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camelAI Legacy Product — This documentation covers camelAI’s embedded analytics offering, which is no longer being actively developed. We are migrating existing customers to the new camelAI platform. For the current product, visit camelAI.
PostgreSQL provides native row-level security (RLS) support that integrates seamlessly with Camel. Using session variables, you can create dynamic, per-user data access policies.

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How Camel Sets the UID

For every query executed through Camel, the system automatically sets a session variable: 
SET LOCAL camel.uid = '<user_uid>';
This variable is available throughout the query execution and can be referenced in your RLS policies.

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Setting Up RLS

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Step 1: Enable RLS on Your Table

First, enable row-level security on the tables you want to protect: 
ALTER TABLE your_table ENABLE ROW LEVEL SECURITY;
Once RLS is enabled, the table will deny all access by default unless you create policies to grant access.

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Step 2: Create an RLS Policy

Create a policy that uses the camel.uid session variable to filter rows: 
CREATE POLICY user_access_policy ON your_table
  FOR ALL
  USING (user_id::text = current_setting('camel.uid'));
This policy ensures users can only see rows where the user_id column matches their uid.

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Complete Example: User Orders

Let’s implement RLS for an e-commerce scenario where users should only see their own orders.

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1. Create the Orders Table

CREATE TABLE orders (
  id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
  user_id VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,
  product_name VARCHAR(255),
  amount DECIMAL(10, 2),
  order_date TIMESTAMP DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
);

-- Insert sample data
INSERT INTO orders (user_id, product_name, amount) VALUES
  ('user_123', 'Laptop', 999.99),
  ('user_123', 'Mouse', 29.99),
  ('user_456', 'Keyboard', 79.99),
  ('user_789', 'Monitor', 399.99);

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2. Enable RLS

ALTER TABLE orders ENABLE ROW LEVEL SECURITY;

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3. Create the Policy

CREATE POLICY orders_user_policy ON orders
  FOR ALL
  USING (user_id = current_setting('camel.uid'));

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4. Grant Permissions

-- Create a role for Camel users
CREATE ROLE camel_users;

-- Grant necessary permissions
GRANT SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE ON orders TO camel_users;
GRANT USAGE ON SEQUENCE orders_id_seq TO camel_users;

-- Your Camel database user should be a member of this role
GRANT camel_users TO your_camel_db_user;

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Testing Your Policies

You can test your RLS policies directly in PostgreSQL: 
-- Set the session variable manually for testing
SET LOCAL camel.uid = 'user_123';

-- This should only return orders for user_123
SELECT * FROM orders;

-- Reset the session
RESET camel.uid;

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Troubleshooting

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Users See No Data

  • Verify the camel.uid is being set correctly
  • Check that your policy logic is correct
  • Ensure the user has the necessary table permissions

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Performance Issues

  • Check if filter columns are indexed
  • Analyze query plans for inefficient policy checks

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Learn More

For assistance with PostgreSQL RLS implementation, contact support@camelai.com.