Role assignment

As a super admin, you can assign admin permissions to principals so they're able to perform tasks and access resources. Principals can be users, groups of users, or client apps. You can assign standard roles, or create custom roles that limit an admin’s access to a subset of permissions and resources.

This page discusses the concepts of role assignment through APIs. See Custom administrator roles (opens new window) for product documentation through the Admin Console.

Standard role assignment

Standard role types

The following role types are provided and supported:

Role type	Label	Optional targets
API_ACCESS_MANAGEMENT_ADMIN	API Access Management administrator
APP_ADMIN	Application administrator	Apps
GROUP_MEMBERSHIP_ADMIN	Group membership administrator	Groups
HELP_DESK_ADMIN	Help desk administrator	Groups
MOBILE_ADMIN	Mobile administrator
ORG_ADMIN	Organization administrator
READ_ONLY_ADMIN	Read-only administrator
REPORT_ADMIN	Report administrator
SUPER_ADMIN	Super administrator
USER_ADMIN	Group administrator	Groups

IAM-based standard role Types

Early Access

Okta also supports the following IAM-based standard roles:

Role type	Label	Permissions
ACCESS_CERTIFICATIONS_ADMIN Early Access	Access certifications administrator	okta.governance.accessCertifications.manage
ACCESS_REQUESTS_ADMIN Early Access	Access requests administrator	okta.governance.accessRequests.manage

You can assign IAM-based standard roles using standard or custom role assignment operations. These roles are immutable and can't be updated or deleted.

Standard Role Assignment steps

Perform a standard role assignment:

1. Assign a role to a user or group. The user now has access to the admin permissions and resources for the role.
2. (Optional) If the role supports targets, use one of the target operations to indicate which specific resource the admin can manage.

The following are the entities involved in a standard role assignment:

• Role: Identified either by type or ID returned from the listing API
• Principal: Either a group or a user
• Resource (optional): When using target operations, the resource can be either an app or a group

Custom role assignment

You can build custom roles by selecting Permissions. After a custom role is built, you can use its id or label to assign to admins:

1. Create a custom role.
2. Create a resource set.
3. Bind the admin with the role from step one that targets the resource set from step two.

An assignment of a role to an admin is called a Binding, which you can identify by its unique ID. A binding represents a single unique combination of principal, resource set, and custom role. A given resource set can have multiple bindings. The resource allows for different combinations of principals and roles to grant permissions to the encompassing resource.

Therefore, when dealing with custom roles, these three entities always exist:

• Role: Identified by its label or id
• Principal: Either a group or a user - known as a member of the binding
• Resource set: Identified by its id

Custom role assignment for IAM-based standard roles

Early Access

When using IAM-based standard roles the same concepts as custom roles apply with the following distinctions:

• IAM-based standard roles can only be used with predefined resource sets.
• For both IAM-based standard roles and resource sets, there’s a predefined constant id. This id is always the type of the role or resource set.

Role id (type)	Applicable resource set id (type)
ACCESS_CERTIFICATIONS_ADMIN Early Access	ACCESS_CERTIFICATIONS_IAM_POLICY
ACCESS_REQUESTS_ADMIN Early Access	ACCESS_REQUESTS_IAM_POLICY

Resource sets

A resource set is simply a collection of resources. There are two types of resource identifiers. Resources can either be identified by an Okta Resource Name (ORN) or by a REST URL format.

Okta Resource Name (ORN)

The primary resource identifier is the ORN. ORNs uniquely identify Okta resources.

ORN format

ORN identifiers are in the following format:

orn:{partition}:{service}:{tenantId}:{objectType}:{objectId}

Partitions

The partition is specific to your Okta environment. The following are the supported partitions:

Partition	ORN partition value
Preview environments	oktapreview
Production environments	okta

Service

The service that the resource belongs to. Each resource belongs to only one service. The following are the supported services:

Service	ORN service value
Directory	directory
Identity Provider	idp
Workflow	workflow
Governance Early Access	governance

tenantId

The identifier for the tenant that is using the service. This is typically your org ID.

objectType

The object type that is specific to the service. For example, object types groups or users are used for the directory service. For examples of object types, see Supported resources.

objectId

The object's identifier. For examples of object identifiers, see Supported resources.

contained_resources

The contained_resources ORN property indicates to target all resources within the container resource. For example:

orn:{partition}:directory:{yourOrgId}:groups:123:contained_resources

Group 123 is the example container resource. Since :contained_resources is specified, the resource includes the users in the group, rather than the group itself.

Not all resources support this property, see Supported resources for container resources.

REST URL

If the resource has a corresponding Okta API, you can specify the resource by its REST URL. Use the ORN format to specify resources that don't have corresponding Okta APIs.

Supported resources

Service	Resource	ORN identifier	REST URL
Directory	All users	orn:{partition}:directory:{yourOrgId}:users	https://{yourOktaDomain}/api/v1/users
	All groups	orn:{partition}:directory:{yourOrgId}:groups	https://{yourOktaDomain}/api/v1/groups
	A specific group	orn:{partition}:directory:{yourOrgId}:groups:{groupId}	https://{yourOktaDomain}/api/v1/groups/{groupId}
	All users within a specific group	orn:{partition}:directory:{yourOrgId}:groups:{groupId}:contained_resources	https://{yourOktaDomain}/api/v1/groups/{groupId}/users
	All devices Early Access	orn:{partition}:directory:{yourOrgId}:devices	https://{yourOktaDomain}/api/v1/devices
Identity Provider	All apps	orn:{partition}:idp:{yourOrgId}:apps	https://{yourOktaDomain}/api/v1/apps
	All apps of a specific type	orn:{partition}:idp:{yourOrgId}:apps:{appType}	https://{yourOktaDomain}/api/v1/apps/?filter=name+eq+\"{targetAppType}\"
	A specific app	orn:{partition}:idp:{yourOrgId}:apps:{appType}:{appId}	https://{yourOktaDomain}/api/v1/apps/{appId}
	All authorization servers	orn:{partition}:idp:{yourOrgId}:authorization_servers	https://{yourOktaDomain}/api/v1/authorizationServers
	A specific authorization server	orn:{partition}:idp:{yourOrgId}:authorization_servers:{authorizationServerId}	https://{yourOktaDomain}/api/v1/authorizationServers/{authorizationServerId}
	All customizations	orn:{partition}:idp:{yourOrgId}:customizations
Workflows	All delegated flows	orn:{partition}:workflow:{yourOrgId}:flows
	A specific delegated flow	orn:{partition}:workflow:{yourOrgId}:flows:{flowId}
Governance	All access certifications Early Access	orn:partition:governance:orgId:certifications
	All access requests Early Access	orn:partition:governance:orgId:requests

Note: If you use a role with permissions that don't apply to the resources in the resource set, it doesn't affect the admin role. For example, the okta.users.userprofile.manage permission gives the admin no privileges if it’s granted to a resource set that only includes https://{yourOktaDomain}/api/v1/groups/{targetGroupId} resources. If you want the admin to be able to manage the users within the group, the resource set must include the corresponding https://{yourOktaDomain}/api/v1/groups/{targetGroupId}/users resource.

Note: Governance resources are currently only supported as part of the Standard Resource Sets. You can't use these to create or update other resource sets.

Binding member identifiers

To specify binding members, use the REST URL of the corresponding Okta API:

• A specific user

  https://{yourOktaDomain}/api/v1/users/{memberUserId}
  

• A specific group

  https://{yourOktaDomain}/api/v1/groups/{memberGroupId}
  

Early Access

• A specific client application

  https://{yourOktaDomain}/oauth2/v1/clients/{clientId}
  

Early Access

The following resource sets are currently supported out of the box and can be used to assign admins only when used with their associated roles. Standard resource sets and roles are always identified using their type as id.

Resource set id/type	Applicable role id/type	Resources
ACCESS_CERTIFICATIONS_IAM_POLICY Early Access	ACCESS_CERTIFICATIONS_ADMIN	All users, all groups, all Apps, all access certifications
ACCESS_REQUESTS_IAM_POLICY Early Access	ACCESS_REQUESTS_ADMIN	all users, all groups, all access requests, access request app
Standard resource sets are managed by Okta only and can't be updated or deleted.

Custom vs. standard

• An admin can have both standard role assignments and custom role bindings. Privileges granted to an admin are an aggregate of the following:

  • Standard roles directly assigned
  • Standard roles granted through group membership
  • Custom roles directly assigned
  • Custom roles granted through group membership

  As a result, if an admin was granted a standard role that is limited to a single group, and received group management privileges on all groups in the org through a custom role, the ultimate outcome is group management on all groups.

• You can't assign a custom role without a resource set. The custom role is applicable only to a subset of resources. Standard roles, however, are initially granted to the entire org. You can only scope standard roles to specific resources by invoking target operations.

Permission types

Permission type	Description	Applicable resource types
okta.users.manage	Allows the admin to create and manage users and read all profile and credential information for users. Delegated admins with this permission can only manage user credential fields and not the credential values themselves.	All users, all users within a specific group
okta.users.create	Allows the admin to create users. If the admin is also scoped to manage a group, that admin can add the user to the group on creation and then manage.	All groups, a specific group
okta.users.read	Allows the admin to read any user's profile and credential information. Delegated admins with this permission can only manage user credential fields and not the credential values themselves.	All users, all users within a specific group
okta.users.credentials.manage	Allows the admin to manage only credential lifecycle operations for a user	All users, all users within a specific group
okta.users.credentials.resetFactors	Allows the admin to reset MFA authenticators for users	All users, all users within a specific group
okta.users.credentials.resetPassword	Allows the admin to reset passwords for users	All users, all users within a specific group
okta.users.credentials.expirePassword	Allows the admin to expire a user’s password and set a new temporary password	All users, all users within a specific group
okta.users.userprofile.manage	Allows the admin to only do operations on the user object, including hidden and sensitive attributes	All users, all users within a specific group
okta.users.lifecycle.manage	Allows the admin to perform any user lifecycle operations	All users, all users within a specific group
okta.users.lifecycle.activate	Allows the admin to activate user accounts	All users, all users within a specific group
okta.users.lifecycle.deactivate	Allows the admin to deactivate user accounts	All users, all users within a specific group
okta.users.lifecycle.suspend	Allows the admin to suspend user access to Okta. When a user is suspended, their user sessions are also cleared.	All users, all users within a specific group
okta.users.lifecycle.unsuspend	Allows the admin to restore user access to Okta	All users, all users within a specific group
okta.users.lifecycle.delete	Allows the admin to permanently delete user accounts	All users, all users within a specific group
okta.users.lifecycle.unlock	Allows the admin to unlock users who are locked out of Okta	All users, all users within a specific group
okta.users.lifecycle.clearSessions	Allows the admin to clear all active Okta sessions and OAuth tokens for a user	All users, all users within a specific group
okta.users.groupMembership.manage	Allows the admin to manage a user's group membership (also need okta.groups.members.manage to assign to a specific group)	All users, all users within a specific group
okta.users.appAssignment.manage	Allows the admin to manage a user's app assignment (also need okta.apps.assignment.manage to assign to a specific app)	All users, all users within a specific group
okta.users.apitokens.manage	Allows the admin to manage API tokens	All users, all users within a specific group
okta.users.apitokens.read	Allows the admin to view API tokens	All users, all users within a specific group
okta.groups.manage	Allows the admin to fully manage groups in your Okta organization	All groups, a specific group
okta.groups.create	Allows the admin to create groups	All groups
okta.groups.members.manage	Allows the admin to only manage member operations in a group in your Okta org	All groups, a specific group
okta.groups.read	Allows the admin to only read information about groups and their members in your Okta org	All groups, a specific group
okta.groups.appAssignment.manage	Allows the admin to manage a group's app assignment (also need okta.apps.assignment.manage to assign to a specific app)	All groups, a specific group
okta.apps.read	Allows the admin to only read information about apps and their members in your Okta org	All Apps, all apps of a specific type, a specific App
okta.apps.manage	Allows the admin to fully manage apps and their members in your Okta org	All apps, all apps of a specific type, a specific app
okta.apps.assignment.manage	Allows the admin to only manage assignment operations of an app in your Okta org	All apps, all apps of a specific type, a specific app
okta.profilesources.import.run	Allows the admin to run imports for apps with a profile source, such as HRaaS and AD/LDAP apps. Admins with this permission can create users through the import.	All apps, all apps of a specific type, a specific app
okta.authzServers.read	Allows the admin to read authorization servers	All authorization servers, a specific authorization server
okta.authzServers.manage	Allows the admin to manage authorization servers	All authorization servers, a specific authorization server
okta.customizations.read	Allows the admin to read customizations	All customizations
okta.customizations.manage	Allows the admin to manage customizations	All customizations
okta.identityProviders.read Early Access	Allows the admin to read Identity Providers	All Identity Providers
okta.identityProviders.manage Early Access	Allows the admin to manage Identity Providers	All Identity Providers
okta.workflows.read	Allows the admin to view delegated flows	All delegated flows, a specific delegated flow
okta.workflows.invoke	Allows the admin to view and run delegated flows	All delegated flows, a specific delegated flow
okta.governance.accessCertifications.manage Early Access	Allows the admin to view and manage access certification campaigns	All certifications
okta.governance.accessRequests.manage Early Access	Allows the admin to view and manage access requests	All access requests
okta.apps.manageFirstPartyApps Early Access	Allows the admin to manage first-party apps	All Access Requests
okta.devices.manage Early Access	Allows the admin to manage devices and perform all device lifecycle operations	All devices
okta.devices.lifecycle.manage Early Access	Allows the admin to perform any device lifecycle operations	All devices
okta.devices.lifecycle.activate Early Access	Allows the admin to activate devices	All devices
okta.devices.lifecycle.deactivate Early Access	Allows the admin to deactivate devices. When you deactivate a device, it loses all device user links.	All devices
okta.devices.lifecycle.suspend Early Access	Allows the admin to suspend device access to Okta	All devices
okta.devices.lifecycle.unsuspend Early Access	Allows the admin to unsuspend and restore device access to Okta	All devices
okta.devices.lifecycle.delete Early Access	Allows the admin to permanently delete devices	All devices
okta.devices.read Early Access	Allows the admin to read device details	All devices
okta.iam.read	Allows the admin to view roles, resources, and admin assignments	All Identity and access management resources

Note: Governance permissions are currently only supported as part of the Standard IAM-based Roles. You can't use these to create or update other roles.

Note: The okta.apps.manageFirstPartyApps permission is only supported as part of some Standard IAM-based Roles. You can't use it to create or update other roles.

Note: The okta.devices.* permissions are self-service Early Access. Turn on the Enable custom admin roles for device permissions feature from the Settings > Feature page in the Admin Console to access these permissions. See Manage Early Access and Beta features (opens new window).