This is a submission for the Permit.io Authorization Challenge: Permissions Redefined
What I Built
AutoGate is a futuristic access control system that allows users to type natural language requests like:
- "A user wants to post in fun/creative/journal category"
- "Who can post in news category?"
and instantly receive a permission decision.
The system parses the sentence, predicts the category using AI (Gemini/OpenAI) model, checks the user's attributes, and evaluates the permission dynamically.
This project redefines how permissions can be applied — moving away from rigid hardcoded logic toward dynamic, AI-assisted authorization that feels natural and intuitive.
Demo
Project Repo
(Here)
My Journey
During the development of AutoGate, I focused on creating a natural and fluid experience for dynamically checking user permissions through AI understanding and smart attribute-based policies.
One key design choice was to use a structure for permission rules, enabling rapid iteration and flexibility during the prototyping phase. The AI model plays a core role by interpreting the user's intent and context, allowing AutoGate to handle complex permission logic without burdening users with technical language.
Challenges I faced:
- Designing a consistent parsing logic to reliably extract user attributes, actions, and objects from free-text input.
- Creating a scalable way to manage permissions dynamically while keeping the system responsive and user-friendly.
- Balancing fast prototyping needs with a vision for future enterprise-grade architecture.
What I learned:
- Building flexible, AI-driven authorization is possible — but maintaining safety, governance, and explainability is critical for real-world adoption.
- Planning for "day two problems" (like auditability, rollback, and policy versioning) is essential even when focusing on MVP.
Future Work: While the current version of AutoGate uses lightweight AI parsing, the plan is to expand it to include:
- Full version control and audit logs for permission changes.
- Multi-admin approval flows for sensitive policy updates.
- Transitioning to distributed databases for scalable permission management.
- Real-time consistency handling and safe cache invalidation during permission updates synced with Permit.io.
These expansions will allow AutoGate to evolve from a dynamic prototype into a robust, production-ready authorization platform.
Using Permit.io for Authorization
For the prototype phase, permission decisions are handled by referencing a map function that simulates dynamic policy logic.
In future iterations, the plan is to integrate directly with Permit.io's platform through their APIs to:
- Replace static permission checking with Policy-as-Code.
- Manage real-time policy updates and versioning with Permit CLI.
- Enable advanced workflows such as approval chains and contextual access control.
This phased approach allowed me to prioritize user experience and core AI integration first, while ensuring a clear path toward full Permit.io integration as the system matures.