Collaborators

This section covers collaboration, which is how you invite other Bubble users to edit your application and its data

Bubble makes it easy to add more editors to your app to speed up development and work on multiple features at the same time.

As the app owner, you can decide who to invite to work on the app and control the level of access they have. This article will explore how to manage your team efficiently while maintaining the security of your app and its data.

Collaboration features are available on Bubble's higher-tier plans.

See and compare the different Bubble plans here.

What are collaborators?

Every editor that you add to your app is known as a collaborator. They are connected to an app, and not to your account, meaning that if you have multiple Bubble projects, you can choose which one(s) to add one or more collaborators to. The user account that is paying for the Bubble app is known as the app owner.

Collaborators need to have a registered Bubble account before they are invited.

Inviting collaborators

Adding collaborators is done in a few easy steps_

  1. First, make sure that the person you are inviting has a Bubble account. If not, they can sign up here.

  2. Navigate to Settings - Collaboration.

  3. Under Invite a user, provide their email address and click Invite.

Controlling access levels

Each user you invite (plus your own account) makes up one row as exemplified below, meaning you set the access level of each individual user.

Admin

Selecting the admin checkbox grants the most extensive set of privileges, just below the owner level. Admins can invite and edit the rights of users, and all other privileges will be set to their most generous level. Admins can also change the general settings of your app.

App

  • View only

  • View and edit

This setting determines whether the collaborator can make edits to your application or just view it. It does not affect the collaborators access to the database.

Data

This setting determines the access a user has to your database.

  • No permission - (cannot see or edit any database data in Development or Live)

  • View only - (can only view data, but cannot change it in the database editor)

  • View and run as (can only view data, but can also use the feature)

  • View and edit (can view and freely edit data)

Logs

  • No access

  • View and query

This setting determines the collaborator's access to the Logs section in the Bubble editor. Keep in mind that logs can give access to see data from the database and to scheduled workflows.

Only Development

If this is checked, the collaborator can only access the app and database of your Development environment.

Removing a collaborator

To remove a collaborator, simply click remove in the row of the collaborator you want to remove.

Transferring an app

If you want to transfer an app completely to a collaborator, they will become the app's owner and your own role will be reduced to an admin. Keen in mind then that the collaborator can edit your rights as they see fit.

Multi-user editing

If more than one user modifies an app at the same time, you will see the mouse of the other users, which helps prevent two users from modifying the same elements at the same time. You can toggle this setting with the Show the cursor of other editors when they modify the application checkbox at the bottom of the page.

General advice when working with collaborators

The first thing to emphasize about the collaboration feature is that you are potentially granting another Bubble users a very wide access to both your app and its data. While this feature can be very powerful and indeed encourage collaboration, it should be used with care.

Keep in mind the following as you start inviting collaborators:

  • Don't give broader access than what's needed: This is advice that applies to computer security: don't give any user access to more than they need to do their job.

  • Remove collaborators when their job is done: If the collaborator is working on the app for a limited amount of time, remove them from the list. Keep in mind, they can be added back any time you need them.

  • Consider closing access to the Live app: granting access to Development is usually enough to develop new features and fix bugs. This also lets you stay in control of what's deployed to Live.

  • Consider your user's privacy: Only give access to the database if it's necessary – especially the Live database. This helps you ensure that your user's data remains secure. if you need to debug with Live data, you can also consider transferring data (all of it or only the needed data) with the feature.

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