Secure Your Business Systems: 6 Developer Tools with RBAC Support

Originally published at https://www.nocobase.com/en/blog/6-developer-tools-with-rbac-support.
RBAC (Role-Based Access Control) is a widely adopted access control model that maps users → roles → permissions in a structured and manageable way. Its simplicity, auditability, and flexibility across diverse business scenarios have made it a default choice for many enterprise-grade systems.

💡 New to RBAC? Start with this guide: How to Design an RBAC (Role-Based Access Control) System

As companies grow and user roles become increasingly diverse, managing secure, fine-grained access control has become a significant challenge.

This explains why RBAC-related topics frequently surface in developer communities like Reddit.

One developer shared on Reddit how difficult it was to manage OAuth login and assign user roles, and was looking for an easy-to-setup and free RBAC tool to streamline the workflow.

Another Reddit user discussed their company’s struggle to transition from manual provisioning to a unified role-based access approach—especially when each role involves multiple approvers or teams, making cross-departmental collaboration extremely complex.

To help you build a secure and manageable permission system, we’ve selected 6 powerful tools that support RBAC, covering open-source, self-hosted, and SaaS models. These tools are suitable for everything from small projects to large enterprise systems.

No.1 NocoBase: Open Source No-Code Platform

Website: https://www.nocobase.com/

GitHub: https://github.com/nocobase/nocobase

Overview: NocoBase is an open-source low-code/no-code platform purpose-built for internal business systems. It features robust RBAC support with visual permission management and fine-grained controls, ideal for CRM, ERP, CMS, or any role-driven system.

Key Features:

• ✅ Fine-grained permission control (field-level, condition-level)
• ✅ Visual permission editor, no coding required
• ✅ Users can belong to multiple roles (role merging)
• ✅ Integrates with user groups, org structures, view-level access
• ✅ Plugin-ready architecture with REST API support

Best For:

• Admin panels, CRMs, or HR systems needing detailed access controls
• Teams requiring self-hosted solutions for compliance and data isolation
• No-code workflows where non-developers (PMs, Ops) can manage roles/permissions

Deployment:

• Self-hosted via Docker or Node.js
• Licensed under AGPL-3.0
• Strong community support

No.2 Keycloak: Enterprise-Grade Identity and Access Management

Website: https://www.keycloak.org/

GitHub: https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak

Overview: Keycloak, developed by Red Hat, is a popular open-source identity and access management solution. It’s widely used for enterprise SSO, OAuth2/OpenID Connect integrations, and LDAP/AD federation. Keycloak provides both global and application-level RBAC.

Key Features:

• ✅ Built-in support for SSO (Single Sign-On) and Single Logout
• ✅ Native integration with LDAP/Active Directory and custom user storage
• ✅ Supports OAuth2, OIDC, and SAML standards
• ✅ Fine-grained permission configuration via Authorization Services
• ✅ Centralized management via admin console

Best For:

• Enterprise internal systems and B2B platforms needing unified login and access control
• Integrations with Google OAuth, LDAP, AD
• Organizations requiring IAM integration and federation

Deployment:

• Self-hosted, supports Docker and Kubernetes
• CLI tools and REST API support
• Java-based, scalable for high availability setups

No.3 Casbin: Open Source Authorization Library

Website: https://casbin.org/

GitHub: https://github.com/casbin/casbin

Overview: Casbin is a powerful, model-driven authorization library supporting RBAC, ABAC, and more. By defining {subject, object, action} rules via configuration, Casbin is ideal for embedding into backend systems for fine-grained access control.

Key Features:

• ✅ Decouples policy model and storage (DB, Redis, etc.)
• ✅ Supports multiple languages: Go, Node.js, Python, Java, etc.
• ✅ RBAC/ABAC model support with role inheritance and hierarchy
• ✅ Deployable as middleware or integrated with frontend/backend
• ✅ Custom functions and combinable policies

Best For:

• Microservices, API gateways, backend authorization layers
• Custom permission logic with existing user systems

Deployment:

• Embedded as SDK in backend services
• Can be used with official dashboard or custom control panel

No.4 Oso: Hosted Authorization Engine

Website: https://www.osohq.com/

GitHub: https://github.com/osohq/oso/

Overview: Oso is a developer-first authorization engine that uses the Polar policy language (DSL) to separate access control logic from application code. Ideal for hierarchical resources and dynamic permission rules.

Key Features:

• ✅ Polar DSL enables conditional expressions and role inheritance
• ✅ Integrates with Django, Flask, SQLAlchemy, and more
• ✅ „Explain“ mode for debugging access decisions and auditing
• ✅ AuthZ-focused; works with any existing identity provider

Best For:

• Complex resource hierarchies and role-specific access
• Multi-tenant systems and org-level RBAC
• Fine-grained models (RBAC, ReBAC, ABAC)

Deployment:

• Oso Cloud: Managed service with API-based decision-making
• Local Authorization: Hybrid model for partial local evaluation

No.5 Permit.io: Full-Stack Authorization as a Service

Website: https://www.permit.io/

GitHub: https://github.com/permitio

Overview: Permit.io is a full-stack authorization platform that supports RBAC, ABAC, ReBAC, and more. It combines policy-as-code, visual management, and developer-friendly APIs, making it easy to implement access control at any scale.

Key Features:

• ✅ RBAC/ABAC/ReBAC support with resource and user hierarchies
• ✅ Policy-as-Code using Rego or Cedar, with version control
• ✅ Visual editor + CLI for no-code and code-based workflows
• ✅ GitOps-ready via Terraform and API integration
• ✅ Supports local decision evaluation for zero-latency authorization

Best For:

• Fast implementation of flexible access control models
• Git-based policy management and CI/CD integration
• Multi-tenant and compliance-heavy systems (e.g., HIPAA, SOC2)

Deployment:

• Cloud-hosted SaaS (free dev tier available)
• Hybrid mode: local evaluation + cloud policy management

No.6 Auth0: Identity Platform with Built-in RBAC

Website: https://auth0.com/

Overview: Auth0 is a developer-friendly identity and access management solution offering authentication, social login, SSO, and fine-grained access control. RBAC is built into the platform, making it ideal for projects requiring fast setup and enterprise-grade security.

Key Features:

• ✅ Admin console for role and permission configuration
• ✅ Embeds permissions into tokens for simplified authZ
• ✅ 30+ SDKs, plus Rules Engine for custom workflows
• ✅ Integrates easily with enterprise directories and social login

Best For:

• Apps that require login + role-binding out of the box
• Fine-grained access control in GenAI and consumer apps
• High-security, compliance-driven environments

Deployment:

• Fully managed SaaS, billed per user
• Dev/test support on free tier
• Custom domain, multi-tenant, and enterprise SSO ready

Tool Selection Guide

Whether you’re building a brand-new backend system or replacing outdated manual processes, RBAC is a foundational capability. It directly impacts your system’s security, collaboration efficiency, and user experience.

Here’s a quick guide to help you select the right tool based on your use case:

👉 Next Step: Choose the tool that matches your project needs and dive into its docs to start building your access control infrastructure.

Related reading:

• How to Design an RBAC (Role-Based Access Control) System
• 7 Best Data Integration Platforms: Reviews & Top Picks
• Top 8 Open-Source CRUD Projects with the Most GitHub Stars
• How to Build Efficient CRUD Applications?
• 6 Open-Source Firebase Alternatives for Self-Hosting and Data Control
• 6 Best No-Code Tools for PostgreSQL