Groups

Groups let you manage dashboard and visual permissions for multiple users at once. Instead of sharing resources one user at a time, share with a group and every member automatically gets access.

When to Use Groups

Groups are useful when:

• Multiple users need the same access — share a dashboard once with a group instead of individually with each user
• Teams change frequently — add or remove members from a group, and their access updates automatically
• You manage many tenants — create per-tenant groups to organize customer access

Group Types

Semaphor has two group types to match its multi-tenancy model:

Organization Groups

Created by organization admins for internal team members.

• Contain organization users only
• Visible across all tenants
• Managed by users with ADMIN role

Use cases: "Analytics Team", "Sales Dashboard Viewers", "Executive Reporting"

Tenant Groups

Created for users within a specific tenant.

• Contain tenant users from one specific tenant
• Isolated to their tenant
• Managed by users with POWER_USER role (within that tenant)

Use cases: "Acme Corp Analysts", "Partner Admins", "Regional Managers"

How Group Permissions Work

When you share a dashboard or visual with a group, every member of that group receives the access level you specified. When new members join the group, they inherit those permissions automatically.

Dashboard "Q1 Revenue"
  └─ Shared with "Analytics Team" as EDITOR
       ├─ Alice (member) → EDITOR access
       ├─ Bob (member)   → EDITOR access
       └─ Carol (added later) → automatically gets EDITOR access

Creating and Managing Groups

Creating a Group

1. Open the Management Panel
2. Navigate to the Groups view
3. Click Create Group
4. Enter a name and optional description
5. Select the group type (Organization or Tenant)
6. For tenant groups, select the target tenant
7. Click Create

Managing Members

Adding members:

1. Find the group in the Groups view
2. Click Manage Members
3. Search for users by name or email
4. Select users and click Add Members

Removing members:

1. Open the group's member list
2. Click the remove icon next to the member
3. Confirm removal — their group-inherited access is revoked immediately

Sharing with Groups

1. Open the Share dialog on a dashboard or visual
2. Navigate to the Groups tab
3. Select one or more groups
4. Choose an access level (VIEWER, EDITOR, CONTRIBUTOR, or OWNER)
5. Click Share

Limits

Who Can Manage Groups

Group creators can always edit and delete their own groups.

Best Practices

• Name groups by function, not by person — "Sales Analysts" rather than "John's Team"
• Keep membership current — remove users when they change roles or leave
• Prefer groups over individual shares for anything shared with 3+ users
• Use org groups for cross-tenant access and tenant groups for within-tenant access
• Document group purposes in the description field so other admins understand the intent

API Access

All group operations are available programmatically. See the Groups API reference for endpoint details, request/response formats, and code examples.

Related Documentation

• Understanding Permissions — How roles and access levels interact
• Sharing Resources — Sharing dashboards and visuals
• Groups API — Programmatic group management