permission_already_exists

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_2c9a0jf23l4k567"
  },
  "error": {
    "detail": "A permission with slug \"admin\" already exists in this workspace",
    "status": 409,
    "title": "Conflict",
    "type": "https://unkey.com/docs/errors/unkey/data/permission/duplicate"
  }
}

​

What Happened?

• Creating a permission with a name that’s already in use
• Re-creating a previously deleted permission with the same name
• Migration or import processes that don’t check for existing permissions
• Duplicate API calls due to retries or network issues

# Attempting to create a permission with a name that already exists
curl -X POST https://api.unkey.com/v2/permissions.createPermission \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer unkey_YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "name": "admin",
    "slug": "admin-access",
    "description": "Administrator access"
  }'

​

How To Fix

1. Use a different name: If creating a new permission, use a unique name
2. Get the existing permission: If you just need the permission information, retrieve it rather than creating it
3. List existing permissions: Check what permissions already exist before creating new ones
4. Implement idempotent creation: Use a get-or-create pattern in your code

curl -X POST https://api.unkey.com/v2/permissions.listPermissions \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer unkey_YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -d '{}'

// Pseudocode for get-or-create pattern
async function getOrCreatePermission(name, slug, description) {
  try {
    // Try to create the permission
    return await createPermission(name, slug, description);
  } catch (error) {
    // If it already exists (409 error), get it instead
    if (error.status === 409) {
      // Extract the permission name from the error message and get it
      const permissions = await listPermissions();
      return permissions.find(
        (p) => p.name.toLowerCase() === name.toLowerCase(),
      );
    }
    // Otherwise, rethrow the error
    throw error;
  }
}

​

Common Mistakes

• Not checking for existing permissions: Failing to check if a permission already exists before creating it
• Case sensitivity: Permission names are case-insensitive - “Admin” and “admin” are the same
• Retry loops: Repeatedly trying to create the same permission after a failure
• Cross-environment duplication: Using the same permission names across development and production without proper namespacing

​

Related Errors

• err:unkey:data:permission_not_found - When the requested permission doesn’t exist
• err:unkey:authorization:insufficient_permissions - When you don’t have permission to manage permissions