What permission do I need to get additional details on a user?

[hannah3]

Hi there, I'm working with a school to extract grades data from canvas, but we have found a need to extract some additional student data that I think would be found in the GET /api/v1/users/:id API or the GET /api/v1/users/:id/profile API. However, I get a "user not authorized to perform that action" message when I try to request it. Is there a specific permission I should request from the schools Canvas Admin? 

[Stef_retired]

Hi,  @hannah3 ‌, I don't have an immediate answer for you, but I've moved your question to the Canvas Developers‌ group where it's more likely to get quick attention from your peers, and I've also shared it with the Canvas Admins‌ group to get additional sets of eyes on it. If you're not yet a member of these groups, you can easily join by selecting Join Group from the Actions dropdown at the upper right of the group home page.

[pklove]

What role does the user making the API call have?

[James · Accepted solution]

 @hannah3 ,

Information about the user would be maintained at the account level.  Canvas has a PDF document called Canvas Account Role Permissions that details what the roles are and what each one does. It is sometimes not as simple as saying you need X permission. You might also need C and Q because of the way they relate. For example, the ability to read SIS information is different from the one to act as a user. There is a setting to see the list of users, the but the ability to see the email address is a different permission. Some information is only available to the current user, which means that you need to use the as_user_id to obtain the information. Analytics has its own permissions.

Since you didn't say which items you were specifically trying to access, a specific answer is going to be difficult to provide -- other than an admin account with full rights can do about anything, which is why they may not want to give you that.

There is a companion document Canvas Course Role Permissions that describes the permissions for information within a course.

Some permissions, like Edit Grades or View all Grades are available in both the account and course permissions.

[hannah3]

Hi James,

Thanks for the quick response. I think the issue was exactly as you described where I had permission to access the SIS information but not act as a user, therefore I was not able to see the users profile or other attributes. I contacted the school administrator and they seemed to know what I was talking about and changed my permissions, that document is very helpful though and I will use it for future reference!

[James]

I'm glad you got it figured out,  @hannah3 .