# Project Controls

Project controls limit who can edit and publish changes in a project. They help you ship safely with multiple collaborators.

Project controls are designed to:

* Prevent unintentional edits
* Enable safe collaboration across teams
* Preserve a clear history of changes and change owners

### Editing Controls

<figure><img src="/files/7R4AisFo5GcZWrtcwvIy" alt=""><figcaption><p>Project controls: lock a project to prevent unintended changes.</p></figcaption></figure>

As the project creator, you can lock a project. Locking does not affect your ability to run the project. It blocks edits and publishing for non-authorized users.

{% hint style="info" %}
Locking is a “change freeze”. It is not a visibility control. Use private folders to hide projects from other teams.
{% endhint %}

#### Who can edit when a project is locked

Locked projects are editable only by authorized users. This typically includes the project owner and workspace admins. Your org’s governance settings may further restrict this.

### Version Control

Project versioning tracks changes over time. It creates an audit trail for what changed and who changed it.

Each time you publish a new version, you can:

* Add a description
* Review the changes included in that version

{% embed url="<https://files.gitbook.com/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FFSlso1Kjob5CLDrh0dVn%2Fuploads%2FCnTCmhb7V8QySaZgKQwI%2FVersioning.mp4?alt=media&token=69174abb-6f99-4037-b08c-21568fc3ab0e>" %}

The video above shows publishing a version and inspecting the version diff.

Select **Version history** to see:

* All published versions
* Who published each version
* The description attached to each version

You can also review a previous version and revert if needed.

{% hint style="warning" %}
Treat version descriptions like commit messages. Write what changed and why.
{% endhint %}

### Locking vs RBAC vs folder access

Use these together. They solve different problems.

* **Project lock**: prevents edits and publishing.
* **RBAC**: controls what roles can build, run, or manage.
* **Folder access**: controls who can see projects in the workspace.

### Best Practices

* Lock projects once they are in production
* Limit unlock permissions to a small set of admin users
* Enter a description for each version where meaningful changes were made
* For experimentation, work off of a duplicated project instead of experimenting on existing projects in production
* Pair project controls with [Role-Based Access Controls (RBAC)](/welcome-to-stackai/security-and-governance/security-in-stackai/role-based-access-controls-rbac-and-groups.md) and [Workspace and Folder Access](/welcome-to-stackai/security-and-governance/security-in-stackai/workspace-and-folder-access.md) for maximum governance controls

### Troubleshooting

* **"I can’t edit a project anymore"**: Check if the project is locked. If it is locked, ask a workspace admin (or the project owner) to unlock it.
* **"I don’t see Version history"**: Your role may not include access to publishing controls. Ask an admin to confirm your permissions in RBAC.


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