[FC-0099] refactor!: consider global scope as wildcard managed by ScopeData (openedx#132)

Author: mariajgrimaldi

CHANGELOG.rst

@@ -14,6 +14,14 @@ Change Log
 Unreleased
 **********
 
+0.13.0 - 2025-11-05
+********************
+
+Added
+=====
+
+* Add support for global scopes instead of generic `sc` scope to support instance-level permissions.
+
 0.12.0 - 2025-10-30
 ********************
 

openedx_authz/__init__.py

@@ -4,6 +4,6 @@
 
 import os
 
-__version__ = "0.12.0"
+__version__ = "0.13.0"
 
 ROOT_DIRECTORY = os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))

openedx_authz/api/data.py

@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@
 
 AUTHZ_POLICY_ATTRIBUTES_SEPARATOR = "^"
 EXTERNAL_KEY_SEPARATOR = ":"
-GENERIC_SCOPE_WILDCARD = "*"
+GLOBAL_SCOPE_WILDCARD = "*"
 NAMESPACED_KEY_PATTERN = rf"^.+{re.escape(AUTHZ_POLICY_ATTRIBUTES_SEPARATOR)}.+$"
 
 
@@ -181,6 +181,14 @@ def __call__(cls, *args, **kwargs):
         if cls is not ScopeData:
             return super().__call__(*args, **kwargs)
 
+        # When working with global scopes, we can't determine subclass with an external_key since
+        # a global scope it's not attached to a specific resource type. So we only use * as
+        # an external_key to mean generic scope which maps to base ScopeData class.
+        # The only remaining issue is that internally the namespace key used in policies will be
+        # The global scope namespace (global^*), so we need to handle that case here.
+        if kwargs.get("external_key") == GLOBAL_SCOPE_WILDCARD:
+            return super().__call__(*args, **kwargs)
+
         if "namespaced_key" in kwargs:
             scope_cls = cls.get_subclass_by_namespaced_key(kwargs["namespaced_key"])
             return super(ScopeMeta, scope_cls).__call__(*args, **kwargs)
@@ -198,15 +206,15 @@ def get_subclass_by_namespaced_key(mcs, namespaced_key: str) -> Type["ScopeData"
         Extracts the namespace prefix (before '^') and returns the registered subclass.
 
         Args:
-            namespaced_key: The namespaced key (e.g., 'lib^lib:DemoX:CSPROB', 'sc^generic').
+            namespaced_key: The namespaced key (e.g., 'lib^lib:DemoX:CSPROB', 'global^generic').
 
         Returns:
             The ScopeData subclass for the namespace, or ScopeData if namespace not recognized.
 
         Examples:
             >>> ScopeMeta.get_subclass_by_namespaced_key('lib^lib:DemoX:CSPROB')
             <class 'ContentLibraryData'>
-            >>> ScopeMeta.get_subclass_by_namespaced_key('sc^generic')
+            >>> ScopeMeta.get_subclass_by_namespaced_key('global^generic')
             <class 'ScopeData'>
         """
         # TODO: Default separator, can't access directly from class so made it a constant
@@ -224,7 +232,7 @@ def get_subclass_by_external_key(mcs, external_key: str) -> Type["ScopeData"]:
         the key format using the subclass's validate_external_key method.
 
         Args:
-            external_key: The external key (e.g., 'lib:DemoX:CSPROB', 'sc:generic').
+            external_key: The external key (e.g., 'lib:DemoX:CSPROB', 'global:generic').
 
         Returns:
             The ScopeData subclass corresponding to the namespace.
@@ -263,11 +271,11 @@ def get_all_namespaces(mcs) -> dict[str, Type["ScopeData"]]:
 
         Returns:
             dict[str, Type["ScopeData"]]: A dictionary of all namespace prefixes registered in the scope registry.
-                Each namespace corresponds to a ScopeData subclass (e.g., 'lib', 'sc').
+                Each namespace corresponds to a ScopeData subclass (e.g., 'lib', 'global').
 
         Examples:
             >>> ScopeMeta.get_all_namespaces()
-            {'sc': ScopeData, 'lib': ContentLibraryData, 'org': OrganizationData}
+            {'global': ScopeData, 'lib': ContentLibraryData, 'org': OrganizationData}
         """
         return mcs.scope_registry
 
@@ -293,17 +301,22 @@ class ScopeData(AuthZData, metaclass=ScopeMeta):
     and not tied to any specific scope type, holding attributes common to all scopes.
 
     Attributes:
-        NAMESPACE: 'sc' for generic scopes.
+        NAMESPACE: 'global' for generic scopes.
         external_key: The scope identifier without namespace (e.g., 'generic_scope').
-        namespaced_key: The scope identifier with namespace (e.g., 'sc^generic_scope').
+        namespaced_key: The scope identifier with namespace (e.g., 'global^generic_scope').
 
     Examples:
         >>> scope = ScopeData(external_key='generic_scope')
         >>> scope.namespaced_key
-        'sc^generic_scope'
+        'global^generic_scope'
     """
 
-    NAMESPACE: ClassVar[str] = "sc"
+    # The 'global' namespace is used for scopes that aren't tied to a specific resource type.
+    # This base class supports:
+    # 1. Global wildcard scopes (external_key='*') that apply across all resource types
+    # 2. Custom global scopes that don't map to specific domain objects (e.g., 'global:some_scope')
+    # Subclasses like ContentLibraryData ('lib') represent concrete resource types with their own namespaces.
+    NAMESPACE: ClassVar[str] = "global"
 
     @classmethod
     def validate_external_key(cls, _: str) -> bool:

openedx_authz/rest_api/utils.py

@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 from django.contrib.auth import get_user_model
 from django.db.models import Q
 
-from openedx_authz.api.data import GENERIC_SCOPE_WILDCARD, ScopeData
+from openedx_authz.api.data import GLOBAL_SCOPE_WILDCARD, ScopeData
 from openedx_authz.rest_api.data import SearchField, SortField, SortOrder
 
 User = get_user_model()
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ def get_generic_scope(scope: ScopeData) -> ScopeData:
         >>> get_generic_scope(scope)
         ScopeData(namespaced_key="lib^*")
     """
-    return ScopeData(namespaced_key=f"{scope.NAMESPACE}{ScopeData.SEPARATOR}{GENERIC_SCOPE_WILDCARD}")
+    return ScopeData(namespaced_key=f"{scope.NAMESPACE}{ScopeData.SEPARATOR}{GLOBAL_SCOPE_WILDCARD}")
 
 
 def get_user_map(usernames: list[str]) -> dict[str, User]:

openedx_authz/rest_api/v1/permissions.py

@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ def get_permission_class(mcs, namespace: str) -> type["BaseScopePermission"]:
         """Retrieve the permission class for the given namespace.
 
         Args:
-            namespace: The namespace identifier (e.g., 'lib', 'sc').
+            namespace: The namespace identifier (e.g., 'lib', 'global').
 
         Returns:
             type["BaseScopePermission"]: The permission class for the namespace,
@@ -54,8 +54,8 @@ class BaseScopePermission(BasePermission, metaclass=PermissionMeta):
     specific authorization logic for their scope types.
     """
 
-    NAMESPACE: ClassVar[str] = "sc"
-    """The namespace identifier for this permission class. Default ``sc`` for generic scopes."""
+    NAMESPACE: ClassVar[str] = "global"
+    """The namespace identifier for this permission class. Default ``global`` for generic scopes."""
 
     def get_scope_value(self, request) -> str | None:
         """Extract the scope value from the request.
@@ -78,15 +78,15 @@ def get_scope_namespace(self, request) -> str:
             request: The Django REST framework request object.
 
         Returns:
-            str: The scope namespace (e.g., 'lib', 'sc').
+            str: The scope namespace (e.g., 'lib', 'global').
 
         Examples:
             >>> request.data = {"scope": "lib:DemoX:CSPROB"}
             >>> permission.get_scope_namespace(request)
             'lib'
             >>> request.data = {}
             >>> permission.get_scope_namespace(request)
-            'sc'
+            'global'
         """
         scope_value = self.get_scope_value(request)
         if not scope_value:
@@ -137,7 +137,7 @@ class DynamicScopePermission(BaseScopePermission):
         >>> request.data = {"scope": "lib:DemoX:CSPROB"}
         >>> ContentLibraryPermission.has_permission(request, view)
         >>> # For a generic scope request, this will delegate to BaseScopePermission
-        >>> request.data = {"scope": "sc:generic"}
+        >>> request.data = {"scope": "global:generic"}
         >>> BaseScopePermission.has_permission(request, view)
 
     Note:

openedx_authz/rest_api/v1/serializers.py

@@ -135,7 +135,7 @@ def validate_scope(self, value: str) -> api.ScopeData:
         returns an instance of the appropriate ScopeData subclass.
 
         Args:
-            value: The scope string to validate (e.g., 'lib', 'sc', 'org').
+            value: The scope string to validate (e.g., 'lib', 'global', 'org').
 
         Returns:
             ScopeData: An instance of the appropriate ScopeData subclass for the scope.

openedx_authz/tests/api/test_data.py

@@ -155,7 +155,7 @@ def test_scope_data_direct_instantiation_with_namespaced_key(self):
         """Test that ScopeData can be instantiated with namespaced_key.
 
         Expected Result:
-            - ScopeData(namespaced_key='sc^generic') creates ScopeData instance
+            - ScopeData(namespaced_key='global^generic') creates ScopeData instance
         """
         namespaced_key = f"{ScopeData.NAMESPACE}{ScopeData.SEPARATOR}generic"
 
@@ -222,25 +222,25 @@ def test_scope_data_registration(self):
         """Test that ScopeData and its subclasses are registered correctly.
 
         Expected Result:
-            - 'sc' namespace maps to ScopeData class
+            - 'global' namespace maps to ScopeData class
             - 'lib' namespace maps to ContentLibraryData class
         """
-        self.assertIn("sc", ScopeData.scope_registry)
-        self.assertIs(ScopeData.scope_registry["sc"], ScopeData)
+        self.assertIn("global", ScopeData.scope_registry)
+        self.assertIs(ScopeData.scope_registry["global"], ScopeData)
         self.assertIn("lib", ScopeData.scope_registry)
         self.assertIs(ScopeData.scope_registry["lib"], ContentLibraryData)
 
     @data(
         ("lib^lib:DemoX:CSPROB", ContentLibraryData),
-        ("sc^generic_scope", ScopeData),
+        ("global^generic_scope", ScopeData),
     )
     @unpack
     def test_dynamic_instantiation_via_namespaced_key(self, namespaced_key, expected_class):
         """Test that ScopeData dynamically instantiates the correct subclass.
 
         Expected Result:
             - ScopeData(namespaced_key='lib^...') returns ContentLibraryData instance
-            - ScopeData(namespaced_key='sc^...') returns ScopeData instance
+            - ScopeData(namespaced_key='global^...') returns ScopeData instance
         """
         instance = ScopeData(namespaced_key=namespaced_key)
 
@@ -249,7 +249,7 @@ def test_dynamic_instantiation_via_namespaced_key(self, namespaced_key, expected
 
     @data(
         ("lib^lib:DemoX:CSPROB", ContentLibraryData),
-        ("sc^generic", ScopeData),
+        ("global^generic", ScopeData),
         ("unknown^something", ScopeData),
     )
     @unpack
@@ -258,7 +258,7 @@ def test_get_subclass_by_namespaced_key(self, namespaced_key, expected_class):
 
         Expected Result:
             - 'lib^...' returns ContentLibraryData
-            - 'sc^...' returns ScopeData
+            - 'global^...' returns ScopeData
             - 'unknown^...' returns ScopeData (fallback)
         """
         subclass = ScopeMeta.get_subclass_by_namespaced_key(namespaced_key)
@@ -268,15 +268,15 @@ def test_get_subclass_by_namespaced_key(self, namespaced_key, expected_class):
     @data(
         ("lib:DemoX:CSPROB", ContentLibraryData),
         ("lib:edX:Demo", ContentLibraryData),
-        ("sc:generic_scope", ScopeData),
+        ("global:generic_scope", ScopeData),
     )
     @unpack
     def test_get_subclass_by_external_key(self, external_key, expected_class):
         """Test get_subclass_by_external_key returns correct subclass.
 
         Expected Result:
             - 'lib:...' returns ContentLibraryData
-            - 'sc:...' returns ScopeData
+            - 'global:...' returns ScopeData
         """
         subclass = ScopeMeta.get_subclass_by_external_key(external_key)
 
@@ -319,12 +319,12 @@ def test_base_scope_data_with_external_key(self):
             - ScopeData(external_key='...') creates ScopeData instance
             - No dynamic subclass selection occurs
         """
-        scope = ScopeData(external_key="sc:generic_scope")
+        scope = ScopeData(external_key="global:generic_scope")
 
-        expected_namespaced = f"{ScopeData.NAMESPACE}{ScopeData.SEPARATOR}sc:generic_scope"
+        expected_namespaced = f"{ScopeData.NAMESPACE}{ScopeData.SEPARATOR}global:generic_scope"
 
         self.assertIsInstance(scope, ScopeData)
-        self.assertEqual(scope.external_key, "sc:generic_scope")
+        self.assertEqual(scope.external_key, "global:generic_scope")
         self.assertEqual(scope.namespaced_key, expected_namespaced)
 
     def test_empty_namespaced_key_raises_value_error(self):
@@ -345,6 +345,27 @@ def test_empty_external_key_raises_value_error(self):
         with self.assertRaises(ValueError):
             SubjectData(external_key="")
 
+    def test_scope_data_with_wildcard_external_key(self):
+        """Test that ScopeData instantiated with wildcard (*) returns base ScopeData.
+
+        When using the global scope wildcard '*', the metaclass should return a base
+        ScopeData instance rather than attempting subclass determination.
+
+        Expected Result:
+            - ScopeData(external_key='*') creates base ScopeData instance
+            - namespaced_key is 'global^*'
+            - No subclass determination occurs
+        """
+        scope = ScopeData(external_key="*")
+
+        expected_namespaced = f"{ScopeData.NAMESPACE}{ScopeData.SEPARATOR}*"
+
+        self.assertIsInstance(scope, ScopeData)
+        # Ensure it's exactly ScopeData, not a subclass
+        self.assertEqual(type(scope), ScopeData)
+        self.assertEqual(scope.external_key, "*")
+        self.assertEqual(scope.namespaced_key, expected_namespaced)
+
 
 @ddt
 class TestDataRepresentation(TestCase):

openedx_authz/tests/api/test_roles.py

@@ -500,9 +500,9 @@ def test_get_all_role_assignments_scopes(self, subject_name, expected_roles):
         (roles.LIBRARY_AUTHOR.external_key, "lib:Org6:project_beta", 1),
         (roles.LIBRARY_CONTRIBUTOR.external_key, "lib:Org6:project_gamma", 1),
         (roles.LIBRARY_USER.external_key, "lib:Org6:project_delta", 1),
-        ("non_existent_role", "sc:any_library", 0),
-        (roles.LIBRARY_ADMIN.external_key, "sc:non_existent_scope", 0),
-        ("non_existent_role", "sc:non_existent_scope", 0),
+        ("non_existent_role", "global:any_library", 0),
+        (roles.LIBRARY_ADMIN.external_key, "global:non_existent_scope", 0),
+        ("non_existent_role", "global:non_existent_scope", 0),
     )
     @unpack
     def test_get_role_assignments_in_scope(self, role_name, scope_name, expected_count):
@@ -625,8 +625,8 @@ def test_get_scopes_for_subject_and_permission(self, subject_name, action_name,
         (roles.LIBRARY_AUTHOR.external_key, "lib:Org4:art_201", {"liam"}),
         (roles.LIBRARY_AUTHOR.external_key, "lib:Org4:art_301", {"liam"}),
         ("non_existent_role", "lib:Org4:art_101", set()),
-        (roles.LIBRARY_AUTHOR.external_key, "sc:non_existent_scope", set()),
-        ("non_existent_role", "sc:non_existent_scope", set()),
+        (roles.LIBRARY_AUTHOR.external_key, "global:non_existent_scope", set()),
+        ("non_existent_role", "global:non_existent_scope", set()),
     )
     @unpack
     def test_get_subjects_for_role_in_scope(self, role_name: str, scope_name: str, expected_subjects: set[str]):
@@ -654,7 +654,7 @@ class TestRoleAssignmentAPI(RolesTestSetupMixin):
     """
 
     @ddt_data(
-        (["mary", "john"], roles.LIBRARY_USER.external_key, "sc:batch_test", True),
+        (["mary", "john"], roles.LIBRARY_USER.external_key, "global:batch_test", True),
         (
             ["paul", "diana", "lila"],
             roles.LIBRARY_CONTRIBUTOR.external_key,
@@ -712,7 +712,7 @@ def test_batch_assign_role_to_subjects_in_scope(self, subject_names, role, scope
             self.assertIn(role, role_names)
 
     @ddt_data(
-        (["mary", "john"], roles.LIBRARY_USER.external_key, "sc:batch_test", True),
+        (["mary", "john"], roles.LIBRARY_USER.external_key, "global:batch_test", True),
         (
             ["paul", "diana", "lila"],
             roles.LIBRARY_CONTRIBUTOR.external_key,
@@ -827,7 +827,7 @@ def test_unassign_role_from_subject_in_scope(self, subject_names, role, scope_na
                 )
             ],
         ),
-        ("sc:non_existent_scope", []),
+        ("global:non_existent_scope", []),
     )
     @unpack
     def test_get_all_role_assignments_in_scope(self, scope_name, expected_assignments):