Using service-linked roles for API Gateway

Amazon API Gateway uses AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) service-linked roles. A service-linked role is a unique type of IAM role that is linked directly to API Gateway. Service-linked roles are predefined by API Gateway and include all the permissions that the service requires to call other AWS services on your behalf.

A service-linked role makes setting up API Gateway easier because you don't have to manually add the necessary permissions. API Gateway defines the permissions of its service-linked roles, and unless defined otherwise, only API Gateway can assume its roles. The defined permissions include the trust policy and the permissions policy, and that permissions policy cannot be attached to any other IAM entity.

You can delete a service-linked role only after first deleting the related resources. This protects your API Gateway resources because you can't inadvertently remove permission to access the resources.

For information about other services that support service-linked roles, see AWS Services That Work with IAM and look for the services that have Yes in the Service-Linked Role column. Choose a Yes with a link to view the service-linked role documentation for that service.

Service-linked role permissions for API Gateway

API Gateway uses the service-linked role named AWSServiceRoleForAPIGateway – Allows API Gateway to access Elastic Load Balancing, Amazon Data Firehose, and other service resources on your behalf.

The AWSServiceRoleForAPIGateway service-linked role trusts the following services to assume the role:

The role permissions policy allows API Gateway to complete the following actions on the specified resources:

{
    "Version": "2012-10-17",
    "Statement": [
        {
            "Effect": "Allow",
            "Action": [
                "elasticloadbalancing:AddListenerCertificates",
                "elasticloadbalancing:RemoveListenerCertificates",
                "elasticloadbalancing:ModifyListener",
                "elasticloadbalancing:DescribeListeners",
                "elasticloadbalancing:DescribeLoadBalancers",
                "xray:PutTraceSegments",
                "xray:PutTelemetryRecords",
                "xray:GetSamplingTargets",
                "xray:GetSamplingRules",
                "logs:CreateLogDelivery",
                "logs:GetLogDelivery",
                "logs:UpdateLogDelivery",
                "logs:DeleteLogDelivery",
                "logs:ListLogDeliveries",
                "servicediscovery:DiscoverInstances"
            ],
            "Resource": [
                "*"
            ]
        },
        {
            "Effect": "Allow",
            "Action": [
                "firehose:DescribeDeliveryStream",
                "firehose:PutRecord",
                "firehose:PutRecordBatch"
            ],
            "Resource": "arn:aws:firehose:*:*:deliverystream/amazon-apigateway-*"
        },
        {
            "Effect": "Allow",
            "Action": [
                "acm:DescribeCertificate",
                "acm:GetCertificate"
            ],
            "Resource": "arn:aws:acm:*:*:certificate/*"
        },
        {
            "Effect": "Allow",
            "Action": "ec2:CreateNetworkInterfacePermission",
            "Resource": "arn:aws:ec2:*:*:network-interface/*"
        },
        {
            "Effect": "Allow",
            "Action": "ec2:CreateTags",
            "Resource": "arn:aws:ec2:*:*:network-interface/*",
            "Condition": {
                "ForAllValues:StringEquals": {
                    "aws:TagKeys": [
                        "Owner",
                        "VpcLinkId"
                    ]
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "Effect": "Allow",
            "Action": [
                "ec2:ModifyNetworkInterfaceAttribute",
                "ec2:DeleteNetworkInterface",
                "ec2:AssignPrivateIpAddresses",
                "ec2:CreateNetworkInterface",
                "ec2:DeleteNetworkInterfacePermission",
                "ec2:DescribeNetworkInterfaces",
                "ec2:DescribeAvailabilityZones",
                "ec2:DescribeNetworkInterfaceAttribute",
                "ec2:DescribeVpcs",
                "ec2:DescribeNetworkInterfacePermissions",
                "ec2:UnassignPrivateIpAddresses",
                "ec2:DescribeSubnets",
                "ec2:DescribeRouteTables",
                "ec2:DescribeSecurityGroups"
            ],
            "Resource": "*"
        },
        {
            "Effect": "Allow",
            "Action": "servicediscovery:GetNamespace",
            "Resource": "arn:aws:servicediscovery:*:*:namespace/*"
        },
        {
            "Effect": "Allow",
            "Action": "servicediscovery:GetService",
            "Resource": "arn:aws:servicediscovery:*:*:service/*"
        }
    ]
}

You must configure permissions to allow an IAM entity (such as a user, group, or role) to create, edit, or delete a service-linked role. For more information, see Service-Linked Role Permissions in the IAM User Guide.

Creating a service-linked role for API Gateway

You don't need to manually create a service-linked role. When you create an API, custom domain name, or VPC link in the AWS Management Console, the AWS CLI, or the AWS API, API Gateway creates the service-linked role for you.

If you delete this service-linked role, and then need to create it again, you can use the same process to recreate the role in your account. When you create an API, custom domain name, or VPC link, API Gateway creates the service-linked role for you again.

Editing a service-linked role for API Gateway

API Gateway does not allow you to edit the AWSServiceRoleForAPIGateway service-linked role. After you create a service-linked role, you can't change the name of the role because various entities might reference the role. However, you can edit the description of the role using IAM. For more information, see Editing a Service-Linked Role in the IAM User Guide.

Deleting a service-linked role for API Gateway

If you no longer need to use a feature or service that requires a service-linked role, we recommend that you delete that role. That way you don't have an unused entity that is not actively monitored or maintained. However, you must clean up the resources for your service-linked role before you can manually delete it.

To manually delete the service-linked role using IAM

Use the IAM console, the AWS CLI, or the AWS API to delete the AWSServiceRoleForAPIGateway service-linked role. For more information, see Deleting a Service-Linked Role in the IAM User Guide.

Supported Regions for API Gateway service-linked roles

API Gateway supports using service-linked roles in all of the Regions where the service is available. For more information, see AWS Service Endpoints.

API Gateway updates to AWS managed policies

View details about updates to AWS managed policies for API Gateway since this service began tracking these changes. For automatic alerts about changes to this page, subscribe to the RSS feed on the API Gateway Document history page.