Manage service accounts

Service accounts are similar to users in Harness, but service accounts aren't associated with a human user. You assign roles and resource groups to service accounts, and then you create API keys for the service account. These API keys are used to authenticate and authorize remote services attempting to perform operations in Harness through Harness APIs. The API keys inherit the role bindings assigned to the service account.

You can create service accounts at all scopes.

To manage service accounts in Harness, you need a role, such as Account Admin, that has permission to view, create/edit, manage, and delete service accounts.

Create a service account

1. In Harness, go to the scope where you want to add the service account.

   • To add a service account at the account scope, select Account Settings, and then select Access Control.
   • To add a service account at the organization scope, go to Account Settings, select Organizations, select the relevant organization, and then select Access Control.
   • To add a service account at the project scope, go to Projects, select the relevant project, and then select Access Control.

2. Select Service Accounts in the header.

3. Select New Service Account.

4. Enter a Name and Email for the service account.

5. Select Save.

6. Select Manage Roles next to the new service account.

7. Select Add, and then select a role and resource group. Repeat until you have configured all necessary role bindings for the service account.

Manage API keys

After creating a service account, you create API keys and tokens for that service account. These tokens are used to authenticate and authorize remote services attempting to perform operations in Harness through Harness APIs. The API keys and tokens inherit the role bindings assigned to the service account.

For more information about API permissions go to the API permissions reference.

Edit a service account

Use these steps to edit a service account's role bindings, name, description, or tags.

1. In Harness, go to the scope where the service account exists.

   • To edit a service account at the account scope, select Account Settings, and then select Access Control.
   • To edit a service account at the organization scope, go to Account Settings, select Organizations, select the relevant organization, and then select Access Control.
   • To edit a service account at the project scope, go to Projects, select the relevant project, and then select Access Control.

2. Select Service Accounts in the header.

3. Locate the service account you want to edit.

4. Select More options (⋮).

5. Select Edit to edit the Name, Description, or Tags. You can't edit the Id or Email.

6. Select Edit Role Bindings to edit the service account's assigned roles and resource groups.

Delete a service account

1. In Harness, go to the scope where the service account exists.

   • To delete a service account at the account scope, select Account Settings, and then select Access Control.
   • To delete a service account at the organization scope, go to Account Settings, select Organizations, select the relevant organization, and then select Access Control.
   • To delete a service account at the project scope, go to Projects, select the relevant project, and then select Access Control.

2. Select Service Accounts in the header.

3. Locate the service account you want to edit.

4. Select More options (⋮), and select Delete.