Cal.com Atoms: ADMIN User Control Issue In Team Events

by Alex Johnson 55 views

Are you experiencing issues with Cal.com Atoms where team event type assignment controls aren't rendering for ADMIN users? You're not alone. This article delves into a specific problem encountered when using the Cal.com Atoms library with platform OAuth, focusing on the missing member controls within the Assignment tab for ADMIN users managing team event types. We'll explore the problem, proposed solutions, attempted workarounds, and crucial questions to help you navigate this issue effectively.

Understanding the Problem: A Deep Dive

The core issue lies within the EventTypeSettings component of the Cal.com Atoms library, particularly when used in conjunction with platform OAuth for managed users. While ADMIN users can edit some fields of team event types, critical sections like Availability settings and Assignment settings exhibit unexpected behavior.

Let’s break down the specific issues observed:

  1. Availability Toggle Inconsistency: Under the Availability tab, the "Locked" toggle appears to be changeable. However, upon saving, the change doesn't persist, and the toggle reverts to its original state. This lack of persistence hinders the ability to effectively control event availability.
  2. Assignment Tab Anomaly: Missing Member Schedule Fields: The Assignment tab is designed to display individual controls for each team member, allowing for the configuration of their default schedules. Unfortunately, these per-member fields are not rendering at all. Instead of the expected controls, users encounter a dropdown displaying "Member's default schedule" without any means to configure individual schedules. This complete absence of controls severely restricts the ability to manage team member assignments.
  3. Partial Functionality: It's important to note that basic fields such as event name, duration, and description do save successfully. This partial success suggests that the issue isn't a complete failure but rather a permissions-related problem specific to certain fields and tabs. Identifying these specific areas is crucial for targeted troubleshooting.

The Context Matters:

To fully grasp the issue, understanding the context is crucial. The problem arises within a multi-tenant healthcare platform built using Cal.com Atoms. Managed users are created and added to organization teams via the API, and these users have the confirmed ADMIN role with an accepted: true status. Access is facilitated using managed user access tokens within the CalProvider. While basic event type settings function as expected, the aforementioned availability and assignment settings stumble. This context of a multi-tenant platform adds complexity to the troubleshooting process.

Proposed Solutions: How to Fix the Missing Controls

The ideal solution is to empower team event type ADMIN users with the full range of control they should possess. This translates to the following key objectives:

  1. Persistent Availability Locking: ADMIN users must be able to lock and unlock availability for team event types, with these changes persisting after saving. This ensures effective control over when events can be booked.
  2. Visible and Configurable Member Schedules: The Assignment tab should render the individual member schedule controls, allowing ADMIN users to see and configure them. This is the most critical aspect of the fix, as the controls are currently missing entirely.
  3. Granular Schedule Assignment: ADMIN users need the ability to assign specific schedules to individual team members within the event type. This granular control is essential for optimizing team availability.
  4. Comprehensive Control: The overarching goal is to grant ADMIN users the full spectrum of control over team event type configuration, as intended by the Cal.com documentation.

Expected Behavior vs. Reality:

The Cal.com documentation clearly states that "only the owner or admin of the team can update the event type settings." This implies that ADMIN users should have access to ALL settings, not just basic fields. Specifically, the Assignment tab should display controls for each team member, facilitating individual schedule management. However, the current reality falls short of this expectation, highlighting a discrepancy between documentation and actual behavior.

The Ideal Resolution:

The ideal solution involves addressing the underlying cause of the problem, which likely lies in the permission checks within the Atoms library. A fix should:

  • Correct Permission Checks: Ensure that the Atoms library correctly identifies and grants permissions to ADMIN users, allowing them to view and control availability and assignment settings.
  • Proper Rendering of Assignment Fields: Guarantee that per-member assignment fields render correctly for ADMIN users, providing the necessary interface for schedule configuration.
  • Documentation Clarity: If certain fields or tabs genuinely require an OWNER role instead of ADMIN, the documentation should explicitly state this distinction. Clear and accurate documentation is crucial for user understanding and troubleshooting.
  • Informative Error Messages: Instead of silently hiding fields or reverting changes, the system should provide clear error messages when permission is denied. This proactive feedback mechanism empowers users to understand the issue and take appropriate action.

Workarounds Explored: A Journey of Troubleshooting

Before arriving at the proposed solutions, several workarounds were explored in an attempt to mitigate the issue. These attempts, while ultimately unsuccessful, provide valuable insights into the problem's nuances.

Verified Configurations:

  • ✅ Membership Verification: Confirmed that membership status is accepted: true and role is ADMIN within the Cal.com UI. This ensures that the user is correctly identified as an ADMIN.
  • ✅ Access Token Validation: Ensured the use of the correct managed user's access token. Using the appropriate token is fundamental for authentication and authorization.
  • ✅ Basic Field Functionality: Confirmed that basic event type fields (name, duration) save successfully. This isolates the problem to specific settings.

Unsuccessful Attempts:

  • ❌ Repeated Saving: Attempted to save availability settings multiple times, but the changes consistently reverted. This suggests a deeper issue than a simple saving glitch.
  • ❌ Missing Fields: Searched for member schedule assignment fields, but they simply did not render. This points to a rendering or permission issue.
  • ❌ Token Refresh: Tried token refresh via OAuth flow, but no improvement was observed. This eliminates token validity as the primary cause.
  • ❌ Browser Troubleshooting: Tested different browsers and cleared cache, but the problem persisted. This rules out browser-specific caching issues.

Current Workaround Consideration:

The current fallback option under consideration is to promote all users to the OWNER role instead of ADMIN. However, this approach presents significant drawbacks:

  • Role-Based Access Control Negation: Defeats the fundamental purpose of role-based access control, blurring the lines between different levels of access.
  • Security and Governance Concerns: Could introduce security and governance vulnerabilities, particularly in a sensitive healthcare context where data access needs to be carefully controlled.
  • Uncertainty of Resolution: It remains unclear whether granting OWNER role would even fix the specific rendering and persistence issues encountered.

Additional Context: Unveiling the Details

A comprehensive understanding of the problem necessitates examining the additional context surrounding the issue. This includes:

Visual Evidence: The Screenshot Speaks Volumes:

The provided screenshot offers a clear visual representation of the problem. The Assignment tab displays:

  • A generic message: "We will use each members default availability schedule. They will be able to edit or change it."
  • A dropdown labeled "Member's default schedule."
  • Critically, missing individual controls for each team member to set their specific schedules. This is the core visual manifestation of the problem.

The expected UI, in contrast, should showcase a list of team members with dedicated schedule assignment controls for each, allowing for granular configuration.

Functional and Non-Functional Areas:

It's crucial to distinguish between the areas that function correctly and those that exhibit issues:

  • ✅ Functioning Tabs: Basics (event name, duration, location), Limits, and Advanced (description, etc.) tabs operate as expected.
  • ❌ Non-Functioning Tabs: Availability (locked toggle doesn't persist) and Assignment (per-member schedule fields don't render) tabs are problematic.

Workflow Breakdown: A Step-by-Step Analysis:

Analyzing the workflow leading to the issue helps pinpoint potential points of failure:

  1. Managed User Creation: Create a managed user via OAuth.
  2. Team Addition: Add the user to an organization team via API, comprising 3 members.
  3. Role Update: Update membership to ADMIN using PATCH /v2/organizations/{orgId}/memberships/{membershipId} with `{role: