saleor-customers

Saleor Customer and Staff Management

Before writing code

Fetch live docs:

1. Web-search site:docs.saleor.io customers accounts registration for customer account model and registration flow
2. Web-search site:docs.saleor.io staff users permissions groups for staff management and permission system
3. Web-search site:docs.saleor.io authentication JWT tokens for authentication flow and token handling
4. Fetch https://docs.saleor.io/docs/developer/users and review User model, addresses, and account operations
5. Web-search site:docs.saleor.io permission groups MANAGE_PRODUCTS MANAGE_ORDERS for the full list of available permissions

Customer Model

Saleor uses a single User entity for both customers and staff. The isStaff flag distinguishes between them.

| Field | Description | |-------|-------------| | id | Unique user identifier | | email | Email address (unique, used for login) | | firstName | Customer first name | | lastName | Customer last name | | isActive | Whether the account is enabled | | isStaff | Whether the user has dashboard access | | dateJoined | Account creation timestamp | | lastLogin | Most recent login timestamp | | metadata | Public key-value metadata | | privateMetadata | Staff-only key-value metadata | | languageCode | Preferred language | | defaultShippingAddress | Default shipping address | | defaultBillingAddress | Default billing address |

Customer Registration and Login

Registration Flow

| Step | Mutation | Description | |------|----------|-------------| | 1. Register | accountRegister | Create account with email and password | | 2. Confirm email | confirmAccount | Verify email with token from confirmation email | | 3. Active account | -- | Account is active after confirmation |

Registration Input

| Field | Required | Description | |-------|----------|-------------| | email | Yes | Customer email address | | password | Yes | Account password | | firstName | No | First name | | lastName | No | Last name | | redirectUrl | Yes | URL for email confirmation link | | channel | Yes | Channel slug for channel-specific registration | | languageCode | No | Preferred language for communications | | metadata | No | Initial metadata key-value pairs |

Login Flow

| Step | Mutation | Description | |------|----------|-------------| | 1. Obtain tokens | tokenCreate | Provide email + password; returns JWT access and refresh tokens | | 2. Use access token | -- | Include in Authorization: Bearer <token> header | | 3. Refresh token | tokenRefresh | Exchange refresh token for new access token | | 4. Verify token | tokenVerify | Check if a token is still valid |

JWT Authentication Flow

| Token Type | Lifetime | Purpose | |------------|----------|---------| | Access token | Short-lived (configurable, default ~5 min) | Authenticate API requests | | Refresh token | Long-lived (configurable) | Obtain new access tokens | | CSRF token | Per-session | Protect against cross-site request forgery |

Token Mutations

| Operation | Mutation | Notes | |-----------|----------|-------| | Login | tokenCreate | Returns token, refreshToken, csrfToken | | Refresh | tokenRefresh | Requires refreshToken; returns new token | | Verify | tokenVerify | Returns isValid and decoded payload | | Deactivate all | tokensDeactivateAll | Invalidate all tokens for the user |

Fetch live docs for token expiration configuration and any changes to the JWT authentication model.

Customer Addresses

Each customer can store multiple addresses with defaults for shipping and billing:

| Field | Description | |-------|-------------| | firstName | Address first name | | lastName | Address last name | | companyName | Optional company name | | streetAddress1 | Primary street address | | streetAddress2 | Additional address line | | city | City name | | postalCode | Postal or ZIP code | | country | ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code | | countryArea | State or province | | phone | Phone number | | isDefaultShippingAddress | Default for shipping | | isDefaultBillingAddress | Default for billing |

Address Mutations

| Operation | Mutation | Notes | |-----------|----------|-------| | Create address | accountAddressCreate | Customer self-service | | Update address | accountAddressUpdate | Customer self-service | | Delete address | accountAddressDelete | Customer self-service | | Set default | accountSetDefaultAddress | Set shipping or billing default | | Admin create | addressCreate | Staff creating address for a customer | | Admin update | addressUpdate | Staff updating customer address | | Admin delete | addressDelete | Staff deleting customer address |

Staff Users vs Customers

| Aspect | Customer | Staff | |--------|----------|-------| | isStaff | false | true | | Dashboard access | No | Yes | | API scope | Storefront queries, own account | Admin queries, assigned permissions | | Creation | accountRegister or customerCreate | staffCreate | | Permissions | None (implicit storefront access) | Assigned via permission groups |

Staff Management Mutations

| Operation | Mutation | Notes | |-----------|----------|-------| | Create staff | staffCreate | Set email, permissions, groups | | Update staff | staffUpdate | Modify details and permissions | | Delete staff | staffDelete | Remove staff user |

Permission Groups

Permission groups bundle permissions and assign them to staff users:

| Operation | Mutation | |-----------|----------| | Create group | permissionGroupCreate | | Update group | permissionGroupUpdate | | Delete group | permissionGroupDelete |

Key Permissions

| Permission | Grants Access To | |------------|-----------------| | MANAGE_PRODUCTS | Products, categories, collections, product types | | MANAGE_ORDERS | Orders, fulfillments, draft orders | | MANAGE_USERS | Customer accounts and staff users | | MANAGE_STAFF | Staff accounts and permission groups | | MANAGE_DISCOUNTS | Vouchers and promotions | | MANAGE_SHIPPING | Shipping zones and methods | | MANAGE_CHANNELS | Channel configuration | | MANAGE_CHECKOUTS | Checkout operations | | MANAGE_APPS | App installation and configuration | | MANAGE_SETTINGS | Site-wide settings | | MANAGE_TRANSLATIONS | Content translations | | HANDLE_PAYMENTS | Payment processing and transactions | | MANAGE_GIFT_CARD | Gift card creation and management | | MANAGE_PAGE_TYPES_AND_ATTRIBUTES | Page types and attributes |

Fetch live docs for the complete PermissionEnum -- additional permissions may exist for plugins and newer features.

Account Management Mutations

| Operation | Mutation | Actor | |-----------|----------|-------| | Request password reset | requestPasswordReset | Customer | | Set new password | setPassword | Customer (with token) | | Change password | passwordChange | Customer (authenticated) | | Request email change | requestEmailChange | Customer | | Confirm email change | confirmEmailChange | Customer (with token) | | Update account | accountUpdate | Customer (own profile) | | Delete account | accountDelete | Customer (with token) | | Admin create customer | customerCreate | Staff | | Admin update customer | customerUpdate | Staff | | Admin delete customer | customerDelete | Staff | | Admin bulk delete | customerBulkDelete | Staff |

Best Practices

• Use accountRegister for self-service registration and customerCreate for staff-created accounts
• Always configure redirectUrl for email confirmation and password reset to point to your storefront
• Store custom customer data in metadata (public) or privateMetadata (staff-only)
• Use permission groups to organize staff access -- avoid assigning permissions directly to users
• Implement token refresh logic in your storefront to maintain sessions without re-authentication
• Validate email confirmation befo