actionby

Actionby is a term used in information systems to denote the identity of the user or system that initiated a particular action within an application, service, or data store. In many logging, auditing, and workflow contexts, actionby appears as a field or property (often named actionBy, action_by, or performed_by) to record who performed an operation such as create, update, delete, or execute a task. The concept is common across database audit trails, security event logs, and workflow engines.

In practice, actionby may hold a user identifier (such as a user_id) or a machine or service account, linked to a users directory or directory service. In audit logs, it helps establish accountability and traceability. In APIs, responses may include actionBy to indicate who initiated the request; in change history it often pairs with a timestamp and the action taken. Implementations vary by platform, with some systems recording a simple display name and others storing a structured object containing id, username, and additional profile details.

Common considerations for implementing actionby include ensuring a stable, verifiable identifier, deriving it from the proper authentication context, and protecting it against spoofing. Privacy and data governance concerns may influence how long actionby data is retained and who can view it. In environments with automated processes or delegation, it may be necessary to distinguish direct human actions from automated or policy-driven triggers, sometimes by introducing separate fields such as performed_by or actor_type.