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Zanzibar.

Google's globally consistent authorization system, described in a 2019 paper that became the architectural template for modern ReBAC and FGA implementations.

Google's internal Zanzibar implementation is not open source, but the paper is detailed enough that the open-source ecosystem rebuilt the architecture multiple times. OpenFGA (CNCF Sandbox project, originated at Auth0), SpiceDB (Authzed), Permify, Ory Keto, Auth0 FGA, and WorkOS FGA are all Zanzibar-derived. Each makes slightly different design choices around schema language, consistency model, and operational tooling.

Common questions

Is Zanzibar open source?

What are zookies?

Which products implement Zanzibar?

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Last updated 2026-05-06.