Ask HN: Does a role-based file manager exist?
2 comments
Sounds like you just described AD permissions on a file server
Or Nextcloud
Or *nix perms (and, possibly, ACLs) on a NFS device
Or Nextcloud
Or *nix perms (and, possibly, ACLs) on a NFS device
Samba?
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1. A traditional file system is composed of folders and files; where files (including folders) can nest under other folders. This is useful as it provides a file structure (UI) for your data.
[i.e Windows File System]
2. The ability to add or exclude people from reading, writing, managing, etc, an individual file or folder. As an example, one could assign a role to a folder which only allows accounts (people) with those roles the ability to read its documents. In other cases, one could allow the ability to view a folder, but not its contents to maintain its file structure for other viewers.
[i.e Discord Role System for Channels and Users]
3. Synchronization
The ability to synchronize the storage space or a subsection of the storage space to a specific location on a local file system. If there is no file-locking, this may also warrant a Version Control System or CRDT to resolve the editing conflicts of a file.
[i.e Sync: Dropbox, OneDrive, Rclone] [i.e Collision: Google Docs/Sheets, Adobe Collaborative Editing, Git, etc]
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Combining 1 and 3 is the equivalent of using a shared local network. My issue with cloud solutions (i.e Google Drive) is that the file structure of shared documents is lost. When I share a nested folder (i.e Space > Sub > A) with someone, that person is only able to see "A". This is confusing and relies on the search feature.
2 would allow any software that uses the local system to be used with roles. As an example, Obsidian doesn't have sharing built-in. However, one could add this functionality by using the Obsidian application in a folder on that file manager; with the role-based restrictions applying to actual files.