Various API calls return a symbolic expression ''(rights ...)'', where ''...'' is a sequence of zero or more symbols.
These symbols encode the access rights the user currently has.

Valid symbols are: ''create'', ''read'', ''update'', and ''delete''.
|=Symbol|Meaning for user
|''create''|May create a new zettel
|''read''|May read the zettel
|''update''|May update the zettel
|''delete''|May delete the zettel
In practice, not all combinations of rights occur.
A Zettelstore in [[read-only mode|00001010000000#read-only]] always returns the symbol ''read''.
A Zettelstore started by [[double-clicking|00001003000000]] returns either the expression ''(rights read update)'' or the expression ''(rights create read update delete)'' (all operations are allowed).

If you have added an additional [[user|00001010040200]] to your Zettelstore, the returned rights may differ.
The access rights are determined by the [[enabled authentication|00001010040100]] settings, the [[user role|00001010070300]] of the current user, the [[visibility rules|00001010070200]] for a given zettel, and the [[read-only status|00001006020400]] for the zettel.