DeepSeek Completely Changed How We Use Google Zanzibar

Google Zanzibar is one of the most well-known fine-grained authorization systems, enabling large-scale applications to define and enforce access control through Policy-as-Graph structures. While powerful, Zanzibar requires a lot of data to sync, yet its implementations lack built-in automation tools. This requires manual management of relationship-based access control (ReBAC) tuples, a process that can easily become tedious and error-prone.

With the rise in popularity and functionality of AI agents, we decided to test an experimental approach: using DeepSeek R1 to automate Zanzibar tuple generation.

Combining Permit.io and DeepSeek R1, we attempted to streamline Zanzibar management by:

• Using Permit.io as a user-friendly policy management layer.
• Using DeepSeek R1 to generate ReBAC tuples from natural language descriptions.

While not yet production-ready, we think the idea of using AI agents to assist humans in automating access control might not be too far away - and we’d love to hear your feedback on how this model can be further refined and optimized for real-world production deployments.

In this article, we’ll explore:

1. What Google Zanzibar is and how it works
2. The challenges of maintaining a Policy-as-Graph system
3. How Permit.io and DeepSeek R1 can work together
4. A step-by-step guide to building an AI-assisted Zanzibar deployment

Before we dive in, we'd really appreciate your support on our upcoming Permit AI Access Control Product Hunt launch

That being said, let’s start with the basics -

What is Google Zanzibar?

Google Zanzibar is an authorization system developed to manage fine-grained access control across Google's services (e.g., Drive, YouTube, Maps). Instead of using traditional role-based access control (RBAC) or access control lists (ACLs), Zanzibar defines permissions as relationships in a graph, allowing for hierarchical and highly granular access control. By handling millions of authorization requests per second, Zanzibar ensures that even at massive scales, access control remains fast, consistent, and secure.

Why Policy-as-Graph?

Policy-as-Graph structures define entities (users, groups, resources) as nodes and relationships as edges. Instead of listing static permissions, Zanzibar allows access control decisions to be traversed dynamically through relationships.

For example, if:

• Alice owns a folder
• That folder contains multiple files

Then Alice automatically has access to all the files without explicitly assigning permissions to each one.

Why Relationships?

Google Zanzibar’s Policy-as-Graph enables the creation of Relationship-Based Access Control (ReBAC) policies. ReBAC is an authorization model in which access permissions are determined by the relationships between users and resources rather than static roles or attributes.

As we’ve seen in the previous section, instead of explicitly granting permissions, ReBAC derives access from relationships. This approach is ideal for hierarchical, social, and organization-based systems where permissions naturally follow structured relationships.

What Are Relationship Tuples?

A relationship tuple is a structured way to represent a user-resource relationship in a ReBAC system. Each tuple typically follows this format:

resource_type:resource_id#relation@subject

For example, the tuple:

document:report123#editor@alice

Means that Alice has an editor relationship with the document report123, granting her access based on the policy. Tuples act as building blocks of ReBAC policies, allowing the system to determine who can access what based on predefined relationships.

The Challenge of Maintaining Policy-as-Graph

Understanding ReBAC policies and tuples, we need to discuss the limitations of Zanzibar’s architecture. While extremely powerful, it’s quite difficult to manage at scale.

As you probably guessed, the biggest pain point in this endeavor is manually defining and updating ReBAC tuples.

For instance, if an organization changes its team structure, it must manually update thousands of tuples to reflect new permissions. This is quite time-consuming, error-prone, and difficult to audit and maintain. Without automation, managing Zanzibar at scale quickly becomes unmanageable.

The Solution: Management Layer + AI Tuple Generator

To simplify Zanzibar deployments, we propose a hybrid approach in which:

1. Permit.io: Provides a policy management layer to simplify Zanzibar-based authorization.
2. DeepSeek R1: An AI-powered ReBAC tuple generator capable of translating natural language into structured authorization rules.

How Does This Help?

• Automates tuple generation: Instead of manually defining relationships, DeepSeek R1 converts English sentences into structured ReBAC tuples.
• Reduces human effort: Developers focus on defining access rules instead of manually writing JSON policies.
• Improves accuracy: AI-generated policies reduce the risk of manual errors and inconsistencies.

Is This Production-Ready?

No. AI-generated data extraction for access control still requires human supervision to ensure correctness and security. However, we think this approach is a promising step toward automated fine-grained authorization management.

What Are We Going to Build?

To demonstrate this approach, we’ll build a Zanzibar-powered authorization system where:

1. A user inputs a natural-language relationship rule (e.g., "The enterprise sales team manages all enterprise-level accounts.").
2. A Node.js script sends this text to DeepSeek R1, which processes it into a structured ReBAC tuple.
3. Permit.io syncs the tuple with its access control graph, making it immediately enforceable.

Let’s dive into the tutorial!

Project set-up

To get started, let’s create a new Node.js project.

I assume you have Node.js installed and can understand JavaScript (don’t worry; the basics are all you need).

• Create a directory where you want to house the project and open it in a terminal.
• Use the following code to create a Node.js app:

npm init -y

Due to DeepSeek’s popularity and increased demand, they’ve had to close their API (At least for now), which is only open for paid and existing customers.

For this tutorial, we’ll use the DepSeek model from Nebius AI Studio using OpenAI SDK. It’s the same full-weight DeepSeek model but hosted on EU servers. Nebius AI Studio is a full-stack AI inference platform that provides seamless access to multiple open-source models for anyone to use.

The OpenAI SDK makes using DeepSeek easy due to its compatibility and zero configuration requirements. We just need to change the baseURL and our API key.

These are the packages that we’ll be using:

nodemon, dotenv, cors, express, openai, and permitio

Install them using the following command:

npm install nodemon dotenv cors express openai permitio

Now we’re done with the installations, we need to get our API keys.

We need two API keys: our Permit API key and our Nebius API key.

• Get your Permit API key from your Permit.io dashboard. If you don’t have an account yet, you can create one for free here.
• Get your Nebius API key from the Nebius AI Studio.

Put these API keys into your .env file.

Setting Up the ReBAC Schema

As mentioned previously, we are going to set up Relationship-Based Access Control (ReBAC) policies in the Permit.io dashboard.

In your Permit dashboard, click on the “Policy” tab on the left panel and add in your resources by clicking “Add Resource”.

Suppose we are building this DeepSeek R1 relationship tuple generator for a product organization. This organization has different teams and accounts, and teams can only manage the accounts associated with them.

We’ll create two resources: team and account. The team resource will have a manages relationship with the account resource.

The account resource will have a level attribute:

After creating your resources, click on the “Directory” tab on the left panel and add your resource instances.

In our case, we want to create resource instances of:

• A team will represent the users that handle enterprise sales
• An account will represent the enterprise account where proceeds from enterprise sales are deposited

Add the resource instances: team:enterprise_sales and account:enterprise.

With all of the different elements that comprise our relationship-based policy, in the next section, we’re going to build out the relationship tuple generator.

Building the Node.js + DeepSeek Parser

Configuring our Node.js application

Create an index.js file and add the following configuration:

const { Permit } = require("permitio");
const express = require("express");
const dotenv = require("dotenv");
const { OpenAI } = require("openai");
const cors = require("cors");

dotenv.config();

const permit = new Permit({
  pdp: "<http://localhost:7766>",
  token: process.env.PERMIT_API_KEY_PROD,
});

const openai = new OpenAI({
  baseURL: "<https://api.studio.nebius.ai/v1/>",
  apiKey: process.env.MY_OWN_NEBIUS_API_KEY,
});

const app = express();
const PORT = process.env.PORT || 3000;

app.use(express.json());
app.use(cors());

app.listen(PORT, () => {
  console.log(`Server running on port ${PORT}`);
});

In the code above, we’re setting up the configurations of our app, including OpenAI and Permit.

Prompt engineering

In this section, we’ll create two functions for generating a prompt and parsing the AI response into an object.

In the index.js file, add the following code:

function generatePrompt(userInput) {
    return `Parse the following sentence into a REBAC relationship tuple for use in Permit.io:
      
      Sentence: "${userInput}"
      
      Identify the following:
      - **Subject:** Include type and instance if available (e.g., "team:enterprise_sales").
      - **Relation:** Extract the main action verb (e.g., "manages").
      - **Object:** Include type and instance if available (e.g., "account:enterprise").
  - **Attributes:** Extract any metadata or qualifiers relevant to the object (e.g., {"level": "enterprise"}). If no attributes exist, return an empty object.
  
  Return the result in this JSON format:
  \\`\\`\\`json
  {
    "subject": "type:id",
    "relation": "verb",
    "object": "type:id",
    "attributes": {
        "key": "value"
        }
  }
  \\`\\`\\`
  
  Ensure that the response remains consistent in format, with exact JSON keys as shown, even if some fields are empty.`;
  }
  
function transformJson(jsonString) {
    const jsonMatch = jsonString.match(/```json\\n({[\\s\\S]*?})\\n```/);
    const extractedJson = jsonMatch ? jsonMatch[1] : null;
    try {
      const data = JSON.parse(extractedJson);

      // Return the JSON string with correct formatting
      return data;
    } catch (error) {
      console.error("Invalid JSON input:", error);
      return null;
    }
  }

The generatePrompt function returns the prompt we will use to prompt the DeepSeek R1 model. We are using a function to get the response to ensure a fairly consistent result for the same input.

The transformJson function parses the AI response for the generated relationship tuple and returns it as an object.

Creating ReBAC Relationships

In this section, we will create a relationship tuple in Permit using the Permit SDK and the object returned by transformJson function.

Use the following code to create a ReBAC relationship tuple in Permit:

/* example structure:

"rawRebacTuple": {
	 "subject": "team:enterprise_sales",
   "relation": "manages",
   "object": "account:enterprise",
   "attributes": {
		   "level": "enterprise"
    }
}
*/
const result = await permit.api.relationshipTuples.create({
    subject: `${rebacTuple?.subject}`,
    relation: `${rebacTuple?.relation}`,
    object: `${rebacTuple?.object}`,
});

Our final index.js should look like this:

const { Permit } = require("permitio");
const express = require("express");
const dotenv = require("dotenv");
const { OpenAI } = require("openai");
const cors = require("cors");

dotenv.config();

const permit = new Permit({
  pdp: "<http://localhost:7766>",
  token: process.env.PERMIT_API_KEY_PROD,
});

const openai = new OpenAI({
  baseURL: "<https://api.studio.nebius.ai/v1/>",
  apiKey: process.env.MY_OWN_NEBIUS_API_KEY,
});

const app = express();
const PORT = process.env.PORT || 3000;

app.use(express.json());
app.use(cors());

app.post("/generate-rebac", async (req, res) => {
  const { text } = req.body;

  function generatePrompt(userInput) {
    return `Parse the following sentence into a REBAC relationship tuple for use in Permit.io:
      
      Sentence: "${userInput}"
      
      Identify the following:
      - **Subject:** Include type and instance if available (e.g., "team:enterprise_sales").
      - **Relation:** Extract the main action verb (e.g., "manages").
      - **Object:** Include type and instance if available (e.g., "account:enterprise").
  - **Attributes:** Extract any metadata or qualifiers relevant to the object (e.g., {"level": "enterprise"}). If no attributes exist, return an empty object.
  
  Return the result in this JSON format:
  \\`\\`\\`json
  {
    "subject": "type:id",
    "relation": "verb",
    "object": "type:id",
    "attributes": {
        "key": "value"
        }
  }
  \\`\\`\\`
  
  Ensure that the response remains consistent in format, with exact JSON keys as shown, even if some fields are empty.`;
  }

  const prompt = generatePrompt(text);

  function transformJson(jsonString) {
    const jsonMatch = jsonString.match(/```json\\n({[\\s\\S]*?})\\n```/);
    const extractedJson = jsonMatch ? jsonMatch[1] : null;
    try {
      const data = JSON.parse(extractedJson);

      // Return the JSON string with correct formatting
      return data;
    } catch (error) {
      console.error("Invalid JSON input:", error);
      return null;
    }
  }

  try {
    const response = await openai.chat.completions.create({
      temperature: 0.6,
      messages: [
        {
          role: "system",
          content: prompt,
        },
      ],
      model: "deepseek-ai/DeepSeek-R1",
    });

    const responseText = response.choices[0].message.content;
    const rawRebacTuple = transformJson(responseText);

    const result = await permit.api.relationshipTuples.create({
      subject: `${rebacTuple?.subject}`,
      relation: `${rebacTuple?.relation}`,
      object: `${rebacTuple?.object}`,
    });

    console.log(result);
    return res.status(200).json({
      success: true,
      responseText,
      rawRebacTuple,
      rebacTuple,
      relationTupleCreated: true,
    });
  } catch (error) {
    console.error(error);
    return res.status(500).json({
      success: false,
      error: error.message,
      relationTupleCreated: false,
    });
  }
});

app.listen(PORT, () => {
  console.log(`Server running on port ${PORT}`);
});

Testing and Validation

Now it’s time to test our application. I’ll use the following text: "The enterprise sales team manages all enterprise-level accounts."

Since our interface is a Node.js application, we’ll use Postman to test our integration.

Go to the Postman website or use the desktop application (if you have it installed). Add the URL and the prompt (mark it as raw), and send the request.

You should get something like this:

If you check the team:enterprise_sales and account:enterprise resources in your dashboard, you’ll see that the relationship has been added automatically.

Real-world usage

To truly function in a real-world environment, an AI-enhanced access control system must integrate with several additional event-driven workflows, automated access request systems, and AI-driven permission management tools. Below are key integrations that would be required for such a system to operate efficiently in production.

Event-driven system for syncing relationships

Real-world applications require real-time updates to keep access control policies synchronized with changes in user activity, resource creation, and system events. An event-driven architecture ensures that access control remains up to date without manual intervention.

How Would it Work?

• An event listener detects an event (e.g., a new transaction, resource creation, or user action) when it occurs.
• The system interprets the event and determines whether it requires an update in access control policies.
• A Graph API call is made to Permit.io (or another access control platform) to update relationships dynamically.

This type of integration eliminates manual updates, ensuring that access control scales efficiently in dynamic environments.

AI-Powered Permission Bots for Automated Access Requests

A Permission Bot would act as an intelligent assistant that automates access requests and approvals, reducing dependency on IT teams while maintaining security policies.

How Would it Work?

1. A user requests access
   using a conversational interface (e.g., Slack, Teams, or a chatbot).
   
   • Example: “Can I get editor access to the sales dashboard?”
2. Natural Language Processing (NLP) interprets the request and verifies the user's current permissions.
3. If the user is eligible, the bot grants access automatically through the access control system.
4. If approval is required, the bot notifies an admin, providing them with a simple way to approve or deny the request.

AI Agents for Proactive Permission Management

Rather than waiting for users to request access, AI Agents can anticipate permissions needed and proactively request them on the user's behalf.

How Would it Work?

• The AI agent monitors user activity and detects when a permission issue is likely to occur.
• If a user attempts to access a restricted resource, the AI automatically initiates a permission request.
• The AI agent can also predict access needs based on behavior, preemptively requesting access before users even realize they need it.

Example Use Cases

Scenario 1: Proactive Permission Requests

• Alice tries to access a restricted bug report but lacks the necessary permissions.
• Instead of Alice manually requesting access, the AI agent immediately notifies the admin:
  
  • “User Alice needs read access to a bug report. Should I grant permission?”.

Scenario 2: Predictive Access Based on Behavior

• A content writer is working on an article and needs access to supporting research files.
• The AI agent detects this activity and automatically grants temporary access to the relevant documents.
• Once the task is completed, access is revoked, ensuring the principle of least privilege compliance.

The Future of AI-Driven Access Control

This “experiment” demonstrates how AI can assist in automating fine-grained authorization within Google Zanzibar by leveraging DeepSeek R1 and Permit.io. By using natural language processing to generate ReBAC tuples, we eliminate much of the manual overhead typically associated with managing relationship-based access control.

However, for this approach to be real-world ready, it requires further integrations with:

• Event-driven systems to ensure real-time synchronization of permissions.
• AI-powered permission bots to automate access requests and approvals.
• Proactive AI agents to predict and preemptively manage permissions.

While this solution is not yet production-ready, it signals a shift towards AI-assisted access control, reducing complexity while maintaining security and compliance. As organizations scale, automated, intelligent permission management will become essential to handle the growing complexity of fine-grained authorization at scale.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on how you would refine this model. What other AI-driven enhancements would make authorization even more seamless?

Let us know your thoughts in our Slack community!