Service Account

Definitions

1. A non-human identity used by applications, services, or automation to authenticate and interact with APIs and cloud resources. Unlike user accounts, service accounts use API keys, tokens, or certificates instead of passwords and don't have interactive login capabilities.

   In plain English: A special account for applications (not people) to log into cloud services and APIs.

   Example: "Create a dedicated service account for the CI pipeline with only the permissions it needs — never use your personal credentials."

Related Terms

• Authentication
• VPC Peering
• IAM
• Out-of-Band Verification
• Password Policy
• Permission Boundary
• Principal
• Privilege Boundary
• CodeQL