# Group\_permissions using api in python
**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/group-permissions-using-api-in-python/81813
**Category:** Support
**Created:** [February 28, 2018, 7:04pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/group-permissions-using-api-in-python/81813 "2018-02-28T19:04:18Z")
**Posts on this page:** 9
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@David\_fs](https://meta.discourse.org/u/David_fs)
#### Post date: [February 28, 2018, 7:04pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/group-permissions-using-api-in-python/81813/1 "2018-02-28T19:04:18Z")
Trying to figure out how to make a put request ot update the group\_permissions/permissions not sure which one.
Essentially trying to make a category read only. So user can only just see and reply to posts already created.
Looking at the source it seems the category controller only allows the `permissions` value as apposed to the `group_permissions`.
I have tired the following - I’m even getting an error it’s just spitting out the category as it was.
```
data = json.dumps([{'group_name':'admin','permission_type':1},{'group_name':'everyone','permission_type':2}])
params_for_update_cat = {
'api_key': API_KEY,
'api_username':"MarketDiscuss",
"name": name_and_ticker,
"color": bg_colour,
"text_color": text_color,
"permission": json.dumps({'group_name':'everyone','permission_type':2}) #tried
}
#tried this too
"permission[]": [{'group_name':'admin','permission_type':1},{'group_name':'everyone','permission_type':2}]
#also tried this:
"permission": [{'group_name':'admin','permission_type':1},{'group_name':'everyone','permission_type':2}]
```
```
update_cat_url = f'{BASE_URL}/categories/{cat_id}'
ra = rq.put(url=update_cat_url, params=params_for_update_cat)
```
```
print(ra.url)
```
```plaintext
http://mydomainnnnn.com/categories/49?api_key=scrubbed&api_username=ausername&name=Royal+Bank+of+Scotland+-+%28RBS%29&color=8B1D7B&text_color=FFFFFF&permission=%7B%22group_name%22%3A+%22everyone%22%2C+%22permission_type%22%3A+2%7D
```
```plaintext
print(ra.content)
b'{"success":"OK","category":{"id":49,"name":"Royal Bank of Scotland - (RBS)","color":"8B1D7B","text_color":"FFFFFF","slug":"rbs","topic_count":0,"post_count":0,"position":9,"description":null,"description_text":null,"topic_url":"/t/about-the-royal-bank-of-scotland-rbs-category/65","read_restricted":false,"permission":null,"parent_category_id":9,"notification_level":null,"can_edit":true,"topic_template":null,"has_children":null,"sort_order":null,"sort_ascending":null,"show_subcategory_list":false,"num_featured_topics":3,"default_view":null,"subcategory_list_style":"rows_with_featured_topics","default_top_period":"all","available_groups":["admins","everyone","moderators","staff","trust_level_0","trust_level_1","trust_level_2","trust_level_3","trust_level_4"],"auto_close_hours":null,"auto_close_based_on_last_post":false,"group_permissions":[{"permission_type":1,"group_name":"everyone"}],"email_in":null,"email_in_allow_strangers":false,"mailinglist_mirror":false,"suppress_from_latest":false,"all_topics_wiki":false,"can_delete":true,"cannot_delete_reason":null,"allow_badges":true,"custom_fields":{},"allowed_tags":[],"allowed_tag_groups":[],"topic_featured_link_allowed":true,"uploaded_logo":null,"uploaded_background":null}}'
```
I also tried updating:
```
"read_restricted": True # in the request params
```
and it just stays `false`, is there any de-facto list of values I can or can’t update for the api requests? I don’t see anything in the docs.
Any help would be awesome thanks
---
### Author:  [@mikechristopher](https://meta.discourse.org/u/mikechristopher)
#### Post date: [February 28, 2018, 7:18pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/group-permissions-using-api-in-python/81813/2 "2018-02-28T19:18:11Z")
I couldnt tell you how to do it in python - but as a direct post call in order to update the category I have done the following:
Key:Value
permissions[ADDGROUPNAMEHERE]:1
1/2/3 being the permission level - Create Reply See / Reply See / See
> Essentially trying to make a category read only. So user can only just see and reply to posts already created.
You cannot make it read only whilst allowing them to reply to posts too - With that you would have to set Reply See permissions which is Value 2 I believe
---
### Author:  [@David\_fs](https://meta.discourse.org/u/David_fs)
#### Post date: [March 1, 2018, 2:52pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/group-permissions-using-api-in-python/81813/3 "2018-03-01T14:52:04Z")
Thanks - the values were a touch confusing, this helped.
So this:
```
permissions[ADDGROUPNAMEHERE]:1
```
is essentially a dictionary in python. Similar to an associative array in PHP or a Hash in Ruby. So like:
```
{ permission: {'admin':1, 'everyone':2} }
```
Butt I am struggling for the params to take. Whats frustrating is I am getting no errors :confused:
---
### Author:  [@David\_fs](https://meta.discourse.org/u/David_fs)
#### Post date: [March 1, 2018, 4:57pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/group-permissions-using-api-in-python/81813/4 "2018-03-01T16:57:58Z")
ok so I think I am a step closer…
first off -
```
permissions: {admins: 1, staff: 2}
```
The problem though is the above is cause this error:
```
NoMethodError (undefined method `each' for "stafff":String) /var/www/discourse/app/controllers /categories_controller.rb:223:in `category_params'
```
Here’s the rub though… source code in discourse does the folowing:
```
if p = params[:permissions]
p.each do |k,v|
p[k] = v.to_i
end
```
The probelm here is `p` is not being seen as a hash in the controller.. I tried converting the permissions value to a json string hoping it would be prased by the api - so I did this:
```
permissions: json.dumps({"admins": 2, 'stafff': 3})
```
but no dice - just got this error:
```
NoMethodError (undefined method `each' for "{\"admins\": 2, \"stafff\": 3}":String)
/var/www/discourse/app/controllers/categories_controller.rb:223:in `category_params'
```
Can anyone see anything wierd or missing?
---
### Author:  [@riking](https://meta.discourse.org/u/riking)
#### Post date: [March 1, 2018, 5:22pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/group-permissions-using-api-in-python/81813/5 "2018-03-01T17:22:41Z")
The HTTP library you’re using isn’t converting the parameters to a HTTP hash but a JSON string instead.
You’ll need to do this instead:
```plaintext
var params = {...};
var permissions = { admin: 1, everyone: 2 };
for (let group in permissions) {
if (!HOP.call(permissions, group) continue;
params[`permissions[${encodeURIComponent(group)}]`] =
permissions[group];
}
resp = rq.put({url: update_cat_url, params});
```
---
### Author:  [@David\_fs](https://meta.discourse.org/u/David_fs)
#### Post date: [March 2, 2018, 2:31pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/group-permissions-using-api-in-python/81813/6 "2018-03-02T14:31:48Z")
> [@riking](#):
>
> converting the parameters to a HTTP hash but a JSON string instead
The library is actually converting it to json. The problem is Discourse api doesn’t support content-type: application=/json requests it seems - I have searched on this forum and it’s been mentioned a few a times.
I have had to resort to manually building the url and using curl :confused:
---
### Author:  [@blake](https://meta.discourse.org/u/blake)
#### Post date: [March 2, 2018, 10:19pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/group-permissions-using-api-in-python/81813/7 "2018-03-02T22:19:49Z")
> [@David\_fs](#):
>
> I have had to resort to manually building the url and using curl :confused:
You should be able to use python to do this just like the [pydiscourse library](https://github.com/tindie/pydiscourse/blob/master/pydiscourse/client.py) does. You need to do what @riking said and create a hash in python just like:
>
---
### Author:  [@David\_fs](https://meta.discourse.org/u/David_fs)
#### Post date: [March 5, 2018, 10:27am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/group-permissions-using-api-in-python/81813/8 "2018-03-05T10:27:55Z")
I see what you both mean - thanks.
@blake your highlighted line is a little different to my issue because of the following:
The line you highlighted is simply adding in a new key value to the params. Where I am trying to add a new key who’s value is **also** a bunch of key/value pairs. This value of key-value pairs isn’t being parsed correctly by the requests library or I am doing something wrong(more likely).
There is clearly something I am not understanding here in terms of why the following two things are different.
```
# building the dict/keyvalue object in python like so as you guys are saying:
hash = {}
hash['new_key']="new value"
```
and
#Building the same object - like so:
```
hash = {'new_key": "new value"}
```
There doesn’t seem to be a diffence and I don’t really see how this changes when I pass the same object into the params argument of the requests field.
---
### Author:  [@system](https://meta.discourse.org/u/system)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2020, 3:43am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/group-permissions-using-api-in-python/81813/9 "2020-06-26T03:43:44Z")