Synchronous vs. asynchronous authorization updates: How to choose

WorkOS provides a framework for managing the synchronization and authorization of user permissions across different resources, focusing on the trade-offs between synchronous and asynchronous updates. Synchronous updates ensure immediate consistency by computing new permissions during the API call, but they introduce latency with each membership change. Asynchronous updates, although faster initially, may lead to temporary inconsistencies, particularly impacting security if revocations are delayed. The document discusses how to manage these trade-offs by starting with synchronous updates and monitoring latency and contention, transitioning to asynchronous updates when necessary, and keeping revocation handling more conservative than grants. WorkOS offers tools like Directory Sync and Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) to facilitate these processes with features that include single API integration for identity providers and hierarchical access control for more precise permissions management.