grant` is not provided, an expected default will be assumed.
* `read` and `write` arguments default to `false`
* no auth Key results in `channel-level` grant
* no `channel` results in `application-level` grant
:::

**No Permissions** - If no permissions were granted at any of the three levels, the user will be denied access to the PubNub resource and receive a 403 error message. This is the default behavior for a Access Manager enabled application.

:::warning Important
Note that privileges specifically granted to an application's `subscribeKey` always take precedence over privileges granted to `channel` or auth Key. Therefore an application that requires authentication at the `user`level should not grant access at either the `Application` or `Channel` levels.
:::

**Related Behavior:**

* **History** To access historical messages you must grant full `read` access at either the `subscribeKey` or `channel` level. When a user has the appropriate permissions they can access any data stored. If they do not have access a `403` will be returned by Access Manager.
* **Presence** To grant access to Presence for a particular channel name you must also allow `read` and `write` access to the presence `channel` name which is specified by adding the `-pnpres` suffix to the name. Also note that a `leave` will fail in the case where a user's grant expires while connected. An HTTP `403` will be returned.
* **APNs** Standard permissions are required for publishing.

### Duration of permissions

The duration of permission set with `grant()` are controlled by setting a time-to-live(`ttl`). If a `ttl` is not specified it is automatically set to `1440` minutes by default. Once the `ttl` associated with an entry in Access Manager has expired, the `read` and `write` attributes are immediately set to `false` for that entry in the Access Manager table.

:::warning Caution
Access Manager grant or revoke requests must be less than ~32 KiB at a time, or the client will return an error. For requests greater than 32 KiB, break them into smaller batched requests.
:::

:::warning
When the message size exceeds 32 KiB the server returns the HTTP Error code 500, instead of the correct error code 414.
:::

:::note
When you init with `secretKey`, you get root permissions for the Access Manager. With this feature you don't have to grant access to your servers to access channel data. The servers get all access on all channels.
:::

:::note
The limit on the total amount of `channels` that you can pass at once when using `grant()` is `200`.
:::

### Method(s)

To `Grant Permissions on a Channel` you can use the following method(s) in the Vue SDK:

```javascript
grant({Array channels, Array channelGroups, Array uuids, Array authKeys, Number ttl, Boolean read, Boolean write, Boolean manage, Boolean delete, Boolean get, Boolean update, Boolean join},Function callback)
```

| Parameter | Type | Required | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| authKeys | Array | Optional |  | Specifies `authKey` to grant permissions. It is possible to specify multiple `auth` keys as comma separated list in combination with a single `channel` name. `authKeys` are required for user-level grants. If you don't specify an `authKey`, the permissions will apply to all clients on channel-level or application-level. View the [Grant Levels](#grant-rules) section for more details. |
| channels | Array | Optional |  | Specifies the `channels` on which to `grant` permissions. If no `channels/channelGroups` are specified, then the `grant` applies to any and all `channels/channelGroups` that have been or will be created for that `publish/subscribe` key set. Furthermore, any existing or future grants on specific `channels` are ignored, until the `all channels` grant is revoked. It is possible to `grant` permissions to multiple `channels` simultaneously by specifying the `channels` as a comma separated list. Wildcard notation like `a.*` can be used to `grant` access on channels. You can `grant` one level deep. a.* - you can grant on this., * and a.b.* - grant will not work on these levels. If you grant on * or a.b.*, the grant will treat * or a.b.* as a single channel named either * or a.b.*. |
| channelGroups | Array | Optional |  | Specifies the `channelGroups` to `grant` permissions. If no `channels/channelGroups` are specified, then the `grant` applies to any and all `channels/channelGroups` that have been or will be created for that `publish/subscribe` key set. Furthermore, any existing or future grants on specific `channelGroups` are ignored, until the `all channelGroups` grant is revoked. It is possible to `grant` permissions to multiple `channelGroups` simultaneously by specifying the `channelGroups` as a comma separated list. This parameter does **not** support wildcards. |
| uuids | Array | Optional |  | A list of `uuids` to `grant` permissions to. You can't grant permissions to channels and channel groups in the same request if you decide to use `uuids`. This parameter does **not** support wildcards. |
| ttl | Number | Yes | `1440 (24hrs)` | Time in minutes for which granted permissions are valid. The default value is `1440 (24hrs)` and the allowed values range from `1` to `525600`. If you set `ttl` to `0`, it will apply the grant indefinitely. |
| read | Boolean | Optional | `false` | `Read` permissions are granted by setting to `true`. `Read` permissions are removed by setting to `false`. |
| write | Boolean | Optional | `false` | `Write` permissions are granted by setting to `true`. `Write` permissions are removed by setting to `false`. |
| manage | Boolean | Optional | `false` | `Manage` permissions are granted by setting to `true`. `Manage` permissions are removed by setting to `false`. |
| delete | Boolean | Optional | `false` | Set to `true` to grant `delete` permissions. Set to `false` to remove `delete` permissions. |
| get | Boolean | Optional | `false` | Set to `true` to grant `get` permissions. Set to `false` to remove `get` permissions. |
| update | Boolean | Optional | `false` | Set to `true` to grant `update` permissions. Set to `false` to remove `update` permissions. |
| join | Boolean | Optional | `false` | Set to `true` to grant `join` permissions. Set to `false` to remove `join` permissions. |
| callback | Function | Optional |  | Executes on a successful/unsuccessful `grant`. |

### Sample code

#### Grant Access Manager permissions for channel and auth key

```javascript
import PubNubVue from 'pubnub-vue';

const pubnub = PubNubVue.getInstance();

pubnub.grant(
    {
        channels: [ch1, ch2],
        channelGroups: [cg1, cg2],
        authKeys: [key1, key2],
        ttl: 12313, // 0 for infinite
        read: true, // false to disallow
        write: true, // false to disallow
        manage: true// false to disallow
    },
    function(status) {
        // handle state setting response
    }
);
```

### Other examples

#### Grant subscribe privileges to all users on all channel(s) with default ttl (1440 minutes)

```javascript
import PubNubVue from 'pubnub-vue';

const pubnub = PubNubVue.getInstance();

// grant world read access to all channels

pubnub.grant({
read: true
});
```

#### Allow subscribe and publish to a specific channel for all users (no auth key required) with default ttl (1440 minutes)

```javascript
import PubNubVue from 'pubnub-vue';

const pubnub = PubNubVue.getInstance();

pubnub.grant(
    {
        channels: ['my_channel'],
        read: true, // false to disallow
        write: true// false to disallow
    },
    function(status) {
        console.log(status);
    }
);
```

#### Grant subscribe access to a channel only for clients with a specific auth key with a 5 minute ttl

```javascript
import PubNubVue from 'pubnub-vue';

const pubnub = PubNubVue.getInstance();

pubnub.grant(
    {
        channels: ['my_channel'],
        authKeys: ['my_ro_authkey'],
        ttl: 5, // 0 for infinite
        read: true, // false to disallow
        write: false// false to disallow
    },
    function(status) {
        console.log(status);
    }
);
```

The above code would return the following response to the client:

```javascript
{
    error: false,
    operation: 'PNAccessManagerGrant',
    statusCode: 200
}
```

#### Allow access to a specific channel for Presence

```javascript
import PubNubVue from 'pubnub-vue';

const pubnub = PubNubVue.getInstance();

pubnub.grant(
    {
        channels: ['my_channel-pnpres'],
        ttl: 5, // 0 for infinite
        read: true, // false to disallow
        write: true// false to disallow
    },
    function(status) {
        console.log(status);
    }
);
```

#### Grant access to all channels on all authKeys

This request grants `read` permission to all users on all channel(s) with default `ttl` (1440 minutes). This rule applies on the application level and takes precedence over channel and user-level permissions.

:::warning Use application level grants with caution
When access is granted on an application level, `all channels and users` will have access.
Application level grants can also happen due to a bug in your code. *For example, Null parameters for channels and auth-keys can cause accidental application level grants.*
:::

```javascript
pubnub.grant({
    read: true
});
```

#### Channel level grant

```javascript
import PubNubVue from 'pubnub-vue';

const pubnub = PubNubVue.getInstance();

pubnub.grant(
    {
        channels: ['ch1'],
        read: true, // false to disallow
        write: true// false to disallow
    },
    function(status) {
        console.log(status);
    }
);
```

#### Grant access to a channel on an authKey

Grant `read` permission to a channel only for clients with a specific `authKey` with a 5 minute `ttl`:

```javascript
import PubNubVue from 'pubnub-vue';

const pubnub = PubNubVue.getInstance();

pubnub.grant(
    {
        channels: ['ch1'],
        authKeys: ['key1'],
        read: true, // false to disallow
        write: true// false to disallow
    },
    function(status) {
        console.log(status);
    }
);
```

#### UUID level grant

```javascript
pubnub.grant(
    {
        uuids: ['uuid1'],
        authKeys: ['key1'],
        ttl: 60, // 0 for infinite
        get: true, // false to disallow
        update: true, // false to disallow
        delete: true // false to disallow
    },
    function (status) {
        console.log(status);
    }
);
```

## Terms in this document

* **Access Manager** - A cryptographic, token-based permission administrator that allows you to regulate clients' access to PubNub resources, such as channels, channel groups, and user IDs.
* **Action** - The type of activity (procedure) to execute when a condition is satisfied (for example, sending a message).
* **Billing alert notification** - A means of informing a user that a billing alert has been triggered. Before notifications can happen, a billing alert must be triggered first.
* **Business Object** - A container for data fields and metrics that defines aggregations and data sources.
* **Channel** - A pathway for sending and receiving messages between devices, created automatically when you first use it, that can handle any number of users and messages for different communication needs, like 1-1 text chats, group conversations, and other data streaming.
* **Channel pattern** - A way to group and analyze channel data to track performance metrics like message counts and user engagement over time with PubNub Insights.
* **Condition** - A requirement that must be satisfied or evaluated to true for an action to be executed. Input in a decision table.
* **Cryptor** - An implementation of a specific cryptographic algorithm used for data encryption/decryption that adheres to a standard interface.
* **Dashboard** - A collection of widgets (charts) that give an overview of the metrics one is evaluating.
* **Data fields** - Data you want Illuminate to track. These can be quantitative (measures), like "Number" or "Timestamp" or qualitative (dimensions) values, like "String" that can be used to categorize and segment data. Data fields can be aggregated and calculated.
* **Decision** - A collection (or decision table) of conditions and actions. When conditions are satisfied, the corresponding actions are triggered as per defined rules.
* **End Customer** - A customer of a PubNub partner. End customers do not have direct access to the Admin Portal. Instead, they interact with PubNub products—such as Illuminate—through the partner’s portal, where PubNub services are embedded. They can create PubNub objects only within this partner-provided environment.
* **Entity** - A subscribable object within a PubNub SDK that allows you to perform context-specific operations.
* **Listener** - A function or objectthat reacts to events or messages, like new chat messages or connection updates, letting your app respond in real-time.
* **Mapped/Unmapped** - Whether the data source for a data field has been defined or the action has been configured.
* **MCP Server** - A Model Context Protocol server that coordinates communication and synchronization between AI agents, clients, or services, such as Cursor IDE and Windsurf.
* **Message** - A unit of data transmitted between clients or between a client and a server in PubNub, containing information such as text, binary data, or structured data formats like JSON. Messages are sent over channels and can be tracked for delivery and read status.
* **Metric** - What exactly is evaluated using measures and dimensions (collectively called data fields), as well as aggregation functions.
* **Module** - A Functions v1 container that groups related functions for configuration and deployment on an app’s keysets.
* **Origin** - The subdomain used to establish a connection to the PubNub network that allows your application's traffic to appear like it's coming from your own domain.
* **Package** - A Functions v2 container that groups Functions, tracks Revisions, and is deployed to keysets.
* **Partner** - A PubNub customer who resells PubNub products, such as Illuminate, to their own customers. Partners have access to the Admin Portal, enabling them to create and manage PubNub objects for themselves or on behalf of their end customers.
* **Publish Key** - A unique identifier that allows your application to send messages to PubNub channels. It's part of your app's credentials and should be kept secure.
* **PubNub** - PubNub is a real-time messaging platform that provides APIs and SDKs for building scalable applications. It handles the complex infrastructure of real-time communication, including: Message delivery and persistence, Presence detection, Access control, Push notifications, File sharing, Serverless processing with Functions and Events & Actions, Analytics and monitoring with BizOps Workspace, AI-powered insights with Illuminate.
* **Push token** - A device identifier issued by a push provider (APNs or FCM) used to register a device for receiving mobile push notifications.
* **Rule** - A definition (row in a decision table) stating which action should be triggered for which condition.
* **Service Integration** - A machine identity that represents a program or service consuming the Admin API, scoped to your account and authenticated using expirable API keys with configurable permissions.
* **Signal** - A non-persistent message limited to 64 bytes designed for high-volume usecases where the the most recent data is relevant, like GPS location updates.
* **Subscribe Key** - A unique identifier that allows your application to receive messages from PubNub channels. It's part of your app's credentials and should be kept secure.
* **Timetoken** - A unique identifier for each message that represents the number of 100-nanosecond intervals since January 1, 1970, for example, 16200000000000000.
* **Trigger details** - A set of predefined criteria for a given billing alert. When met, billing alert notifications are generated.
* **User** - An individual or entity that interacts with a system, application, or service. In PubNub, a user typically refers to someone who sends or receives messages through the platform, identified by a unique user ID or username.
* **User ID** - UTF-8 encoded, unique string of up to 92 characters used to identify a single client (end user, device, or server) that connects to PubNub.
* **Vibe Coding** - A way to build applications in an intuitive, relaxed, and improvisational manner, using AI tools and natural language descriptions.
