Service accounts in Cast AI enable automated, non-user access to platform resources. Unlike regular user accounts that represent human users, service accounts are designed for machine-to-machine communication, making them ideal for automation tools, CI/CD pipelines, and third-party integrations.

Understanding service accounts

Service accounts are special identities in Cast AI RBAC designed for programmatic access to the platform. Unlike regular user accounts that represent human team members, service accounts operate independently and aren't tied to any individual person.

Each service account functions as a distinct identity that can generate its own API keys for secure authentication. Regarding permissions and access control, service accounts work just like regular users - they can be assigned specific roles and even added to user groups to streamline permission management. This flexibility allows you to treat service accounts as full members of your organization while maintaining clear separation from human users.

This design makes service accounts ideal for scenarios where automated systems need to interact with Cast AI, whether through infrastructure automation tools, CI/CD pipelines, or other integrations.

Common use cases

Service accounts are typically used for:

Infrastructure as Code
Create service accounts for Terraform or other IaC tools to automate cluster management and configuration.

CI/CD Pipelines
Enable automated deployments and cluster operations from your CI/CD systems.

Monitoring and Analytics
Allow external monitoring tools to collect data from Cast AI.

When you use a service account and its associated API key for any of the aforementioned use cases, you can be sure that changes in your team will not negatively impact any integrations, which must remain operational at all times.

Using service accounts for cluster onboarding
Service accounts with appropriate permissions can be used to onboard clusters and manage Cast AI components.

To use a service account for cluster onboarding:

1. Create a service account with the Owner role at the organization level
2. Generate an API key for the service account
3. Use this API key when configuring Cast AI components like:
   • The Cast AI agent
   • Cluster controller
   • Other Cast AI services that require authentication

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Note

Using service accounts for cluster onboarding ensures that API access remains uninterrupted even when individual users leave the organization or change roles.

Security considerations

When working with service accounts:

• Follow the principle of least privilege when assigning roles
• Remove unused service accounts and revoke unnecessary access
• Consider using user groups to manage service account permissions

Ready to manage service accounts?

Explore our guides to learn how to:

• Create service accounts
• Manage existing service accounts