Add Labels to Resources

Teleport allows you to add arbitrary key-value pairs to applications, servers, databases, and other resources in your cluster. You can use labels to do the following:

• Filter the resources returned when running tctl and tsh commands.
• Define roles that limit the resources Teleport users can access.

This guide demonstrates how to add labels to enrolled server resources. However, you can follow similar steps to add labels to other types of resources.

Static and dynamic labels

The labels you assign to resources can be static labels or dynamic labels.

• Static labels are hardcoded in the Teleport configuration file and don't change while the teleport process is running. For example, you might use a static label to identify the resources in a staging or production environment.
• Dynamic labels—also known as commands-based labels—allow you to generate labels at runtime. With a dynamic label, the teleport process executes an external command on its host at a configurable frequency and the output of the command becomes the label value.

You can add multiple static and dynamic labels for the same resource. However, you can't add static labels that use the same key with different values or use a static label to define multiple potential values.

Dynamic labels are especially useful for decoupling a label value from the Teleport configuration. For example, if you start Teleport on an Amazon EC2 instance, you can use a dynamic label to set the region value based on the result from a command sent to the EC2 instance metadata API. The dynamic label enables you to use the same configuration for each server in an Amazon Machine Image but filter and limit access to the servers based on their AWS region.

Prerequisites

To check version information, run the tctl version and tsh version commands. For example:

tctl version
Teleport Enterprise v13.3.9 git:api/14.0.0-gd1e081e go1.21

tsh version
Teleport v13.3.9 go1.21
Proxy version: 13.3.9Proxy: teleport.example.com

To check that you can connect to your Teleport cluster, sign in with tsh login, then verify that you can run tctl commands on your administrative workstation using your current credentials. For example:

tsh login --proxy=teleport.example.com --user=[email protected]
tctl status
Cluster  teleport.example.com
Version  14.0.0
CA pin   sha256:abdc1245efgh5678abdc1245efgh5678abdc1245efgh5678abdc1245efgh5678

If you can connect to the cluster and run the tctl status command, you can use your current credentials to run subsequent tctl commands from your workstation. If you host your own Teleport cluster, you can also run tctl commands on the computer that hosts the Teleport Auth Service for full permissions.

Step 1/3. Install Teleport

1. Select a host for running the Teleport agent.

2. Select an edition, then follow the instructions for that edition to install Teleport.

   Teleport Edition

   Teleport Team

   curl https://goteleport.com/static/install.sh | bash -s 13.3.9

   Is my Teleport instance compatible with Teleport Team?

   Before installing a teleport binary with a version besides v13, read our compatibility rules to ensure that the binary is compatible with Teleport Cloud.

   When running multiple teleport binaries within a cluster, the following rules apply:

   • Patch and minor versions are always compatible, for example, any 8.0.1 component will work with any 8.0.3 component and any 8.1.0 component will work with any 8.3.0 component.
   • Servers support clients that are 1 major version behind, but do not support clients that are on a newer major version. For example, an 8.x.x Proxy Service is compatible with 7.x.x resource services and 7.x.x tsh, but we don't guarantee that a 9.x.x resource service will work with an 8.x.x Proxy Service. This also means you must not attempt to upgrade from 6.x.x straight to 8.x.x. You must upgrade to 7.x.x first.
   • Proxy Services and resource services do not support Auth Services that are on an older major version, and will fail to connect to older Auth Services by default. This behavior can be overridden by passing --skip-version-check when starting Proxy Services and resource services.

   curl https://goteleport.com/static/install.sh | bash -s 14.0.0

   • Debian 9+/Ubuntu 16.04+ (apt)
   • Amazon Linux 2/RHEL 7 (yum)
   • Amazon Linux 2/RHEL 7 (yum)
   • Amazon Linux 2023/RHEL 8+ (dnf)
   • SLES 12 SP5+ and 15 SP5+ (zypper)
   • Tarball

   Download Teleport's PGP public key
   sudo curl https://apt.releases.teleport.dev/gpg \-o /usr/share/keyrings/teleport-archive-keyring.asc
   Source variables about OS version
   source /etc/os-release
   Add the Teleport APT repository for v14. You'll need to update this
   file for each major release of Teleport.
   echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/teleport-archive-keyring.asc] \https://apt.releases.teleport.dev/${ID?} ${VERSION_CODENAME?} stable/v14" \| sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/teleport.list > /dev/null
   
   sudo apt-get update
   sudo apt-get install teleport-ent

   For FedRAMP/FIPS-compliant installations, install the teleport-ent-fips package instead:

   sudo apt-get install teleport-ent-fips

   Source variables about OS version
   source /etc/os-release
   Add the Teleport YUM repository for v14. You'll need to update this
   file for each major release of Teleport.
   First, get the major version from $VERSION_ID so this fetches the correct
   package version.
   VERSION_ID=$(echo $VERSION_ID | grep -Eo "^[0-9]+")
   sudo yum-config-manager --add-repo "$(rpm --eval "https://yum.releases.teleport.dev/$ID/$VERSION_ID/Teleport/%{_arch}/stable/v14/teleport.repo")"
   sudo yum install teleport-ent
   Tip: Add /usr/local/bin to path used by sudo (so 'sudo tctl users add' will work as per the docs)
   echo "Defaults    secure_path = /sbin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/usr/local/bin" > /etc/sudoers.d/secure_path

   For FedRAMP/FIPS-compliant installations, install the teleport-ent-fips package instead:

   sudo yum install teleport-ent-fips

   Source variables about OS version
   source /etc/os-release
   Add the Teleport Zypper repository for v14. You'll need to update this
   file for each major release of Teleport.
   First, get the OS major version from $VERSION_ID so this fetches the correct
   package version.
   VERSION_ID=$(echo $VERSION_ID | grep -Eo "^[0-9]+")
   Use zypper to add the teleport RPM repo
   sudo zypper addrepo --refresh --repo $(rpm --eval "https://zypper.releases.teleport.dev/$ID/$VERSION_ID/Teleport/%{_arch}/stable/cloud/teleport-zypper.repo")
   sudo yum install teleport-ent
   Tip: Add /usr/local/bin to path used by sudo (so 'sudo tctl users add' will work as per the docs)
   echo "Defaults    secure_path = /sbin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/usr/local/bin" > /etc/sudoers.d/secure_path

   For FedRAMP/FIPS-compliant installations, install the teleport-ent-fips package instead:

   sudo yum install teleport-ent-fips

   Source variables about OS version
   source /etc/os-release
   Add the Teleport YUM repository for v14. You'll need to update this
   file for each major release of Teleport.
   First, get the major version from $VERSION_ID so this fetches the correct
   package version.
   VERSION_ID=$(echo $VERSION_ID | grep -Eo "^[0-9]+")
   Use the dnf config manager plugin to add the teleport RPM repo
   sudo dnf config-manager --add-repo "$(rpm --eval "https://yum.releases.teleport.dev/$ID/$VERSION_ID/Teleport/%{_arch}/stable/v14/teleport.repo")"
   
   Install teleport
   sudo dnf install teleport-ent
   
   Tip: Add /usr/local/bin to path used by sudo (so 'sudo tctl users add' will work as per the docs)
   echo "Defaults    secure_path = /sbin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/usr/local/bin" > /etc/sudoers.d/secure_path

   For FedRAMP/FIPS-compliant installations, install the teleport-ent-fips package instead:

   sudo dnf install teleport-ent-fips

   Source variables about OS version
   source /etc/os-release
   Add the Teleport Zypper repository.
   First, get the OS major version from $VERSION_ID so this fetches the correct
   package version.
   VERSION_ID=$(echo $VERSION_ID | grep -Eo "^[0-9]+")
   Use Zypper to add the teleport RPM repo
   sudo zypper addrepo --refresh --repo $(rpm --eval "https://zypper.releases.teleport.dev/$ID/$VERSION_ID/Teleport/%{_arch}/stable/v14/teleport-zypper.repo")
   
   Install teleport
   sudo zypper install teleport-ent

   For FedRAMP/FIPS-compliant installations, install the teleport-ent-fips package instead:

   sudo zypper install teleport-ent-fips

   In the example commands below, update $SYSTEM_ARCH with the appropriate value (amd64, arm64, or arm). All example commands using this variable will update after one is filled out.

   curl https://get.gravitational.com/teleport-ent-v14.0.0-linux-$SYSTEM_ARCH-bin.tar.gz.sha256
   <checksum> <filename>
   curl -O https://cdn.teleport.dev/teleport-ent-v14.0.0-linux-$SYSTEM_ARCH-bin.tar.gz
   shasum -a 256 teleport-ent-v14.0.0-linux-$SYSTEM_ARCH-bin.tar.gz
   Verify that the checksums match
   tar -xvf teleport-ent-v14.0.0-linux-$SYSTEM_ARCH-bin.tar.gz
   cd teleport-ent
   sudo ./install

   For FedRAMP/FIPS-compliant installations of Teleport Enterprise, package URLs will be slightly different:

   curl https://get.gravitational.com/teleport-ent-v14.0.0-linux-$SYSTEM_ARCH-fips-bin.tar.gz.sha256
   <checksum> <filename>
   curl -O https://cdn.teleport.dev/teleport-ent-v14.0.0-linux-$SYSTEM_ARCH-fips-bin.tar.gz
   shasum -a 256 teleport-ent-v14.0.0-linux-$SYSTEM_ARCH-fips-bin.tar.gz
   Verify that the checksums match
   tar -xvf teleport-ent-v14.0.0-linux-$SYSTEM_ARCH-fips-bin.tar.gz
   cd teleport-ent
   sudo ./install

   OS repository channels

   The following channels are available for APT, YUM, and Zypper repos. They may be used in place of stable/v14 anywhere in the Teleport documentation.

   Channel name	Description
   stable/<major>	Receives releases for the specified major release line, i.e. v14
   stable/cloud	Rolling channel that receives releases compatible with current Cloud version
   stable/rolling	Rolling channel that receives all published Teleport releases

   Cloud is not available for Teleport v.
   Please use the latest version of Teleport Enterprise documentation.

3. Generate an invitation token for the host.

   The invitation token is required for the local computer to join the Teleport cluster.
   The following example generates a new token that is valid for five minutes and can be used to enroll a server:

   tctl tokens add --ttl=5m --type=node
   The invite token: abcd123-insecure-do-not-use-this

4. List all generated non-expired tokens by running the following command:

   tctl tokens ls
   Token                            Type        Labels Expiry Time (UTC)
   -------------------------------- ----------- ------ -------------------------------
   abcd123-insecure-do-not-use-this         Node,Db,App        10 Aug 23 19:49 UTC (4m11s)

5. Copy the token and assign it to an environment variable on the computer you are enrolling as a resource:

   export INVITE_TOKEN=<token>

Step 2/3. Apply a static label

You can configure static labels by editing the Teleport configuration file, then starting Teleport.

To add a static label:

1. Open the Teleport configuration file, /etc/teleport.yaml, in an editor on the computer where you installed the Teleport agent.

2. Locate the labels configuration under the ssh_service section.

3. Add the static label key and value. For example, add environment as the label key and dev as the value:

   ssh_service:
     enabled: true
     labels:
       environment: dev
   

   The preceding example illustrates a simple value setting. However, you can also use static labels to define more complex string values that include white space or punctuation marks. For example:

   ssh_service:  enabled: true  labels:    location: San Francisco Bldg 301 4th floor

4. Save your changes and close the file.

5. Start Teleport with the invitation token you saved in the INVITE_TOKEN environment variable:

   sudo teleport start --token=${INVITE_TOKEN?}

6. Verify that you have added the label by running the following command on your local computer.

   tsh ls --query 'labels["environment"]=="dev"'

   You should see output similar to the following:

   Node Name        Address    Labels                                                                                                       ---------------- ---------- ------------------------------------------ip-192-168-13-57 ⟵ Tunnel   environment=dev,hostname=ip-192-168-13-57

   Checking the status of your server

   If you don't see your server listed when you query for the label you added, you should verify that the SSH Service is running on the server. Check the log for the server to verify that there are messages similar to the following:

   2023-08-07T22:22:21Z INFO [NODE:1]    Service is starting in tunnel mode. pid:149932.1 service/service.go:2630
   2023-08-07T22:22:21Z INFO [UPLOAD:1]  starting upload completer service pid:149932.1 service/service.go:2723
   2023-08-07T22:22:21Z INFO [PROC:1]    The new service has started successfully. Starting syncing rotation status...
   

   Checking your user profile

   If the SSH Service is running on the server, verify that your current Teleport user has a login on the local host. You can check the status of your user account by running the following command:

   tsh status

   You should see output similar to the following with at least one login listed for your current user:

   > Profile URL:        https://ajuba-aws.teledocs.click:443  Logged in as:       teleport-admin  Cluster:            teleport-aws.example.com  Roles:              access, editor  Logins:             root, ubuntu, ec2-user  Kubernetes:         enabled  Valid until:        2023-08-08 10:08:46 +0000 UTC [valid for 10h36m0s]  Extensions:         login-ip, permit-agent-forwarding, permit-port-forwarding, permit-pty, private-key-policy

   If no valid logins have been assigned to the user, you should update your current user profile to include at least one valid login.

   You can add logins to a user by running a command similar to the following:

   tctl users update myuser --set-logins=root

   This example adds the root login to the myuser Teleport user. For more information about managing logins for Teleport users, see Local Users.

Using hidden static labels

If you want to use labels for role-based access control but don't want to display the labels in command output or the Teleport Web UI, you can define them in a hidden namespace by prefixing the label key with teleport.hidden/. For example:

ssh_service:
  enabled: true
  labels:
    teleport.hidden/team-id: ai-lab-01

Step 3/3. Apply dynamic labels using commands

As with static labels, you can apply dynamic labels by editing the Teleport configuration file, then restarting the Teleport service on your server.

To add a command to generate a dynamic label:

1. Stop the Teleport service running on your server.

2. Open the Teleport configuration file—by default, /etc/teleport.yaml—in a text editor.

3. Locate the commands configuration under the ssh_service section.

4. Add a command array that runs the uname command with the -p argument to return the architecture of the host server every one hour.

   For example, add the name, command, and period fields as follows:

   ...
   ssh_service:
     enabled: "yes"
     labels:
       teleport.internal/resource-id: 1f2cdcc5-cde3-41fa-b390-bc872087821a
       environment: dev
     commands:
     - name: hostname
       command: [hostname]
       period: 1m0s
     - name: arch
       command: [uname, -p]
       period: 1h0m0s
   

   In the command setting, the first element is a valid executable. Each subsequent element is an argument. The following syntax is valid:

   command: ["/bin/uname", "-m"]
   

   The following syntax is not valid:

   command: ["/bin/uname -m"]
   

   For more complex commands, you can use single (') and double (") quotation marks interchangeably to create nested expressions. For example:

   command: ["/bin/sh", "-c", "uname -a | egrep -o '[0-9]+\\.[0-9]+\\.[0-9]+'"]
   

   In configuring commands, keep the following in mind:

   • The executable must be discoverable in the $PATH or specified using an absolute path.
   • You must set the executable permission bit on any file you use as a command.
   • Shell scripts must have a shebang line.

   The period setting specifies how frequently Teleport executes each command. In this example, the uname -p command is executed every one hour (1h), zero minutes (0m), and zero seconds (0s). This value can't be less than one minute.

5. Save your changes and close the file.

6. Start Teleport with the invitation token you saved in the INVITE_TOKEN environment variable:

   sudo teleport start --token=${INVITE_TOKEN?}

7. Verify that you have added the label by running the following command on your local computer. Your Teleport user must be authorized to access the server.

   tsh ls

   You should see output similar to the following with both the arch and environment labels displayed:

   Node Name        Address        Labels                                                                                                                   ---------------- -------------- ------------------------------------------------------ip-192-168-13-57 ⟵ Tunnel       arch=x86_64,environment=dev,hostname=ip-192-168-13-57

Next steps

After you have labeled your resources, you can use the labels when running tsh and tctl commands to filter the resources that the commands return. For more information, see Resource filtering.

You can also use labels to limit the access that users in different roles have to

specific classes of resources. For more information, see Teleport Role Templates.