Authorization with Directives and Context

Welcome! In this lesson, we'll dive into authorization, a critical aspect of API security. Authorization determines what an authenticated user is allowed to do or access.

• Authentication: Verifies who you are (e.g., username/password).
• Authorization: Verifies what you can do (e.g., access admin data).

Without proper authorization, even authenticated users might access sensitive data or perform actions they shouldn't.

GraphQL's flexible nature presents unique authorization challenges compared to traditional REST APIs:

• Field-level access: Clients can request specific fields. You might need to restrict access to individual fields within a type.
• Nested data: Complex queries can fetch deeply nested data. Authorization checks need to apply throughout the query tree.
• Dynamic roles: User roles and permissions can vary, requiring dynamic checks.

We need robust mechanisms to enforce these rules effectively.