The Permit SDK is only a client, you still have to run the PDP

TL;DR

Run the PDP container (permitio/pdp-v2:latest with your environment API key as PDPAPIKEY) before making any permit.check calls, and set the SDK's pdp URL to wherever that container is reachable.

Steps

1. Run the PDP container (permitio/pdp-v2:latest with your environment API key as PDPAPIKEY) before making any permit.check calls, and set the SDK's pdp URL to wherever that container is reachable. Keep the PDP and PEP roles straight in your head: the PDP answers authorization queries, the PEP (your SDK call, middleware, or gateway plugin) enforces the answer.

When to use

Use this skill when you run into "The Permit SDK is only a client, you still have to run the PDP".

When not to use

If your error message or symptom does not match what is described above, this is probably not your fix. Search for your exact error text instead of forcing this one to fit.

Versions

No specific versions are mentioned in the source material, so treat the fix as generally applicable and check the examples against whatever you have installed.

Why this happens

The original report does not dig into a root cause. It documents the symptom and the fix that resolved it.

Source: Official docs (Glossary): documents a gotcha that trips agents new to Permit. The SDK's permit.check is a Policy Enforcement Point: it queries a Policy Decision Point, which in Permit is a docker container you run yourself, usually as a sidecar next to your services. Agents that install the SDK, point it at the default YOUR_HOST (port 7766), and never start the container get connection refused on every check and blame the policy.

Verified resolution: Run the PDP container (permitio/pdp-v2:latest with your environment API key as PDPAPIKEY) before making any permit.check calls, and set the SDK's pdp URL to wherever that container is reachable. Keep the PDP and PEP roles straight in your head: the PDP answers authorization queries, the PEP (your SDK call, middleware, or gateway plugin) enforces the answer.

Source URL: https://github.com/permitio/docs/blob/HEAD/docs/overview/glossary.mdx