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Version: 18.x

Creating an Access List for Just-in-Time Access

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The Just-in-Time Access Guide creates an Access List whose members are required to request access to a defined set of resources, rather than being granted that access automatically. The list's members submit an Access Request; the list's owners review and approve or deny it. Once approved, the member receives temporary access bounded by the request's TTL, capped by the member's remaining Teleport session.

This guide will help you:

  • Decide when a Just-in-Time Access List is the right fit
  • Create one using the guided flow
  • Verify the request-and-approval experience as a member

When to use this flow​

Use a Just-in-Time Access List when:

  • The resources are sensitive enough that members should justify each access event.
  • You want a clear audit trail of who requested what, when, and who approved it.
  • You want a single list to govern who can request the access, with periodic reviews so the membership is reaffirmed rather than left to drift.
  • You'd rather configure access through a guided UI than write role specs by hand.

If members instead need access immediately on login for the duration of their session, use the Standing Access Guide instead.

Prerequisites​

  • A running Teleport Enterprise (v18.8.0 or higher) cluster. If you want to get started with Teleport, sign up for a free trial or set up a demo environment.

  • The tctl and tsh clients, required only if deploying with Terraform.

    Installing tctl and tsh clients

    1. Determine the version of your Teleport cluster. The tctl and tsh clients must be at most one major version behind your Teleport cluster version. Send a GET request to the Proxy Service at /v1/webapi/find and use a JSON query tool to obtain your cluster version. Replace teleport.example.com:443 with the web address of your Teleport Proxy Service:

      TELEPORT_DOMAIN=teleport.example.com:443
      TELEPORT_VERSION="$(curl -s https://$TELEPORT_DOMAIN/v1/webapi/find | jq -r '.server_version')"

    2. Follow the instructions for your platform to install tctl and tsh clients:

      Download the signed macOS .pkg installer for Teleport, which includes the tctl and tsh clients:

      curl -O https://cdn.teleport.dev/teleport-${TELEPORT_VERSION?}.pkg

      In Finder double-click the pkg file to begin installation.

      danger

      Using Homebrew to install Teleport is not supported. The Teleport package in Homebrew is not maintained by Teleport and we can't guarantee its reliability or security.

  • At least one user who will be a member of the list, preferably a user with no access to resources to verify the access flow later.

  • At least one resource enrolled in the cluster for the Access List to grant access to.

  • Permissions to create Access Lists, users, and roles. These are included in the preset editor role, or you can copy and paste the following into your own role: 
    allow:
  rules:
  - resources:
    - access_list
    - user
    - role
    verbs:
    - read
    - list
    - create
    - update
    - delete

Step 1/3. Start the guide​

In the Teleport Web UI, hover over Add New from the sidebar menu then click Access List.

Enter a name and optional description for the list.

Click Just-in-Time Access Guide and click Start Guide.

Step 2/3. Walk through the guide​

The guide steps you through:

  1. Define Access to Resources — for each resource type, specify the matching criteria. Most resource types are matched by labels; others may ask you to select the resource itself. Members can request access to anything that matches.

    Previewing Resources

    After defining access for a resource type, the UI shows a preview of matching resources. The preview is limited by your own role permissions — members may be granted access to additional resources that aren't visible to you.

  2. Define Resource Identities or Principals — for resource types that need them (e.g. SSH logins, database users, Kubernetes users/groups, etc.), specify which principals members can use to connect once their request is approved.

  3. Basic Information — confirm the name and description of the Access List, and select the next review date. Periodic reviews are how list owners reaffirm that the right members are still on the list.

    Note: Access Lists deployed through Terraform are "static" lists and do not support periodic auditing — the review date is ignored.

  4. Define Membership — add the users who should be eligible to request access through this list.

  5. Define Ownership — add the users responsible for managing the list, reviewing membership, and reviewing Access Requests submitted through this list.

Deploy the Access List​

At the final Deployment step, choose how to apply the list:

Click Create Access List Now. The list is created directly via the Teleport API and is immediately active.

Editing the generated roles

Avoid directly modifying the roles the guided flow creates for this Access List. Keep their names and their teleport.internal/access-list-preset* labels unchanged — the Web UI relies on both to recognize them as the roles generated for this Access List. To change what the list grants, update it through the Web UI Access List editor:

  1. From the sidebar menu, click Identity Governance > Access Lists.
  2. Click on the target Access List.
  3. Click the Access Definition tab.
  4. Click Edit Access.

If you created the list with Terraform produced by the Web UI editor, you can still use the web editor to update the Access List and copy the updated Terraform it generates.

Editing the roles directly (via Terraform, tctl, or the role editor) may make the Access List editor in the Web UI unable to parse them (only a limited subset of role fields is supported by the editor) — at which point you can no longer use the Web UI editor to change the list's grants, and must update the roles directly for the rest of the Access List's life.

Step 3/3. Verify the request flow​

Log in as one of the members you added. The resources you defined in Define Access to Resources should appear in the resource list with a Request Access button rather than a direct connect button.

  1. Submit a request for one of the resources, optionally providing a reason.
  2. Log in as one of the owners and approve the request. (The JIT preset grants owners a reviewer role automatically, which is what lets them approve.)
  3. Back as the member, assume the approved request. You now have temporary access to the resource; once the request expires or your session ends, the access is gone.

Next steps​