Access control with IAM

This document describes how you use Identity and Access Management (IAM) roles and permissions to control access to logs data in the Logging API, the Logs Explorer, and the Google Cloud CLI.

Overview

IAM permissions and roles determine your ability to access logs data in the Logging API, the Logs Explorer, and the Google Cloud CLI.

A role is a collection of permissions. You can't grant a principal permissions directly; instead, you grant them a role. When you grant a role to a principal, you grant them all the permissions that the role contains. You can grant multiple roles to the same principal.

To use Logging within a Google Cloud resource, such as a Google Cloud project, folder, bucket, or organization, a principal must have an IAM role that contains the appropriate permissions.

Predefined roles

IAM provides predefined roles to grant granular access to specific Google Cloud resources and prevent unwanted access to other resources. Google Cloud creates and maintains these roles and automatically updates their permissions as necessary, such as when Logging adds new features.

The following table lists the predefined roles for Logging. For each role, the table displays the role title, description, contained permissions, and the lowest-level resource type where the roles can be granted. You can grant the predefined roles at the Google Cloud project level or, in most cases, any type higher in the Google Cloud hierarchy. To scope the Logs View Accessor role more tightly to the bucket level, use resource attributes for IAM Conditions.

To get a list of each individual permission contained in a role, see Getting the role metadata.

Role	Permissions
Logging Admin (roles/logging.admin) Provides all permissions necessary to use all features of Cloud Logging. Lowest-level resources where you can grant this role: Project	logging.buckets.copyLogEntries logging.buckets.create logging.buckets.delete logging.buckets.get logging.buckets.list logging.buckets.undelete logging.buckets.update logging.exclusions.* logging.exclusions.create logging.exclusions.delete logging.exclusions.get logging.exclusions.list logging.exclusions.update logging.fields.access logging.links.* logging.links.create logging.links.delete logging.links.get logging.links.list logging.locations.* logging.locations.get logging.locations.list logging.logEntries.* logging.logEntries.create logging.logEntries.download logging.logEntries.list logging.logEntries.route logging.logMetrics.* logging.logMetrics.create logging.logMetrics.delete logging.logMetrics.get logging.logMetrics.list logging.logMetrics.update logging.logServiceIndexes.list logging.logServices.list logging.logs.* logging.logs.delete logging.logs.list logging.notificationRules.* logging.notificationRules.create logging.notificationRules.delete logging.notificationRules.get logging.notificationRules.list logging.notificationRules.update logging.operations.* logging.operations.cancel logging.operations.get logging.operations.list logging.privateLogEntries.list logging.queries.* logging.queries.create logging.queries.delete logging.queries.get logging.queries.list logging.queries.listShared logging.queries.share logging.queries.update logging.queries.updateShared logging.settings.* logging.settings.get logging.settings.update logging.sinks.* logging.sinks.create logging.sinks.delete logging.sinks.get logging.sinks.list logging.sinks.update logging.usage.get logging.views.* logging.views.access logging.views.create logging.views.delete logging.views.get logging.views.list logging.views.listLogs logging.views.listResourceKeys logging.views.listResourceValues logging.views.update resourcemanager.projects.get resourcemanager.projects.list
Logs Bucket Writer (roles/logging.bucketWriter) Ability to write logs to a log bucket. Lowest-level resources where you can grant this role: Project	logging.buckets.write
Logs Configuration Writer (roles/logging.configWriter) Provides permissions to read and write the configurations of logs-based metrics and sinks for exporting logs. Lowest-level resources where you can grant this role: Project	logging.buckets.create logging.buckets.delete logging.buckets.get logging.buckets.list logging.buckets.undelete logging.buckets.update logging.exclusions.* logging.exclusions.create logging.exclusions.delete logging.exclusions.get logging.exclusions.list logging.exclusions.update logging.links.* logging.links.create logging.links.delete logging.links.get logging.links.list logging.locations.* logging.locations.get logging.locations.list logging.logMetrics.* logging.logMetrics.create logging.logMetrics.delete logging.logMetrics.get logging.logMetrics.list logging.logMetrics.update logging.logServiceIndexes.list logging.logServices.list logging.logs.list logging.notificationRules.* logging.notificationRules.create logging.notificationRules.delete logging.notificationRules.get logging.notificationRules.list logging.notificationRules.update logging.operations.* logging.operations.cancel logging.operations.get logging.operations.list logging.settings.* logging.settings.get logging.settings.update logging.sinks.* logging.sinks.create logging.sinks.delete logging.sinks.get logging.sinks.list logging.sinks.update logging.views.create logging.views.delete logging.views.get logging.views.list logging.views.update resourcemanager.projects.get resourcemanager.projects.list
Log Field Accessor (roles/logging.fieldAccessor) Ability to read restricted fields in a log bucket. Lowest-level resources where you can grant this role: Project	logging.fields.access
Log Link Accessor (roles/logging.linkViewer) Ability to see links for a bucket.	logging.links.get logging.links.list
Logs Writer (roles/logging.logWriter) Provides the permissions to write log entries. Lowest-level resources where you can grant this role: Project	logging.logEntries.create logging.logEntries.route
Private Logs Viewer (roles/logging.privateLogViewer) Provides permissions of the Logs Viewer role and in addition, provides read-only access to log entries in private logs. Lowest-level resources where you can grant this role: Project	logging.buckets.get logging.buckets.list logging.exclusions.get logging.exclusions.list logging.links.get logging.links.list logging.locations.* logging.locations.get logging.locations.list logging.logEntries.list logging.logMetrics.get logging.logMetrics.list logging.logServiceIndexes.list logging.logServices.list logging.logs.list logging.privateLogEntries.list logging.queries.create logging.queries.delete logging.queries.get logging.queries.list logging.queries.listShared logging.queries.update logging.sinks.get logging.sinks.list logging.usage.get logging.views.access logging.views.get logging.views.list resourcemanager.projects.get
Logs View Accessor (roles/logging.viewAccessor) Ability to read logs in a view. Lowest-level resources where you can grant this role: Project	logging.logEntries.download logging.views.access logging.views.listLogs logging.views.listResourceKeys logging.views.listResourceValues
Logs Viewer (roles/logging.viewer) Provides access to view logs. Lowest-level resources where you can grant this role: Project	logging.buckets.get logging.buckets.list logging.exclusions.get logging.exclusions.list logging.links.get logging.links.list logging.locations.* logging.locations.get logging.locations.list logging.logEntries.list logging.logMetrics.get logging.logMetrics.list logging.logServiceIndexes.list logging.logServices.list logging.logs.list logging.operations.get logging.operations.list logging.queries.create logging.queries.delete logging.queries.get logging.queries.list logging.queries.listShared logging.queries.update logging.sinks.get logging.sinks.list logging.usage.get logging.views.get logging.views.list resourcemanager.projects.get

The following sections provide additional information to help you decide which roles apply to your principals' use cases.

Logging roles

• To let a user perform all actions in Logging, grant the Logging Admin (roles/logging.admin) role.

• To let a user create and modify logging configurations, such as sinks, buckets, views, links, log-based metrics, or exclusions, grant the Logs Configuration Writer (roles/logging.configWriter) role.

• To let a user read logs in the _Required and _Default buckets, use the Logs Explorer, and use the Log Analytics page, grant one of the following roles:

  • For access to all logs in the _Required bucket, and access to the _Default view on the _Default bucket, grant the Logs Viewer (roles/logging.viewer) role.
  • For access to all logs in the _Required and _Default buckets, including data access logs, grant the Private Logs Viewer (roles/logging.privateLogViewer) role.

• To let a user read logs that are stored in a user-defined bucket, grant the Logs View Accessor (roles/logging.viewAccessor) role. You can restrict authorization to a specific log view on a specific bucket by using an IAM condition; see Reading logs from a bucket for an example.

• To give a user access to restricted LogEntry fields, if any, in a given bucket, grant the Logs Field Accessor (roles/logging.fieldAccessor) role. For more information, see Configure field-level access.

• To let a user write logs by using the Logging API, grant the Logs Writer (roles/logging.logWriter) role. This role doesn't grant viewing permissions.

• To let the service account of a sink route logs to a bucket in a different Google Cloud project, grant the service account the Logs Bucket Writer (roles/logging.bucketWriter) role. For instructions about granting permissions to a service account, see Set destination permissions.

Project-level roles

Caution: The following basic roles include thousands of permissions across all Google Cloud services. Use these roles carefully, or consider using their corresponding Logging predefined roles.

• To give view access to most Google Cloud services, grant the Viewer (roles/viewer) role.

  This role includes all permissions granted by the Logs Viewer (roles/logging.viewer) role.

• To give editor access to most Google Cloud services, grant the Editor (roles/editor) role.

  This role includes all permissions granted by the Logs Viewer (roles/logging.viewer) role, and the permissions to write log entries, delete logs, and create log-based metrics. However, this role doesn't let users create sinks, read Data Access audit logs that are in the _Default bucket, or read logs that are in user-defined log buckets.

• To give full access to most Google Cloud services, grant the Owner (roles/owner) role.

Granting roles

To learn how to grant a role to a principal, see Granting, changing, and revoking access.

You can grant multiple roles to the same user. To get a list of the permissions contained in a role, see Getting the role metadata.

If you're trying to access a Google Cloud resource and lack the necessary permissions, then contact the principal who is listed as the Owner for the resource.

Custom roles

To create a custom role with Logging permissions, do the following:

• For a role granting permissions for the Logging API, choose permissions from API permissions, then follow the instructions to create a custom role.

• For a role granting permissions to use the Logs Explorer, choose from permission groups in Console permissions, then follow the instructions to create a custom role.

• For a role granting permissions to use gcloud logging, see the Command-line permissions section on this page, then follow the instructions to create a custom role.

For more information on custom roles, see Understanding IAM custom roles.

Permissions for the Logging API

Logging API methods require specific IAM permissions. The following table lists the permissions needed by the API methods.

If you're interested in logs held in Google Cloud organizations, billing accounts, and folders, then note that those resources have their own API methods for logs and sinks. Rather than repeating all the methods in the table, only the projects methods are shown individually.

Logging method	Required permission	Resource type
billingAccounts.logs.*	logging.logs.* (See projects.logs.*)	billing accounts
billingAccounts.sinks.*	logging.sinks.* (See projects.sinks.*.)	billing accounts
billingAccounts.locations.buckets.*	logging.buckets.* (See projects.locations.buckets.*.)	billing accounts
entries.list	logging.logEntries.list or logging.privateLogEntries.list	projects, organizations, folders, billing accounts
entries.tail	logging.logEntries.list or logging.privateLogEntries.list	projects, organizations, folders, billing accounts
entries.write	logging.logEntries.create	projects, organizations, folders, billing accounts
folders.logs.*	logging.logs.* (See projects.logs.*)	folders
folders.sinks.*	logging.sinks.* (See projects.sinks.*)	folders
folders.locations.buckets.*	logging.buckets.* (See projects.locations.buckets.*)	folders
monitoredResourceDescriptors.list	(none)	(none)
organizations.logs.*	logging.logs.* (See projects.logs.*)	organizations
organizations.sinks.*	logging.sinks.* (See projects.sinks.*)	organizations
organizations.locations.buckets.*	logging.buckets.* (See projects.locations.buckets.*)	organizations
projects.exclusions.create	logging.exclusions.create	projects
projects.exclusions.delete	logging.exclusions.delete	projects
projects.exclusions.get	logging.exclusions.get	projects
projects.exclusions.list	logging.exclusions.list	projects
projects.exclusions.patch	logging.exclusions.update	projects
projects.logs.list	logging.logs.list	projects
projects.logs.delete	logging.logs.delete	projects
projects.sinks.list	logging.sinks.list	projects
projects.sinks.get	logging.sinks.get	projects
projects.sinks.create	logging.sinks.create	projects
projects.sinks.update	logging.sinks.update	projects
projects.sinks.delete	logging.sinks.delete	projects
projects.locations.buckets.list	logging.buckets.list	projects
projects.locations.buckets.get	logging.buckets.get	projects
projects.locations.buckets.patch	logging.buckets.update	projects
projects.locations.buckets.create	logging.buckets.create	projects
projects.locations.buckets.delete	logging.buckets.delete	projects
projects.locations.buckets.undelete	logging.buckets.undelete	projects
projects.metrics.list	logging.logMetrics.list	projects
projects.metrics.get	logging.logMetrics.get	projects
projects.metrics.create	logging.logMetrics.create	projects
projects.metrics.update	logging.logMetrics.update	projects
projects.metrics.delete	logging.logMetrics.delete	projects

Permissions for the Google Cloud console

The following table lists the permissions needed to use the Logs Explorer.

In the table, a.b.{x,y} means a.b.x and a.b.y.

Console activity	Required permissions
Minimal read-only access	logging.logEntries.list logging.logs.list logging.logServiceIndexes.list logging.logServices.list resourcemanager.projects.get
Add ability to view Data Access audit logs	Add logging.privateLogEntries.list
Add ability to view log-based metrics	Add logging.logMetrics.{list, get}
Add ability to view sinks	Add logging.sinks.{list, get}
Add ability to view logs usage	Add logging.usage.get
Add ability to exclude logs	Add logging.exclusions.{list, create, get, update, delete}
Add ability to use sinks	Add logging.sinks.{list, create, get, update, delete}
Add ability to create log-based metrics	Add logging.logMetrics.{list, create, get, update, delete}
Add ability to save queries	Add logging.queries.{list, create, get, update, delete}
Add ability to share queries	Add logging.queries.share
Add ability to use recent queries	Add logging.queries.{create, list}

Permissions for the command-line

gcloud logging commands are controlled by IAM permissions.

To use any of the gcloud logging commands, principals must have the serviceusage.services.use permission.

A principal must also have the IAM role that corresponds to the log's resource, and to the use case. For details, see command-line interface permissions.

Permissions for linked BigQuery datasets

The following list describes the predefined roles and corresponding permissions for managing your linked BigQuery datasets:

• The Logging Admin (roles/logging.admin) and Logs Configuration Writer (roles/logging.configWriter) roles contain the following permissions:

  • logging.links.list
  • logging.links.create
  • logging.links.get
  • logging.links.delete

• The Log Link Accessor (roles/logging.linkViewer), Private Logs Viewer (roles/logging.privateLogViewer), and Logs Viewer (roles/logging.viewer) roles contain the following permissions:

  • logging.links.list
  • logging.links.get

The previously listed roles and permissions only apply to Logging pages, such as the Log Analytics page. If you use the BigQuery interface to manage your datasets, you might need separate BigQuery roles and permissions. See Access control with IAM for BigQuery for more information.

Permissions for routing logs

For information about setting access controls when creating and managing sinks to route logs, see Set destination permissions.

Note that managing exclusion filters is integrated with configuring sinks. All permissions related to managing sinks, including setting exclusion filters, are included in the logging.sinks.* permissions. When creating a custom role that includes permissions to manage exclusion filters, add the logging.sinks.* permissions to the role instead of adding the logging.exclusions.* permissions.

After your log entries have been routed to a supported destination, access to the log copies is controlled entirely by IAM permissions and roles on the destinations: Cloud Storage, BigQuery, or Pub/Sub.

Permissions for log-based metrics

Following is a summary of the common roles and permissions that a principal needs to access log-based metrics:

• The Logs Configuration Writer (roles/logging.configWriter) role lets principals list, create, get, update, and delete log-based metrics.

• The Logs Viewer (roles/logging.viewer) role contains permissions to view existing metrics. Specifically, a principal needs the logging.logMetrics.get and logging.logMetrics.list permissions to view existing metrics.

• The Monitoring Viewer (roles/monitoring.viewer) role contains the permissions to read TimeSeries data. Specifically, a principal needs the monitoring.timeSeries.list permission to read time series data.

• The Logging Admin (roles/logging.admin), Project Editor (roles/editor), and Project Owner (roles/owner) roles contain the permissions to create log-based metrics. Specifically, a principal needs the logging.logMetrics.create permission to create log-based metrics.

Note: To secure private logs data, such as Data Access audit logs and Access Transparency audit logs, from unauthorized access, ensure that principals are granted the minimal permissions they need to do their jobs. For example, principals that have the Project Editor (roles/editor) role can create log-based metrics with labels that can extract sensitive information.

Permissions for log-based alerts

To create and manage log-based alerts, a principal needs Logging and Monitoring roles and permissions.

• The Logging Admin (roles/logging.admin) contains the permissions required to read logs and to manage Logging notification rules:

  • logging.logs.list
  • logging.logEntries.list
  • logging.notificationRules.create
  • logging.notificationRules.update

  If you don't want to grant this role, then do the following:

  • Grant the Logs Configuration Writer (roles/logging.configWriter) and Logs Viewer (roles/logging.viewer) roles.
  • Create a custom role and include these permissions. For more information, see Creating and managing custom roles.

• The Monitoring AlertPolicy Editor (roles/monitoring.alertPolicyEditor) and Monitoring NotificationChannel Editor (roles/monitoring.notificationChannelEditor) roles together include the permissions required to manage the alerting policies and notification channels used by log-based alerts:

  • monitoring.alertPolicies.{create, delete, get, list, update}
  • monitoring.notificationChannelDescriptors.{get, list}
  • monitoring.notificationChannels.{create, delete, get, list, sendVerificationCode, update, verify}

  The Monitoring Editor (roles/monitoring.editor) and Monitoring Admin (roles/monitoring.admin) roles each contain all of the permissions required to manage alerting policies and notification channels as well.

  If you don't want to grant any of the default Monitoring roles, then create a custom role and include the permissions from the Monitoring AlertPolicy Editor (roles/monitoring.alertPolicyEditor) and Monitoring NotificationChannel Editor (roles/monitoring.notificationChannelEditor) roles.

  • For more information about custom roles, see Creating and managing custom roles.
  • For more information on Monitoring roles and permissions, see Access control with IAM.

Logging access scopes

Access scopes are the legacy method of specifying permissions for the service accounts on your Compute Engine VM instances.

The following access scopes apply to the Logging API:

Access scope	Permissions granted
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/logging.read	roles/logging.viewer
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/logging.write	roles/logging.logWriter
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/logging.admin	Full access to the Logging API.
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/cloud-platform	Full access to the Logging API and to all other enabled Google Cloud APIs.

For information on using this legacy method to set your service accounts' levels of access, see Service account permissions.