If you’ve got more than two people poking around in your HoneyPipe workspace, things get messy fast. Maybe you’re tired of accidental changes, or you just want to keep sensitive stuff from everyone’s eyes. Whatever your reason, role-based access control (RBAC) is your best friend—it keeps your team moving without stepping on each other’s toes.
This guide is for anyone running a team in HoneyPipe who wants to actually control who can do what, without making it a full-time job.
Why Bother With RBAC in HoneyPipe?
Here’s the deal: RBAC lets you decide who can see what, who can edit, and who just gets to look. That’s it. It’s not about paranoia or bureaucracy—it’s about not waking up to a broken pipeline because someone “thought it’d be fine” to tinker.
What RBAC solves: - Stops accidental (or intentional) changes to critical configs - Keeps sensitive data or settings private - Helps with compliance, if you care about that - Lets new folks join the team without a three-hour onboarding call
What it doesn’t do: - It won’t magically fix broken processes or stop people from messaging you on Slack about access. But it will give you a solid foundation.
Step 1: Understand HoneyPipe’s Role Model
Before you jump in, get clear on how HoneyPipe thinks about roles. Most platforms have their own flavor, and HoneyPipe is no exception—though thankfully, it’s not rocket science.
Default roles in HoneyPipe: - Owner: Top dog. Can do everything, including billing and deleting the workspace. - Admin: Can manage users, settings, and most resources. But can’t nuke the whole workspace or mess with billing. - Editor: Can create and change pipelines, integrations, and resources, but can’t manage users or settings. - Viewer: Read-only access. Can see stuff, but can’t break anything.
Pro tip: HoneyPipe doesn’t (yet) let you create custom roles with granular permissions. You get these four, so make them work for your team.
Step 2: Audit Your Team and Their Needs
Don’t just assign roles based on job titles. Actually look at what people need to do.
Ask yourself: - Who really needs to edit pipelines? - Who should just be able to see metrics or logs? - Who’s responsible for inviting new folks or removing ex-employees? - Do you have contractors or temporary users who should have limited access?
Make a quick list or spreadsheet. It sounds tedious, but it’ll save you trouble when someone asks why they can’t see something later.
Step 3: Add Users and Assign Roles
Now you’re ready to get your hands dirty.
- Go to your workspace settings.
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You’ll find this by clicking your avatar or the workspace name in the upper-right, then “Settings.”
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Navigate to the “Team” or “Users” section.
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HoneyPipe sometimes moves this around, but it’s usually pretty obvious. Look for “Team,” “Members,” or “Users.”
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Invite new users.
- Enter their email address. Don’t overthink it—HoneyPipe will send the invite for you.
- Choose the role you want (Owner, Admin, Editor, Viewer).
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Double-check before you hit send. There’s no “Are you sure?” screen.
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Change roles for existing users.
- Find the user in the list.
- Click the dropdown next to their name to set a new role.
- Changes take effect immediately. Heads up: If you demote someone from Admin, they lose access to user management right away.
What to watch out for: - Don’t make everyone an Owner. It’s tempting, but you’ll regret it. - Viewer is your friend for auditors, execs, or that one person who just wants to “look around.” - If you have contractors, add them as Editors or Viewers and set a calendar reminder to remove them when the project ends. Nobody likes old accounts lingering.
Step 4: Review Resource Access
Roles in HoneyPipe are workspace-wide. So if someone’s an Editor, they can edit all pipelines in that workspace. There aren’t project-level or folder-level permissions (yet).
What this means: - If you want to limit someone to just a few projects, you’ll need to create separate workspaces. That’s more overhead, but sometimes it’s worth it for sensitive stuff. - For most teams, workspace-wide roles are fine—just be aware of the trade-off.
Don’t waste time looking for: - Per-pipeline permissions (not here) - Granular read/write toggles (also not here)
Keep it simple. If you need more control, split your work into multiple workspaces.
Step 5: Lock Down Billing and Workspace Settings
By default, only Owners can manage billing and nuke the workspace. Unless you want surprise charges or lost data, don’t hand out the Owner role lightly.
Good practice: - Have at least two Owners (for vacation/sick days), but no more than you need. - Make sure Admins handle day-to-day management, not Owners. - Review Owner/Admin list every few months.
Step 6: Regularly Review and Update Roles
RBAC isn’t a set-and-forget thing. People leave, new folks join, roles change.
Set a simple schedule: - Quarterly: Review the full team list. Remove anyone who’s left. - When projects end: Remove or downgrade contractors and temporary users. - When someone changes jobs: Don’t wait for them to ask—update their role as soon as you know.
Pro tip: Set a recurring calendar event. It’ll take you five minutes, tops, but it’s worth it.
Step 7: Explain the “Why” to Your Team
RBAC works best when everyone knows the rules. Tell your team why you’re setting things up this way. Be honest: “We want to avoid mistakes and make sure nobody touches stuff they shouldn’t.”
What to avoid: - Don’t make it sound like you don’t trust people. - Don’t turn it into a bureaucratic mess. - Do remind folks that if they need more access, all they have to do is ask.
What Works, What Doesn’t, and What to Ignore
What works: - HoneyPipe’s RBAC is simple and gets the job done for most small-to-midsize teams. - It’s easy to add or remove people and change roles—no complex approval flows.
What doesn’t: - No custom roles or fine-grained permissions. If you need “edit this pipeline, but not that one,” you’re out of luck (for now). - No audit logs tied to roles—if you want to see who did what, you’ll need to dig elsewhere or ask support.
What to ignore: - Over-complicating your role setup. Don’t try to mirror your org chart. Keep it lean. - Assigning everyone as Admin “just in case.” You’ll regret it the first time someone accidentally deletes something.
Final Thoughts: Keep It Simple, Review Often
Setting up RBAC in HoneyPipe is straightforward—don’t let anyone convince you otherwise. Assign the lowest role someone needs, keep your Owners to a minimum, and actually remove people when they leave. That’s 90% of the battle.
If you outgrow what HoneyPipe offers, then you can start looking at more advanced setups or tools. But for most teams, this is more than enough. Start simple, iterate as you go, and don’t be afraid to make changes when your team changes.
Got a weird edge case or something that doesn’t fit? Reach out to support—they’re usually helpful, and sometimes they’ll even take feedback for future releases.
Happy collaborating—without the mess.