fix: Make session.user and session.groups accessible in modules and Express

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -7,6 +7,10 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 ## [UNRELEASED]
 
+### Bug fixes
+
+* Fixed `session.user` and `session.groups` raising `AttributeError` in module sessions (`SessionProxy`) and Express apps (`ExpressStubSession`). Both now correctly return the authenticated user's identity from the root session. As part of this fix, `user` and `groups` are now read-only properties on the `Session` ABC — app code can no longer accidentally overwrite credentials that are derived from immutable HTTP headers. (#2276)
+
 ## [1.6.3] - 2026-06-01
 
 ### New features

shiny/express/_stub_session.py

@@ -48,6 +48,14 @@ def __init__(self, ns: ResolvedId = Root):
 
         self.bookmark = BookmarkExpressStub(self)
 
+    @property
+    def user(self) -> str | None:
+        return None
+
+    @property
+    def groups(self) -> list[str] | None:
+        return None
+
     def is_stub_session(self) -> Literal[True]:
         return True
 

shiny/session/_session.py

@@ -196,8 +196,14 @@ class Session(ABC):
     # iterate over all modules and check the `.bookmark_exclude` list of each proxy
     # session.
     bookmark: Bookmark
-    user: str | None
-    groups: list[str] | None
+
+    @property
+    @abstractmethod
+    def user(self) -> str | None: ...
+
+    @property
+    @abstractmethod
+    def groups(self) -> list[str] | None: ...
 
     # TODO: not sure these should be directly exposed
     _outbound_message_queues: OutBoundMessageQueues
@@ -740,8 +746,8 @@ def __init__(
 
         self.bookmark: Bookmark = BookmarkApp(self)
 
-        self.user: str | None = None
-        self.groups: list[str] | None = None
+        self._user: str | None = None
+        self._groups: list[str] | None = None
 
         credentials_json: str = ""
         if "shiny-server-credentials" in self.http_conn.headers:
@@ -755,8 +761,8 @@ def __init__(
         if credentials_json:
             try:
                 creds = json.loads(credentials_json)
-                self.user = creds["user"]
-                self.groups = creds["groups"]
+                self._user = creds["user"]
+                self._groups = creds["groups"]
             except Exception as e:
                 print("Error parsing credentials header: " + str(e), file=sys.stderr)
 
@@ -808,6 +814,14 @@ async def _run_session_ended_tasks(self) -> None:
     def is_stub_session(self) -> Literal[False]:
         return False
 
+    @property
+    def user(self) -> str | None:
+        return self._user
+
+    @property
+    def groups(self) -> list[str] | None:
+        return self._groups
+
     async def close(self, code: int = 1001) -> None:
         await self._conn.close(code, None)
         await self._run_session_ended_tasks()
@@ -1518,6 +1532,14 @@ def __init__(self, root_session: Session, ns: ResolvedId) -> None:
 
         self.bookmark = BookmarkProxy(self)
 
+    @property
+    def user(self) -> str | None:
+        return self._root_session.user
+
+    @property
+    def groups(self) -> list[str] | None:
+        return self._root_session.groups
+
     def on_destroy(
         self, fn: Callable[[], None] | Callable[[], Awaitable[None]]
     ) -> None:

tests/pytest/test_shinysession.py

@@ -1,13 +1,58 @@
 """Tests for `shiny.Session`."""
 
+import asyncio
+import json
+
 import pytest
 
-from shiny import ui
+from shiny import App, Inputs, Outputs, Session, module, ui
+from shiny._connection import MockConnection
 from shiny.reactive import effect, flush, isolate
 from shiny.session import Inputs
 from shiny.types import SilentException
 
 
+def test_stub_session_user_groups():
+    from shiny.express._stub_session import ExpressStubSession
+
+    stub = ExpressStubSession()
+    assert stub.user is None
+    assert stub.groups is None
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_module_session_user_groups():
+    """SessionProxy (module session) should delegate user/groups to the root session."""
+    captured: dict[str, object] = {}
+
+    @module.server
+    def mod(input: Inputs, output: Outputs, session: Session):
+        captured["mod_user"] = session.user
+        captured["mod_groups"] = session.groups
+
+    def server(input: Inputs, output: Outputs, session: Session):
+        mod("m")
+        captured["root_user"] = session.user
+        captured["root_groups"] = session.groups
+
+    creds = json.dumps({"user": "alice", "groups": ["admin", "dev"]}).encode()
+    headers = [(b"shiny-server-credentials", creds)]
+    conn = MockConnection()
+    conn._http_conn.scope["headers"] = headers
+    sess = App(ui.TagList(), server)._create_session(conn)
+
+    async def mock_client():
+        conn.cause_receive('{"method":"init","data":{}}')
+        conn.cause_disconnect()
+
+    await asyncio.gather(mock_client(), sess._run())
+
+    assert captured["root_user"] == "alice"
+    assert captured["root_groups"] == ["admin", "dev"]
+    assert captured["mod_user"] == "alice"
+    assert captured["mod_groups"] == ["admin", "dev"]
+
+
 def test_require_active_session_error_messages():
     # require_active_session() should report the caller's name when an error occurs.
     with pytest.raises(RuntimeError, match=r"Progress\(\) must be called"):