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Document Ask Fern RBAC feature #706

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Document Ask Fern RBAC feature #706

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877b980
add rbac page
devalog Sep 4, 2025
f1c4e59
formatting nit
devalog Sep 4, 2025
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8 changes: 8 additions & 0 deletions fern/products/ask-fern/pages/features/rbac.mdx
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Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
---
title: Role-based access control for Ask Fern
description: Ask Fern respects your documentation's role-based access control settings.
---

Ask Fern automatically respects the [role-based access control (RBAC) settings configured in your documentation](/docs/authentication/rbac). When users query Ask Fern, they only receive answers from documentation they have permission to access based on their assigned roles.

This works at all levels, from entire sections down to individual pages and conditional content within pages.
7 changes: 4 additions & 3 deletions fern/products/ask-fern/pages/getting-started/how-it-works.mdx
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Expand Up @@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ The main parts of the Ask Fern system are:
Ask Fern's search index.
* **Query processing** – When users ask questions, Ask Fern vectorizes their
query and searches the database to find the most relevant documentation
chunks.
chunks. If you have [role-based access control](/docs/authentication/rbac) configured, Ask Fern filters results based on the user's permissions.
* **Response generation** – Ask Fern uses the retrieved chunks as context to
generate accurate answers with [citations](/ask-fern/features/citations) for the user. If the initial context isn't sufficient, it performs an additional keyword search.

Expand All @@ -45,11 +45,12 @@ sequenceDiagram

U->>C: Submit question via Ask Fern searchbox
C->>C: Convert query to vector
C->>C: Check user roles (if RBAC enabled)
C->>V: Search for relevant chunks
V->>C: Return matching documents
V->>C: Return matching documents user can access
C->>A: Send query + context
A->>V: Perform additional keyword search if needed
V->>A: Return additional chunks
V->>A: Return additional chunks user can access
A->>A: Generate response
A->>U: Return answer with citations
```
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8 changes: 8 additions & 0 deletions fern/products/ask-fern/pages/getting-started/what-is-ask-fern.mdx
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Expand Up @@ -62,4 +62,12 @@ Ask Fern helps you:
Add custom documents to Ask Fern.
</Card>

<Card
title="Role-based access control"
icon="regular shield-alt"
href="/learn/ask-fern/configuration/documents"
>
Ask Fern enforces your documentation's role-based permissions.
</Card>

</CardGroup>