About Access Keys

An access key is an identifier for your account to sign your requests for OUTSCALE Cloud resources.

General Information

An access key is composed of two parts: the access key ID (AK) and its corresponding secret key (SK). These two parts are required when configuring most SDKs (for example, OSC CLI). You can also use them to log in to Cockpit.

An access key is automatically created with your 3DS OUTSCALE account. You can create other access keys and delete them, including the automatically created one. You cannot have zero access key. A new one is automatically created for your account each time you delete the last one.

You can have up to 10 access keys for your root account, and 10 access keys per user in Elastic Identity Management (EIM). The access keys created for EIM users enable them to sign the requests for which they have permissions, and to log in to Cockpit v1. For more information, see Managing Access Keys for EIM Users.

To get your access keys to sign requests, see Getting Information About Your Access Keys.

Access Key States

An access key can be in the two following states:

  • ACTIVE: The state is set to ACTIVE at the creation of the access key, meaning the access key is enabled and can be used to sign your requests.

  • INACTIVE: You can set the access key to INACTIVE. The access key is then disabled and you cannot use it to sign your requests. An INACTIVE access key can be set to ACTIVE again.

You can modify the state of an access key at any time after its creation. For more information, see Modifying an Access Key.

Access Key Age

You can specify an expiration date for your access key, in ISO 8601 basic or extended format (UTC). If you do not specify an expiration date, your access key will not expire.

It is recommended to renew your access key regularly.

Cockpit v1

In Cockpit v1, on the Access keys tab of the Personal information & Access keys page, you can see the level of warning of your access keys:

  • : Your access key was created less than 3 months ago.

  • : Your access key was created more than 3 months ago and should be replaced with a new one.

  • : Your access key was created more than 12 months ago and should be replaced with a new one as soon as possible.

Cockpit v2-beta

In Cockpit v2-beta, on the Access keys page, you can see the level of warning of your access keys:

  • IconInformation : Your access key was created more than 3 months ago and should be replaced with a new one.

  • IconWarning : Your access key was created more than 12 months ago and should be replaced with a new one as soon as possible.

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