Manage access keys for IAM users - AWS Identity and Access Management
Permissions required to manage access keysManaging access keys (console)Managing access keys (AWS CLI)Managing access keys (AWS API)

Manage access keys for IAM users

Important

As a best practice, use temporary security credentials (such as IAM roles) instead of creating long-term credentials like access keys. Before creating access keys, review the alternatives to long-term access keys.

Access keys are long-term credentials for an IAM user or the AWS account root user. You can use access keys to sign programmatic requests to the AWS CLI or AWS API (directly or using the AWS SDK). For more information, see AWS Signature Version 4 for API requests.

Access keys consist of two parts: an access key ID (for example, AKIAIOSFODNN7EXAMPLE) and a secret access key (for example, wJalrXUtnFEMI/K7MDENG/bPxRfiCYEXAMPLEKEY). You must use both the access key ID and secret access key together to authenticate your requests.

When you create an access key pair, save the access key ID and secret access key in a secure location. The secret access key is available only at the time you create it. If you lose your secret access key, you must delete the access key and create a new one. For more instructions, see Update access keys.

You can have a maximum of two access keys per user.

Important

Manage your access keys securely. Do not provide your access keys to unauthorized parties, even to help find your account identifiers. By doing this, you might give someone permanent access to your account.

The following topics detail management tasks associated with access keys.

Topics

Permissions required to manage access keys

Note

iam:TagUser is an optional permission for adding and editing descriptions for the access key. For more information, see Tag IAM users

To create access keys for your own IAM user, you must have the permissions from the following policy:

{
    "Version": "2012-10-17",
    "Statement": [
        {
            "Sid": "CreateOwnAccessKeys",
            "Effect": "Allow",
            "Action": [
                "iam:CreateAccessKey",
                "iam:GetUser",
                "iam:ListAccessKeys",
                "iam:TagUser"
            ],
            "Resource": "arn:aws:iam::*:user/${aws:username}"
        }
    ]
}

To update access keys for your own IAM user, you must have the permissions from the following policy:

{
    "Version": "2012-10-17",
    "Statement": [
        {
            "Sid": "ManageOwnAccessKeys",
            "Effect": "Allow",
            "Action": [
                "iam:CreateAccessKey",
                "iam:DeleteAccessKey",
                "iam:GetAccessKeyLastUsed",
                "iam:GetUser",
                "iam:ListAccessKeys",
                "iam:UpdateAccessKey",
                "iam:TagUser"
            ],
            "Resource": "arn:aws:iam::*:user/${aws:username}"
        }
    ]
}

Managing access keys (console)

You can use the AWS Management Console to manage the access keys of an IAM user.

To create, modify, or delete your own access keys (console)

  1. Use your AWS account ID or account alias, your IAM user name, and your password to sign in to the IAM console.

    Note

    For your convenience, the AWS sign-in page uses a browser cookie to remember your IAM user name and account information. If you previously signed in as a different user, choose Sign in to a different account near the bottom of the page to return to the main sign-in page. From there, you can type your AWS account ID or account alias to be redirected to the IAM user sign-in page for your account.

    To get your AWS account ID, contact your administrator.

  2. In the navigation bar on the upper right, choose your user name, and then choose Security credentials.

    AWS Management Console Security credentials link

Do one of the following:

To create an access key

  1. In the Access keys section, choose Create access key. If you already have two access keys, this button is deactivated and you must delete an access key before you can create a new one.

  2. On the Access key best practices & alternatives page, choose your use case to learn about additional options which can help you avoid creating a long-term access key. If you determine that your use case still requires an access key, choose Other and then choose Next.

  3. (Optional) Set a description tag value for the access key. This adds a tag key-value pair to your IAM user. This can help you identify and update access keys later. The tag key is set to the access key id. The tag value is set to the access key description that you specify. When you are finished, choose Create access key.

  4. On the Retrieve access keys page, choose either Show to reveal the value of your user's secret access key, or Download .csv file. This is your only opportunity to save your secret access key. After you've saved your secret access key in a secure location, choose Done.

To deactivate an access key

  • In the Access keys section find the key you want to deactivate, then choose Actions, then choose Deactivate. When prompted for confirmation, choose Deactivate. A deactivated access key still counts toward your limit of two access keys.

To activate an access key

  • In the Access keys section, find the key to activate, then choose Actions, then choose Activate.

To delete an access key when you no longer need it

  • In the Access keys section, find the key you want to delete, then choose Actions, then choose Delete. Follow the instructions in the dialog to first Deactivate and then confirm the deletion. We recommend that you verify that the access key is no longer in use before you permanently delete it.

To create, modify, or delete the access keys of another IAM user (console)

  1. Sign in to the AWS Management Console and open the IAM console at https://console.aws.amazon.com/iam/.

  2. In the navigation pane, choose Users.

  3. Choose the name of the user whose access keys you want to manage, and then choose the Security credentials tab.

  4. In the Access keys section, do any of the following:

    • To create an access key, choose Create access key. If the button is deactivated, then you must delete one of the existing keys before you can create a new one. On the Access key best practices & alternatives page, review the best practices and alternatives. Choose your use case to learn about additional options which can help you avoid creating a long-term access key. If you determine that your use case still requires an access key, choose Other and then choose Next. On the Retrieve access key page, choose Show to reveal the value of your user's secret access key. To save the access key ID and secret access key to a .csv file to a secure location on your computer, choose the Download .csv file button. When you create an access key for your user, that key pair is active by default, and your user can use the pair right away.

    • To deactivate an active access key, choose Actions, and then choose Deactivate.

    • To activate an inactive access key, choose Actions, and then choose Activate.

    • To delete your access key, choose Actions, and then choose Delete. Follow the instructions in the dialog to first Deactivate and then confirm the deletion. AWS recommends that before you do this, you first deactivate the key and test that it’s no longer in use. When you use the AWS Management Console, you must deactivate your key before deleting it.

To list the access keys for an IAM user (console)

  1. Sign in to the AWS Management Console and open the IAM console at https://console.aws.amazon.com/iam/.

  2. In the navigation pane, choose Users.

  3. Choose the name of the intended user, and then choose the Security credentials tab. In the Access keys section, you will see the user's access keys and the status of each key displayed.

    Note

    Only the user's access key ID is visible. The secret access key can only be retrieved when the key is created.

To list the access key IDs for multiple IAM users (console)

  1. Sign in to the AWS Management Console and open the IAM console at https://console.aws.amazon.com/iam/.

  2. In the navigation pane, choose Users.

  3. If necessary, add the Access key ID column to the users table by completing the following steps:

    1. Above the table on the far right, choose the settings icon ( Settings icon ).

    2. In Manage columns, select Access key ID.

    3. Choose Close to return to the list of users.

  4. The Access key ID column shows each access key ID, followed by its state; for example, 23478207027842073230762374023 (Active) or 22093740239670237024843420327 (Inactive).

    You can use this information to view and copy the access keys for users with one or two access keys. The column displays None for users with no access key.

    Note

    Only the user's access key ID and status is visible. The secret access key can only be retrieved when the key is created.

To find which IAM user owns a specific access key (console)

  1. Sign in to the AWS Management Console and open the IAM console at https://console.aws.amazon.com/iam/.

  2. In the navigation pane, choose Users.

  3. In the search box, type or paste the access key ID of the user you want to find.

  4. If necessary, add the Access key ID column to the users table by completing the following steps:

    1. Above the table on the far right, choose the settings icon ( Settings icon ).

    2. In Manage columns, select Access key ID.

    3. Choose Close to return to the list of users and confirm that the filtered user owns the specified access key.

Managing access keys (AWS CLI)

To manage the IAM user access keys from the AWS CLI, run the following commands.

Managing access keys (AWS API)

To manage the access keys of an IAM user from the AWS API, call the following operations.