Creating and managing service account keys

This page explains how to create and manage service account keys using the Google Cloud Console, the gcloud command-line tool, the Identity and Access Management API, or one of the Google Cloud Client Libraries.

Prerequisites for this guide

• Understand service accounts
• Install the gcloud tool

Required permissions

To allow a user to manage service account keys, grant the Service Account Key Admin role (roles/iam.serviceAccountKeyAdmin). IAM primitive roles also contain permissions to manage service account keys, but we recommend granting this role instead to prevent unnecessary access to other Google Cloud resources.

For more information, see the list of Service Accounts roles.

Creating service account keys

To use a service account outside of Google Cloud, such as on other platforms or on-premises, you must first establish the identity of the service account. Public/private key pairs provide a secure way of accomplishing this goal.

You can create a service account key using the Cloud Console, the gcloud tool, the serviceAccounts.keys.create() method, or one of the client libraries. A service account can have up to 10 keys.

In the examples below, sa-name is the name of your service account, and project-id is the ID of your Google Cloud project. You can retrieve the [e-mail] string from the Service Accounts page in the Cloud Console.

Note: After you create a key, you might need to wait for 60 seconds or more before you use the key. If you try to use a key immediately after you create it, and you receive an error, wait at least 60 seconds and try again.

Console

1. In the Cloud Console, go to the Service Accounts page.

   Go to the Service Accounts page

2. Click Select a project, choose a project, and click Open.

3. Find the row of the service account that you want to create a key for. In that row, click the More button, and then click Create key.

4. Select a Key type and click Create.

Clicking Create downloads a service account key file. Make sure to store this file securely, because it can be used to authenticate as your service account. You can move and rename this file however you would like.

gcloud command

Execute the gcloud iam service-accounts keys create command to create service account keys.

Command:

gcloud iam service-accounts keys create ~/key.json \
  --iam-account [e-mail]

Output:

created key [e44da1202f82f8f4bdd9d92bc412d1d8a837fa83] of type [json] as
[/usr/home/username/key.json] for
[[e-mail]]

The service account key file is now downloaded to your machine. Make sure to store this file securely, because it can be used to authenticate as your service account. You can move and rename this file however you would like.

REST API

The projects.serviceAccounts.keys.create method creates a key for a service account.

Before using any of the request data below, make the following replacements:

• project-id: Your Google Cloud project ID.
• sa-name: The name of the service account that you want to create a key for.
• private-key-type: Optional. The output format of the private key. The default value is TYPE_GOOGLE_CREDENTIALS_FILE, which is a base64-encoded JSON key file. For a list of all possible values, see the ServiceAccountPrivateKeyType reference.
• key-algorithm: Optional. The key algorithm to use for the key. The default, which is subject to change, is a 2,048-bit RSA key. For a list of all possible values, see the ServiceAccountKeyAlgorithm reference.

HTTP method and URL:

POST https://iam.googleapis.com/v1/projects/project-id/serviceAccounts/[e-mail]/keys

Request JSON body:

{
  "privateKeyType": "private-key-type",
  "keyAlgorithm": "key-algorithm"
}

To send your request, expand one of these options:

curl (Linux, macOS, or Cloud Shell)

Note: Ensure you have set the GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS environment variable to your service account private key file path.

Save the request body in a file called request.json, and execute the following command:

curl -X POST \
-H "Authorization: Bearer "$(gcloud auth application-default print-access-token) \
-H "Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8" \
-d @request.json \
https://iam.googleapis.com/v1/projects/project-id/serviceAccounts/[e-mail]/keys

PowerShell (Windows)

Note: Ensure you have set the GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS environment variable to your service account private key file path.

Save the request body in a file called request.json, and execute the following command:

$cred = gcloud auth application-default print-access-token
$headers = @{ "Authorization" = "Bearer $cred" }

Invoke-WebRequest `
  -Method POST `
  -Headers $headers `
  -ContentType: "application/json; charset=utf-8" `
  -InFile request.json `
  -Uri "https://iam.googleapis.com/v1/projects/project-id/serviceAccounts/[e-mail]/keys" | Select-Object -Expand Content

API Explorer (browser)

Copy the request body and open the method reference page. The API Explorer panel opens on the right side of the page. You can interact with this tool to send requests. Paste the request body in this tool, complete any other required fields, and click Execute.

You should receive a JSON response similar to the following:

{
    "name":"projects/my-project/serviceAccounts/[e-mail]/keys/90c48f61c65cd56224a12ab18e6ee9ca9c3aee7c",
    "privateKeyType": "TYPE_GOOGLE_CREDENTIALS_FILE",
    "privateKeyData":"MIIJqAIB . . .",
    "validAfterTime": "2020-05-17T18:48:27Z",
    "validBeforeTime": "2030-05-15T18:48:27Z",
    "keyAlgorithm": "KEY_ALG_RSA_2048",
    "keyOrigin": "GOOGLE_PROVIDED",
    "keyType": "USER_MANAGED"
}

C#

Before trying this sample, follow the C# setup instructions in the IAM Quickstart Using Client Libraries. For more information, see the IAM C# API reference documentation.

View on GitHub Feedback

using System;
using Google.Apis.Auth.OAuth2;
using Google.Apis.Iam.v1;
using Google.Apis.Iam.v1.Data;

public partial class ServiceAccountKeys
{
    public static ServiceAccountKey CreateKey(string serviceAccountEmail)
    {
        var credential = GoogleCredential.GetApplicationDefault()
            .CreateScoped(IamService.Scope.CloudPlatform);
        var service = new IamService(new IamService.Initializer
        {
            HttpClientInitializer = credential
        });

        var key = service.Projects.ServiceAccounts.Keys.Create(
            new CreateServiceAccountKeyRequest(),
            "projects/-/serviceAccounts/" + serviceAccountEmail)
            .Execute();
        Console.WriteLine("Created key: " + key.Name);
        return key;
    }
}

Go

Before trying this sample, follow the Go setup instructions in the IAM Quickstart Using Client Libraries. For more information, see the IAM Go API reference documentation.

View on GitHub Feedback

import (
	"context"
	"fmt"
	"io"

	iam "google.golang.org/api/iam/v1"
)

// createKey creates a service account key.
func createKey(w io.Writer, serviceAccountEmail string) (*iam.ServiceAccountKey, error) {
	ctx := context.Background()
	service, err := iam.NewService(ctx)
	if err != nil {
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("iam.NewService: %v", err)
	}

	resource := "projects/-/serviceAccounts/" + serviceAccountEmail
	request := &iam.CreateServiceAccountKeyRequest{}
	key, err := service.Projects.ServiceAccounts.Keys.Create(resource, request).Do()
	if err != nil {
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("Projects.ServiceAccounts.Keys.Create: %v", err)
	}
	fmt.Fprintf(w, "Created key: %v", key.Name)
	return key, nil
}

Java

Before trying this sample, follow the Java setup instructions in the IAM Quickstart Using Client Libraries. For more information, see the IAM Java API reference documentation.

View on GitHub Feedback

import com.google.api.client.googleapis.javanet.GoogleNetHttpTransport;
import com.google.api.client.json.jackson2.JacksonFactory;
import com.google.api.services.iam.v1.Iam;
import com.google.api.services.iam.v1.IamScopes;
import com.google.api.services.iam.v1.model.CreateServiceAccountKeyRequest;
import com.google.api.services.iam.v1.model.ServiceAccountKey;
import com.google.auth.http.HttpCredentialsAdapter;
import com.google.auth.oauth2.GoogleCredentials;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.security.GeneralSecurityException;
import java.util.Collections;

public class CreateServiceAccountKey {

  // Creates a key for a service account.
  public static void createKey(String projectId) {
    // String projectId = "my-project-id";

    Iam service = null;
    try {
      service = initService();
    } catch (IOException | GeneralSecurityException e) {
      System.out.println("Unable to initialize service: \n" + e.toString());
      return;
    }

    try {
      ServiceAccountKey key =
          service
              .projects()
              .serviceAccounts()
              .keys()
              .create(
                  "projects/-/serviceAccounts/your-service-account-name@"
                      + projectId
                      + ".iam.gserviceaccount.com",
                  new CreateServiceAccountKeyRequest())
              .execute();

      System.out.println("Created key: " + key.getName());
    } catch (IOException e) {
      System.out.println("Unable to create service account key: \n" + e.toString());
    }
  }

  private static Iam initService() throws GeneralSecurityException, IOException {
    // Use the Application Default Credentials strategy for authentication. For more info, see:
    // https://cloud.google.com/docs/authentication/production#finding_credentials_automatically
    GoogleCredentials credential =
        GoogleCredentials.getApplicationDefault()
            .createScoped(Collections.singleton(IamScopes.CLOUD_PLATFORM));
    // Initialize the IAM service, which can be used to send requests to the IAM API.
    Iam service =
        new Iam.Builder(
                GoogleNetHttpTransport.newTrustedTransport(),
                JacksonFactory.getDefaultInstance(),
                new HttpCredentialsAdapter(credential))
            .setApplicationName("service-account-keys")
            .build();
    return service;
  }
}

Python

Before trying this sample, follow the Python setup instructions in the IAM Quickstart Using Client Libraries. For more information, see the IAM Python API reference documentation.

View on GitHub Feedback

import os

from google.oauth2 import service_account
import googleapiclient.discovery

def create_key(service_account_email):
    """Creates a key for a service account."""

    credentials = service_account.Credentials.from_service_account_file(
        filename=os.environ['GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS'],
        scopes=['https://www.googleapis.com/auth/cloud-platform'])

    service = googleapiclient.discovery.build(
        'iam', 'v1', credentials=credentials)

    key = service.projects().serviceAccounts().keys().create(
        name='projects/-/serviceAccounts/' + service_account_email, body={}
        ).execute()

    print('Created key: ' + key['name'])

Note that the privateKeyData returned is a base64-encoded string representation of the TYPE_GOOGLE_CREDENTIALS_FILE value (JSON or P12 key/credentials).

When you create a key, your new public/private key pair is generated and downloaded to your machine; it serves as the only copy of the private key. You are responsible for storing the private key securely. Take note of its location and ensure the key is accessible to your application; it needs the key to make authenticated API calls.

The format of the key may differ depending on how it is generated. Keys created using the Cloud Console or the gcloud command-line tool look like this:

{
  "type": "service_account",
  "project_id": "project-id",
  "private_key_id": "key-id",
  "private_key": "-----BEGIN PRIVATE KEY-----\nprivate-key\n-----END PRIVATE KEY-----\n",
  "client_email": "service-account-email",
  "client_id": "client-id",
  "auth_uri": "https://accounts.google.com/o/oauth2/auth",
  "token_uri": "https://accounts.google.com/o/oauth2/token",
  "auth_provider_x509_cert_url": "https://www.googleapis.com/oauth2/v1/certs",
  "client_x509_cert_url": "https://www.googleapis.com/robot/v1/metadata/x509/service-account-email"
}

Whereas keys generated with the REST API or client libraries look like this:

{
  "name": "projects/project-id/serviceAccounts/service-account-email/keys/key-id",
  "privateKeyType": "TYPE_GOOGLE_CREDENTIALS_FILE",
  "privateKeyData": "private-key",
  "validAfterTime": "date",
  "validBeforeTime": "date",
  "keyAlgorithm": "KEY_ALG_RSA_2048"
}

Note once again that the privateKeyData returned is a base64-encoded string representation of the TYPE_GOOGLE_CREDENTIALS_FILE value (JSON or P12 key/credentials).

Because the formatting differs between each method, it's easiest to generate a key using the same method you plan to use when making future API calls. For example, if you're using gcloud, also generate your key using gcloud. To use a key for one method that's been generated using a different method (such as using a REST-generated key with gcloud), you'll need to edit the key to match the appropriate format.

Google ensures that all public keys for all service accounts are publicly accessible by anyone and available to verify signatures that are created with the private key. The public key is publicly accessible at the following URLs:

• x.509 certificate: https://www.googleapis.com/service_accounts/v1/metadata/x509/[e-mail]
• JSON web key (JWK): https://www.googleapis.com/service_accounts/v1/jwk/[e-mail]
• Raw endpoint: https://www.googleapis.com/service_accounts/v1/metadata/raw/[e-mail]

Listing service account keys

You can list the service account keys for a service account using the Cloud Console, the gcloud tool, the serviceAccount.keys.list() method, or one of the client libraries.

The serviceAccount.keys.list() method is commonly used to audit service accounts and keys, or to build custom tooling for managing service accounts.

To find out which project your key belongs to, you can download the key as a JSON file and look at that file.

You may see keys listed that you did not create. These are Google Cloud-managed keys used by Google Cloud services such as App Engine and Compute Engine. For more information on the difference between user and Google Cloud-managed keys, see Understanding service accounts.

Console

1. In the Cloud Console, go to the Service Accounts page.

   Go to the Service Accounts page

2. Click Select a project, choose a project, and click Open. The console lists all of the project's service accounts and their corresponding keys.

gcloud command

Execute the gcloud iam service-accounts keys list command to list service account keys.

Command:

gcloud iam service-accounts keys list \
  --iam-account [e-mail]

Output:

KEY_ID	CREATED_AT	EXPIRES_AT
8e6e3936d7024646f8ceb39792006c07f4a9760c	2016-01-26T21:01:42.000Z	2026-01-23T21:01:42.000Z
937c98f870f5c8db970af527aa3c12fd88b1c20a	2016-01-26T20:55:40.000Z	2026-01-23T20:55:40.000Z

REST API

The projects.serviceAccounts.keys.list method lists all of the service account keys for a service account.

Before using any of the request data below, make the following replacements:

• project-id: Your Google Cloud project ID.
• sa-name: The name of the service account whose keys you want to list.
• key-types: Optional. A comma-separated list of key types that you want to include in the response. The key type indicates whether a key is user-managed (USER_MANAGED) or system-managed (SYSTEM_MANAGED). If left blank, all keys are returned.

HTTP method and URL:

GET https://iam.googleapis.com/v1/projects/project-id/serviceAccounts/[e-mail]/keys?keyTypes=key-types

To send your request, expand one of these options:

curl (Linux, macOS, or Cloud Shell)

Note: Ensure you have set the GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS environment variable to your service account private key file path.

Execute the following command:

curl -X GET \
-H "Authorization: Bearer "$(gcloud auth application-default print-access-token) \
https://iam.googleapis.com/v1/projects/project-id/serviceAccounts/[e-mail]/keys?keyTypes=key-types

PowerShell (Windows)

Note: Ensure you have set the GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS environment variable to your service account private key file path.

Execute the following command:

$cred = gcloud auth application-default print-access-token
$headers = @{ "Authorization" = "Bearer $cred" }

Invoke-WebRequest `
  -Method GET `
  -Headers $headers `
  -Uri "https://iam.googleapis.com/v1/projects/project-id/serviceAccounts/[e-mail]/keys?keyTypes=key-types" | Select-Object -Expand Content

API Explorer (browser)

Open the method reference page. The API Explorer panel opens on the right side of the page. You can interact with this tool to send requests. Complete any required fields and click Execute.

You should receive a JSON response similar to the following:

{
  "keys": [
    {
      "name": "projects/my-project/serviceAccounts/[e-mail]/keys/90c48f61c65cd56224a12ab18e6ee9ca9c3aee7c",
      "validAfterTime": "2020-03-04T17:39:47Z",
      "validBeforeTime": "9999-12-31T23:59:59Z",
      "keyAlgorithm": "KEY_ALG_RSA_2048",
      "keyOrigin": "GOOGLE_PROVIDED",
      "keyType": "USER_MANAGED"
    },
    {
      "name": "projects/my-project/serviceAccounts/[e-mail]/keys/e5e3800831ac1adc8a5849da7d827b4724b1fce8",
      "validAfterTime": "2020-03-31T23:50:09Z",
      "validBeforeTime": "9999-12-31T23:59:59Z",
      "keyAlgorithm": "KEY_ALG_RSA_2048",
      "keyOrigin": "GOOGLE_PROVIDED",
      "keyType": "USER_MANAGED"
    },
    {
      "name": "projects/my-project/serviceAccounts/[e-mail]/keys/b97699f042b8eee6a846f4f96259fbcd13e2682e",
      "validAfterTime": "2020-05-17T18:58:13Z",
      "validBeforeTime": "9999-12-31T23:59:59Z",
      "keyAlgorithm": "KEY_ALG_RSA_2048",
      "keyOrigin": "GOOGLE_PROVIDED",
      "keyType": "USER_MANAGED"
    }
  ]
}

C#

Before trying this sample, follow the C# setup instructions in the IAM Quickstart Using Client Libraries. For more information, see the IAM C# API reference documentation.

View on GitHub Feedback

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using Google.Apis.Auth.OAuth2;
using Google.Apis.Iam.v1;
using Google.Apis.Iam.v1.Data;

public partial class ServiceAccountKeys
{
    public static IList<ServiceAccountKey> ListKeys(string serviceAccountEmail)
    {
        var credential = GoogleCredential.GetApplicationDefault()
            .CreateScoped(IamService.Scope.CloudPlatform);
        var service = new IamService(new IamService.Initializer
        {
            HttpClientInitializer = credential
        });

        var response = service.Projects.ServiceAccounts.Keys
            .List($"projects/-/serviceAccounts/{serviceAccountEmail}")
            .Execute();
        foreach (ServiceAccountKey key in response.Keys)
        {
            Console.WriteLine("Key: " + key.Name);
        }
        return response.Keys;
    }
}

Go

Before trying this sample, follow the Go setup instructions in the IAM Quickstart Using Client Libraries. For more information, see the IAM Go API reference documentation.

View on GitHub Feedback

import (
	"context"
	"fmt"
	"io"

	iam "google.golang.org/api/iam/v1"
)

// listKey lists a service account's keys.
func listKeys(w io.Writer, serviceAccountEmail string) ([]*iam.ServiceAccountKey, error) {
	ctx := context.Background()
	service, err := iam.NewService(ctx)
	if err != nil {
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("iam.NewService: %v", err)
	}

	resource := "projects/-/serviceAccounts/" + serviceAccountEmail
	response, err := service.Projects.ServiceAccounts.Keys.List(resource).Do()
	if err != nil {
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("Projects.ServiceAccounts.Keys.List: %v", err)
	}
	for _, key := range response.Keys {
		fmt.Fprintf(w, "Listing key: %v", key.Name)
	}
	return response.Keys, nil
}

Java

Before trying this sample, follow the Java setup instructions in the IAM Quickstart Using Client Libraries. For more information, see the IAM Java API reference documentation.

View on GitHub Feedback

import com.google.api.client.googleapis.javanet.GoogleNetHttpTransport;
import com.google.api.client.json.jackson2.JacksonFactory;
import com.google.api.services.iam.v1.Iam;
import com.google.api.services.iam.v1.IamScopes;
import com.google.api.services.iam.v1.model.ServiceAccountKey;
import com.google.auth.http.HttpCredentialsAdapter;
import com.google.auth.oauth2.GoogleCredentials;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.security.GeneralSecurityException;
import java.util.Collections;
import java.util.List;

public class ListServiceAccountKeys {

  // Lists all keys for a service account.
  public static void listKeys(String projectId) {
    // String projectId = "my-project-id";

    Iam service = null;
    try {
      service = initService();
    } catch (IOException | GeneralSecurityException e) {
      System.out.println("Unable to initialize service: \n" + e.toString());
      return;
    }

    try {
      List<ServiceAccountKey> keys =
          service
              .projects()
              .serviceAccounts()
              .keys()
              .list(
                  "projects/-/serviceAccounts/"
                      + "your-service-account-name@"
                      + projectId
                      + ".iam.gserviceaccount.com")
              .execute()
              .getKeys();

      for (ServiceAccountKey key : keys) {
        System.out.println("Key: " + key.getName());
      }
    } catch (IOException e) {
      System.out.println("Unable to list service account keys: \n" + e.toString());
    }
  }

  private static Iam initService() throws GeneralSecurityException, IOException {
    // Use the Application Default Credentials strategy for authentication. For more info, see:
    // https://cloud.google.com/docs/authentication/production#finding_credentials_automatically
    GoogleCredentials credential =
        GoogleCredentials.getApplicationDefault()
            .createScoped(Collections.singleton(IamScopes.CLOUD_PLATFORM));
    // Initialize the IAM service, which can be used to send requests to the IAM API.
    Iam service =
        new Iam.Builder(
                GoogleNetHttpTransport.newTrustedTransport(),
                JacksonFactory.getDefaultInstance(),
                new HttpCredentialsAdapter(credential))
            .setApplicationName("service-account-keys")
            .build();
    return service;
  }
}

Python

Before trying this sample, follow the Python setup instructions in the IAM Quickstart Using Client Libraries. For more information, see the IAM Python API reference documentation.

View on GitHub Feedback

import os

from google.oauth2 import service_account
import googleapiclient.discovery

def list_keys(service_account_email):
    """Lists all keys for a service account."""

    credentials = service_account.Credentials.from_service_account_file(
        filename=os.environ['GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS'],
        scopes=['https://www.googleapis.com/auth/cloud-platform'])

    service = googleapiclient.discovery.build(
        'iam', 'v1', credentials=credentials)

    keys = service.projects().serviceAccounts().keys().list(
        name='projects/-/serviceAccounts/' + service_account_email).execute()

    for key in keys['keys']:
        print('Key: ' + key['name'])

Getting a service account key

You can only get the private key data for a service account key when the key is first created.

You can get basic information about a key such as its ID, algorithm, and public key data with the projects.serviceAccounts.keys.get() REST API method. Using the Cloud Console or the gcloud command-line tool is not supported.

Uploading public keys for service accounts

Beta — Uploading public keys for service accounts

This feature is covered by the Pre-GA Offerings Terms of the Google Cloud Platform Terms of Service. Pre-GA features may have limited support, and changes to pre-GA features may not be compatible with other pre-GA versions. For more information, see the launch stage descriptions.

You can upload the public key portion of a user-managed key pair to a service account. After you upload the public key, it is permanently associated with the service account and will be used the same way as any other user-managed service account keys. To disable the ability to upload keys for your project, see restricting service account key upload.

If you choose to use a user-managed key pair instead of a Google-managed key pair, ensure that you maintain it and regularly rotate it.

The key you upload must be an RSA public key that is wrapped in an X.509 v3 certificate and encoded in base64. You can use tools such as OpenSSL to generate a key and certificate in this format. For example, the following command generates a 2048-bit RSA key pair and wraps the public key in a self-signed certificate that is valid for 365 days:

openssl req -x509 -nodes -newkey rsa:2048 -days 365 \
    -keyout /path/to/private_key.pem \
    -out /path/to/public_key.pem \
    -subj "/CN=unused"

You can then upload the public_key.pem file as the public key for a service account.

gcloud command

Execute the gcloud beta iam service-accounts keys upload command to upload a public key for signing service account keys.

Command:

gcloud beta iam service-accounts keys upload /path/to/public_key.pem \
  --iam-account [e-mail]

The output contains a unique identifier for the uploaded key:

Name: projects/project-id/serviceAccounts/[e-mail]/keys/c7b74879da78e4cdcbe7e1bf5e129375c0bfa8d0

To determine whether the command was successful, execute the gcloud iam service-accounts keys list command:

gcloud iam service-accounts keys list \
  --iam-account [e-mail]

The output will contain the same unique identifier that was returned after the key was created:

KEY_ID	CREATED_AT	EXPIRES_AT
c7b74879da78e4cdcbe7e1bf5e129375c0bfa8d0	2019-06-26T21:01:42.000Z	2029-06-23T21:01:42.000Z

REST API

The projects.serviceAccounts.keys.upload method uploads the public key from a user-managed key pair, and adds this key to the service account.

Before using any of the request data below, make the following replacements:

• project-id: Your Google Cloud project ID.
• sa-name: The name of the service account to associate the key with.
• public-key-data: The public key data for the key pair. Must be an RSA public key that is wrapped in an X.509 v3 certificate. Encode the public key data in base64, including the first line, -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----, and the last line, -----END CERTIFICATE-----.

HTTP method and URL:

POST https://iam.googleapis.com/v1/projects/project-id/serviceAccounts/[e-mail]/keys:upload

Request JSON body:

{
  "publicKeyData": "public-key-data"
}

To send your request, expand one of these options:

curl (Linux, macOS, or Cloud Shell)

Note: Ensure you have set the GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS environment variable to your service account private key file path.

Save the request body in a file called request.json, and execute the following command:

curl -X POST \
-H "Authorization: Bearer "$(gcloud auth application-default print-access-token) \
-H "Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8" \
-d @request.json \
https://iam.googleapis.com/v1/projects/project-id/serviceAccounts/[e-mail]/keys:upload

PowerShell (Windows)

Note: Ensure you have set the GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS environment variable to your service account private key file path.

Save the request body in a file called request.json, and execute the following command:

$cred = gcloud auth application-default print-access-token
$headers = @{ "Authorization" = "Bearer $cred" }

Invoke-WebRequest `
  -Method POST `
  -Headers $headers `
  -ContentType: "application/json; charset=utf-8" `
  -InFile request.json `
  -Uri "https://iam.googleapis.com/v1/projects/project-id/serviceAccounts/[e-mail]/keys:upload" | Select-Object -Expand Content

API Explorer (browser)

Copy the request body and open the method reference page. The API Explorer panel opens on the right side of the page. You can interact with this tool to send requests. Paste the request body in this tool, complete any other required fields, and click Execute.

You should receive a JSON response similar to the following:

{
  "name": "projects/my-project/serviceAccounts/[e-mail]/keys/c7b74879da78e4cdcbe7e1bf5e129375c0bfa8d0",
  "validAfterTime": "2020-05-17T19:31:19Z",
  "validBeforeTime": "2021-05-17T19:31:19Z",
  "keyAlgorithm": "KEY_ALG_RSA_2048",
  "keyOrigin": "USER_PROVIDED",
  "keyType": "USER_MANAGED"
}

Deleting service account keys

You can delete a service account key using the Cloud Console, the gcloud tool, the serviceAccount.keys.delete() method, or one of the client libraries.

If you delete a key, your application will no longer be able to access Google Cloud resources using that key. A security best practice is to rotate your service account keys regularly. You can rotate a key by creating a new key, switching applications to use the new key and then deleting the old key. Use the serviceAccount.keys.create() method and serviceAccount.keys.delete() method together to automate the rotation.

Console

1. In the Cloud Console, go to the Service Accounts page.

   Go to the Service Accounts page

2. Click Select a project, choose a project, and click Open. The console lists all of the project's service accounts and their corresponding keys.

3. Find the row of the service account that you want to create a key for. In that row, click the More button in that row, and then click Edit.

4. From the list of keys, click Delete for each key you'd like to delete.

gcloud command

Execute the gcloud iam service-accounts keys delete command to delete service account keys.

Command:

gcloud iam service-accounts keys delete key-id \
  --iam-account [e-mail]

Output:

Deleted key [8e6e3936d7024646f8ceb39792006c07f4a9760c] for
service account [[e-mail]]

REST API

The projects.serviceAccounts.keys.delete method deletes a service account key.

Before using any of the request data below, make the following replacements:

• project-id: Your Google Cloud project ID.
• sa-name: The name of the service account whose key you want to delete.
• key-id: The ID of the key that you want to delete.

HTTP method and URL:

DELETE https://iam.googleapis.com/v1/projects/project-id/serviceAccounts/[e-mail]/keys/key-id

To send your request, expand one of these options:

curl (Linux, macOS, or Cloud Shell)

Note: Ensure you have set the GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS environment variable to your service account private key file path.

Execute the following command:

curl -X DELETE \
-H "Authorization: Bearer "$(gcloud auth application-default print-access-token) \
https://iam.googleapis.com/v1/projects/project-id/serviceAccounts/[e-mail]/keys/key-id

PowerShell (Windows)

Note: Ensure you have set the GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS environment variable to your service account private key file path.

Execute the following command:

$cred = gcloud auth application-default print-access-token
$headers = @{ "Authorization" = "Bearer $cred" }

Invoke-WebRequest `
  -Method DELETE `
  -Headers $headers `
  -Uri "https://iam.googleapis.com/v1/projects/project-id/serviceAccounts/[e-mail]/keys/key-id" | Select-Object -Expand Content

API Explorer (browser)

Open the method reference page. The API Explorer panel opens on the right side of the page. You can interact with this tool to send requests. Complete any required fields and click Execute.

You should receive a JSON response similar to the following:

{
}

C#

Before trying this sample, follow the C# setup instructions in the IAM Quickstart Using Client Libraries. For more information, see the IAM C# API reference documentation.

View on GitHub Feedback

using System;
using Google.Apis.Auth.OAuth2;
using Google.Apis.Iam.v1;
using Google.Apis.Iam.v1.Data;

public partial class ServiceAccountKeys
{
    public static void DeleteKey(string fullKeyName)
    {
        var credential = GoogleCredential.GetApplicationDefault()
            .CreateScoped(IamService.Scope.CloudPlatform);
        var service = new IamService(new IamService.Initializer
        {
            HttpClientInitializer = credential
        });

        service.Projects.ServiceAccounts.Keys.Delete(fullKeyName).Execute();
        Console.WriteLine("Deleted key: " + fullKeyName);
    }
}

Go

Before trying this sample, follow the Go setup instructions in the IAM Quickstart Using Client Libraries. For more information, see the IAM Go API reference documentation.

View on GitHub Feedback

import (
	"context"
	"fmt"
	"io"

	iam "google.golang.org/api/iam/v1"
)

// deleteKey deletes a service account key.
func deleteKey(w io.Writer, fullKeyName string) error {
	ctx := context.Background()
	service, err := iam.NewService(ctx)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("iam.NewService: %v", err)
	}

	_, err = service.Projects.ServiceAccounts.Keys.Delete(fullKeyName).Do()
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("Projects.ServiceAccounts.Keys.Delete: %v", err)
	}
	fmt.Fprintf(w, "Deleted key: %v", fullKeyName)
	return nil
}

Java

Before trying this sample, follow the Java setup instructions in the IAM Quickstart Using Client Libraries. For more information, see the IAM Java API reference documentation.

View on GitHub Feedback

import com.google.api.client.googleapis.javanet.GoogleNetHttpTransport;
import com.google.api.client.json.jackson2.JacksonFactory;
import com.google.api.services.iam.v1.Iam;
import com.google.api.services.iam.v1.IamScopes;
import com.google.api.services.iam.v1.model.ServiceAccountKey;
import com.google.auth.http.HttpCredentialsAdapter;
import com.google.auth.oauth2.GoogleCredentials;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.security.GeneralSecurityException;
import java.util.Collections;
import java.util.List;

public class DeleteServiceAccountKey {

  // Deletes a service account key.
  public static void deleteKey(String projectId) {
    // String projectId = "my-project-id";

    Iam service = null;
    try {
      service = initService();
    } catch (IOException | GeneralSecurityException e) {
      System.out.println("Unable to initialize service: \n" + e.toString());
      return;
    }

    try {
      // First, get the name of the key using List() or Get()
      List<ServiceAccountKey> keys =
          service
              .projects()
              .serviceAccounts()
              .keys()
              .list(
                  "projects/-/serviceAccounts/"
                      + "your-service-account-name@"
                      + projectId
                      + ".iam.gserviceaccount.com")
              .execute()
              .getKeys();
      String keyToDelete = keys.get(0).getName();

      // Then you can delete the key
      service.projects().serviceAccounts().keys().delete(keyToDelete).execute();

      System.out.println("Deleted key: " + keyToDelete);
    } catch (IOException e) {
      System.out.println("Unable to delete service account key: \n" + e.toString());
    }
  }

  private static Iam initService() throws GeneralSecurityException, IOException {
    // Use the Application Default Credentials strategy for authentication. For more info, see:
    // https://cloud.google.com/docs/authentication/production#finding_credentials_automatically
    GoogleCredentials credential =
        GoogleCredentials.getApplicationDefault()
            .createScoped(Collections.singleton(IamScopes.CLOUD_PLATFORM));
    // Initialize the IAM service, which can be used to send requests to the IAM API.
    Iam service =
        new Iam.Builder(
                GoogleNetHttpTransport.newTrustedTransport(),
                JacksonFactory.getDefaultInstance(),
                new HttpCredentialsAdapter(credential))
            .setApplicationName("service-account-keys")
            .build();
    return service;
  }
}

Python

Before trying this sample, follow the Python setup instructions in the IAM Quickstart Using Client Libraries. For more information, see the IAM Python API reference documentation.

View on GitHub Feedback

import os

from google.oauth2 import service_account
import googleapiclient.discovery

def delete_key(full_key_name):
    """Deletes a service account key."""

    credentials = service_account.Credentials.from_service_account_file(
        filename=os.environ['GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS'],
        scopes=['https://www.googleapis.com/auth/cloud-platform'])

    service = googleapiclient.discovery.build(
        'iam', 'v1', credentials=credentials)

    service.projects().serviceAccounts().keys().delete(
        name=full_key_name).execute()

    print('Deleted key: ' + full_key_name)