Who is Ordering?

Anyone can do anything in Sandy’s shop. Why authorization matters.

The Problem

Sandy’s online shop is live. Orders work. Database works. Then:

• A customer cancels someone else’s order
• A stranger changes the menu prices
• A random visitor deletes all orders
• An employee accidentally fires the payment processor

Everyone has the same access. There’s no concept of “who is doing this.”

Why This Happens

@post("/orders")
async def create_order(sandwich: str, qty: int) -> dict:
    # No check: who is this person?
    # No check: are they allowed to order?
    return {"status": "confirmed"}

@delete("/orders/{order_id}")
async def cancel_order(order_id: int) -> dict:
    # No check: is this THEIR order?
    # No check: are they an admin?
    return {"status": "cancelled"}

Every endpoint trusts every request. No identity, no roles, no permissions.

The Real Cost

For Sandy’s shop:

• Customers can modify other customers’ orders
• Anyone can change prices
• No audit trail of who did what

For a real business:

• Legal liability (GDPR, PCI-DSS)
• Financial fraud
• Data breaches
• Loss of customer trust

The Solution: Auth Plugin

EVOID’s auth plugin adds authorization to the pipeline:

evo install auth

from evoid_auth import register_provider

async def my_auth(token: str) -> dict:
    user = await db.find_by_token(token)
    return {"user": user.name, "role": user.role}

register_provider("my_auth", my_auth)

Now Sandy’s Intents run through an authorization pipeline:

# EPHEMERAL: no auth needed (view menu)
VIEW_MENU = Intent(name="view_menu", level=Level.EPHEMERAL)

# STANDARD: auth required (place order)
CREATE_ORDER = Intent(name="create_order", level=Level.STANDARD)

# CRITICAL: full audit (cancel order, change prices)
CANCEL_ORDER = Intent(name="cancel_order", level=Level.CRITICAL)

The pipeline automatically checks roles:

• viewer can browse the menu
• customer can place orders
• admin can manage the menu and cancel orders

What Changed

The IOP Pattern

Sandy didn’t add if user.role == "admin" to every endpoint. She changed the Intent level. EPHEMERAL = no auth. STANDARD = auth. CRITICAL = auth + audit. The pipeline enforces security. Sandy’s business logic stays clean.

Next: Growing Pains

Sandy has persistent storage and proper authorization. But the shop is growing, and new problems are emerging. Next: Growing Pains