Create and manage tags for VPC resources

VPC networks use the following resources that support Resource Manager tags:

Resource Manager tags are different from network tags. In this document, the term tags is used to refer to Resource Manager tags.

For a list of all services that support tags, see Services that support tags.

For information about using tags in firewall policy rules, see Tags for firewalls.

About tags

A tag is a key-value pair that can attach to a resource within Google Cloud. You can use tags to conditionally allow or deny policies based on whether a resource has a specific tag. For example, you can conditionally grant Identity and Access Management (IAM) roles based on whether a resource has a specific tag. For more information about tags, see Tags overview.

Tags are attached to resources by creating a tag binding resource that links the value to the Google Cloud resource.

To group VPC resources within Virtual Private Cloud for automation and billing purposes, use labels. Tags and labels work independently of each other, and you can apply both to resources.

Required permissions

The permissions you need depend on the action you need to perform.

To gain these permissions, ask your administrator to grant the suggested role at the appropriate level of the resource hierarchy.

View tags

To view tag definitions and tags that are attached to resources, you need the Tag Viewer role (roles/resourcemanager.tagViewer), or another role that includes the following permissions:

Required permissions

  • resourcemanager.tagKeys.get
  • resourcemanager.tagKeys.list
  • resourcemanager.tagValues.list
  • resourcemanager.tagValues.get
  • listTagBindings for the appropriate resource type. For example, compute.instances.listTagBindings for viewing tags attached to Compute Engine instances.
  • listEffectiveTags
    • for the appropriate resource type. For example, compute.instances.listEffectiveTags for viewing all tags attached to or inherited by Compute Engine instances.

To view tags at the organization level you need the Organization Viewer role (roles/resourcemanager.organizationViewer) on the organization resource.

Administer tags

To create, update, and delete tag definitions, you need the Tag Administrator role (roles/resourcemanager.tagAdmin), or another role that includes the following permissions:

Required permissions

  • resourcemanager.tagKeys.create
  • resourcemanager.tagKeys.update
  • resourcemanager.tagKeys.delete
  • resourcemanager.tagKeys.list
  • resourcemanager.tagKeys.get
  • resourcemanager.tagKeys.getIamPolicy
  • resourcemanager.tagKeys.setIamPolicy
  • resourcemanager.tagValues.create
  • resourcemanager.tagValues.update
  • resourcemanager.tagValues.delete
  • resourcemanager.tagValues.list
  • resourcemanager.tagValues.get
  • resourcemanager.tagValues.getIamPolicy
  • resourcemanager.tagValues.setIamPolicy

To administer tags at the organization level you need the Organization Viewer role (roles/resourcemanager.organizationViewer) on the organization resource.

Manage tags on resources

To add and remove tags that are attached to resources, you need the Tag User role (roles/resourcemanager.tagUser), or another role with equivalent permissions, on both the tag value and the resources that you are attaching the tag value to. The Tag User role includes the following permissions:

Required permissions

  • Permissions required for the resource you're attaching the tag value
    • Resource-specific createTagBinding permission, such as compute.instances.createTagBinding for Compute Engine instances.
    • Resource-specific deleteTagBinding permission, such as compute.instances.deleteTagBinding for Compute Engine instances.
  • Permissions required for the tag value:
    • resourcemanager.tagValueBindings.create
    • resourcemanager.tagValueBindings.delete
  • Permissions that let you view projects and tag definitions:
    • resourcemanager.tagValues.get
    • resourcemanager.tagValues.list
    • resourcemanager.tagKeys.get
    • resourcemanager.tagKeys.list
    • resourcemanager.projects.get

To attach tags to VPC resources, you need the Compute Network Admin role (roles/compute.networkAdmin).

Create tag keys and values

Before you can attach a tag, you need to create a tag and configure its value. To create tag keys and tag values, see Creating a tag and Adding a tag value.

Attach a tag to a VPC resource

After the tag has been created, you must attach it to a VPC resource.

gcloud

To attach a tag to a VPC resource, you must create a tag binding resource by using the gcloud resource-manager tags bindings create command:

      gcloud resource-manager tags bindings create \
          --tag-value=TAGVALUE_NAME \
          --parent=RESOURCE_ID \
          --location=LOCATION

Replace the following:

  • TAGVALUE_NAME: the permanent ID or namespaced name of the tag value that is attached—for example: tagValues/567890123456.
  • RESOURCE_ID is the full ID of the resource, including the API domain name to identify the type of resource (//compute.googleapis.com/). You must use the numeric IDs for resources, not their names. For example, a subnet ID has a format similar to this: //compute.googleapis.com/projects/123/regions/us-central1/subnetworks/456. A network ID has a format similar to this: //compute.googleapis.com/projects/123/global/networks/789
  • LOCATION: the location of your resource. If you are attaching a tag to a global resource, such as a folder or a project, you should omit this flag. If you are attaching a tag to a regional or a zonal resource, you must specify the location—for example: us-central1 (region) or us-central1-a (zone).

List tags attached to a VPC resource

You can view a list of tag bindings directly attached to or inherited by the VPC resource.

gcloud

To get a list of tag bindings attached to a resource, use the gcloud resource-manager tags bindings list command:

      gcloud resource-manager tags bindings list \
          --parent=RESOURCE_ID \
          --location=LOCATION

Replace the following:

  • RESOURCE_ID is the full ID of the resource, including the API domain name to identify the type of resource (//compute.googleapis.com/). You must use the numeric IDs for resources, not their names. For example, a subnet ID has a format similar to this: //compute.googleapis.com/projects/123/regions/us-central1/subnetworks/456. A network ID has a format similar to this: //compute.googleapis.com/projects/123/global/networks/789
  • LOCATION: the location of your resource. If you are viewing a tag attached to a global resource, such as a folder or a project, you should omit this flag. If you are viewing a tag attached to a regional or a zonal resource, you must specify the location—for example: us-central1 (region) or us-central1-a (zone).

You should get a response similar to the following:

name: tagBindings/%2F%2Fcloudresourcemanager.googleapis.com%2Fprojects%2F7890123456/tagValues/567890123456
          tagValue: tagValues/567890123456
          resource: //compute.googleapis.com/projects/7890123456/subnetworks/subnetwork-ID

Detach tags from a VPC resource

You can detach tags that have been directly attached to a VPC resource. Inherited tags can be overridden by attaching a tag with the same key and a different value, but they can't be detached. Before you can delete a tag, you must detach its key and values from every resource to which it is attached.

gcloud

To delete a tag binding, use the gcloud resource-manager tags bindings delete command:

      gcloud resource-manager tags bindings delete \
          --tag-value=TAGVALUE_NAME \
          --parent=RESOURCE_ID \
          --location=LOCATION

Replace the following:

  • TAGVALUE_NAME: the permanent ID or namespaced name of the tag value that is attached—for example: tagValues/567890123456.
  • RESOURCE_ID is the full ID of the resource, including the API domain name to identify the type of resource (//compute.googleapis.com/). You must use the numeric IDs for resources, not their names. For example, a subnet ID has a format similar to this: //compute.googleapis.com/projects/123/regions/us-central1/subnetworks/456. A network ID has a format similar to this: //compute.googleapis.com/projects/123/global/networks/789
  • LOCATION: the location of your resource. If you are attaching a tag to a global resource, such as a folder or a project, you should omit this flag. If you are attaching a tag to a regional or a zonal resource, you must specify the location—for example: us-central1 (region) or us-central1-a (zone).

Delete tag keys and values

When removing a tag key or value definition, ensure that the tag is detached from the VPC resource. You must delete existing tag attachments, called tag bindings, before deleting the tag definition itself. To delete tag keys and tag values, see Deleting tags.

Identity and Access Management conditions and tags

You can use tags and IAM conditions to conditionally grant role bindings to users in your hierarchy. Changing or deleting the tag attached to a resource can remove user access to that resource if an IAM policy with conditional role bindings has been applied. For more information, see Identity and Access Management conditions and tags.

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