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Documentation Index

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The Permission module is Axelar’s access-control layer for privileged operations that should not be executable by ordinary accounts. It stores a governance key — a Cosmos SDK k-of-n multisig public key — whose signatures authorize sensitive transactions like chain registration, token deployment, and key rotation. It also maintains a list of controller accounts that can send certain privileged transactions without needing the full governance multisig. Together these two mechanisms give the Axelar core team and community a graduated trust model for network management.

Governance Key

A k-of-n multisig key stored on-chain. Transactions that require governance authorization must be signed by at least k of the n registered public keys.

Controller Accounts

Individual accounts granted the ROLE_CHAIN_MANAGEMENT role, allowing them to submit chain and asset management transactions.

Key Rotation

The governance key itself can be updated through update-governance-key, enabling key rotation without a full chain upgrade.

Role Validation

Every permission-gated message is validated against the module’s account registry before execution proceeds.

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Key Concepts

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GovernanceKey

The governance key is a LegacyAminoPubKey (Cosmos SDK k-of-n multisig) stored in the Permission module’s state: 
func NewUpdateGovernanceKeyRequest(
    sender sdk.AccAddress,
    threshold int,
    pubKeys ...cryptotypes.PubKey,
) *UpdateGovernanceKeyRequest {
    govKey := multisig.NewLegacyAminoPubKey(threshold, pubKeys)
    return &UpdateGovernanceKeyRequest{
        Sender:        sender.String(),
        GovernanceKey: *govKey,
    }
}
The threshold k must be at least 1 and must not exceed the number of supplied public keys n. Every message that checks for governance authorization verifies that the transaction was signed by at least k of the registered keys.

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GovAccount

A GovAccount pairs a Cosmos address with an assigned Role: 
func NewGovAccount(addr sdk.AccAddress, role exported.Role) GovAccount {
    return GovAccount{Address: addr, Role: role}
}
The two privileged roles are ROLE_CHAIN_MANAGEMENT, which grants permission to register chains and assets without requiring the full governance multisig signature, and ROLE_ACCESS_CONTROL, which is held by the governance key address itself and is required to register or deregister controllers.

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Controller vs Governance Key

  • Individual Bech32 addresses registered by the governance key holder.
  • Assigned the ROLE_CHAIN_MANAGEMENT role.
  • Can submit privileged transactions unilaterally (single signature).
  • Suited for operational tasks like registering new Cosmos chains or assets.

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Registering a Controller

The governance key must sign the register-controller transaction. Once registered, the controller can act on behalf of governance for chain management: 
axelard tx permission register-controller [controller-address] \
  --from <governance-multisig-key> \
  --chain-id axelar-dojo-1
This transaction must be submitted with a multisig signature from the current governance key. Attempting to sign with a single key that does not match the governance key will be rejected.

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Deregistering a Controller

Remove a controller account when it is no longer needed or if the key is compromised: 
axelard tx permission deregister-controller [controller-address] \
  --from <governance-multisig-key> \
  --chain-id axelar-dojo-1

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Updating the Governance Key

Replace the current governance key with a new k-of-n multisig. The existing key must sign this transaction: 
axelard tx permission update-governance-key \
  --threshold 3 \
  --pubkeys '{"@type":"/cosmos.crypto.secp256k1.PubKey","key":"..."},{"@type":"..."},...' \
  --from <current-governance-multisig-key> \
  --chain-id axelar-dojo-1
The UpdateGovernanceKeyRequest validates that threshold > 0 and len(pubKeys) >= threshold. Key rotation takes effect immediately — ensure the new key holders are ready to sign before submitting.

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Module Parameters

The Permission module currently has no tunable on-chain parameters. All configuration is managed through governance key and controller account registration.

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CLI Reference

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Query Commands

# Retrieve the current governance key
axelard query permission governance-key

# Show permission module parameters
axelard query permission params

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Transaction Commands

# Register a controller account (requires governance multisig)
axelard tx permission register-controller [controller-address] \
  --from <governance-multisig-key>

# Deregister a controller account (requires governance multisig)
axelard tx permission deregister-controller [controller-address] \
  --from <governance-multisig-key>

# Update the governance key (requires current governance multisig)
axelard tx permission update-governance-key \
  --threshold 3 \
  --pubkeys '[{"@type":"/cosmos.crypto.secp256k1.PubKey","key":"A..."}]' \
  --from <current-governance-multisig-key>
To construct a valid multisig signature for governance transactions, use axelard tx sign --multisig [governance-address] with each key holder, then axelard tx multisign to combine the partial signatures before broadcasting.

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