Application users
An application user is a type of user that provides programmatic access to the Aiven platform and services through the Aiven API, CLI, Terraform, and Kubernetes. They're intended for non-human users that need to access Aiven.
You must be a super admin to access this feature.
Application user permissions
You create and manage application users at the organization level. Application users are granted access to projects and services in the same way as organization users by adding them to projects and assigning them a role. However, unlike organization users, application users can't log in to the Aiven Console and the authentication policies don't apply to them.
Security best practices
Because application users can have the same level of access to projects and services it's important to secure these accounts and their authentication tokens to avoid abuse. The following are some suggested best practices for using Aiven application users.
Create dedicated application users for each application
Try to create a different application user for each tool or application. For example, if you have an application that needs to connect to services in one of your projects and you are using Terraform in the same project, create two application users. Use the description field for each user to clearly indicate what it's used for.
This helps you manage the lifecycle of the users and ensure the access permissions are correct for each use case.
Keep tokens secure and rotate them regularly
Make sure tokens are securely stored and only accessible by people who need them. Tokens should also be routinely revoked and replaced with new tokens.
Delete unused users and tokens
Regularly audit your list of application users to delete unused users.
To list all application users and the last time they were used, click Admin > Users.
To see a user's tokens, on the Users page, click Actions > View profile.
You can delete unused users or revoke specific tokens.