Manage GCP Bigtable Table IAM Bindings

The gcp:bigtable/tableIamBinding:TableIamBinding resource, part of the Pulumi GCP provider, grants IAM roles to members for a specific Bigtable table. This resource is authoritative for a given role, meaning it replaces all members assigned to that role. This guide focuses on two capabilities: authoritative role binding for multiple members and non-authoritative member addition.

IAM bindings reference existing Bigtable tables and instances by name. The examples are intentionally small. Combine them with your own table and instance infrastructure.

Grant a role to multiple members

Teams managing Bigtable access often need to grant the same role to multiple users or service accounts at once, such as giving a group of developers read access.

import * as pulumi from "@pulumi/pulumi";
import * as gcp from "@pulumi/gcp";

const editor = new gcp.bigtable.TableIamBinding("editor", {
    table: "your-bigtable-table",
    instanceName: "your-bigtable-instance",
    role: "roles/bigtable.user",
    members: ["user:jane@example.com"],
});
import pulumi
import pulumi_gcp as gcp

editor = gcp.bigtable.TableIamBinding("editor",
    table="your-bigtable-table",
    instance_name="your-bigtable-instance",
    role="roles/bigtable.user",
    members=["user:jane@example.com"])
package main

import (
	"github.com/pulumi/pulumi-gcp/sdk/v9/go/gcp/bigtable"
	"github.com/pulumi/pulumi/sdk/v3/go/pulumi"
)

func main() {
	pulumi.Run(func(ctx *pulumi.Context) error {
		_, err := bigtable.NewTableIamBinding(ctx, "editor", &bigtable.TableIamBindingArgs{
			Table:        pulumi.String("your-bigtable-table"),
			InstanceName: pulumi.String("your-bigtable-instance"),
			Role:         pulumi.String("roles/bigtable.user"),
			Members: pulumi.StringArray{
				pulumi.String("user:jane@example.com"),
			},
		})
		if err != nil {
			return err
		}
		return nil
	})
}
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using Pulumi;
using Gcp = Pulumi.Gcp;

return await Deployment.RunAsync(() => 
{
    var editor = new Gcp.BigTable.TableIamBinding("editor", new()
    {
        Table = "your-bigtable-table",
        InstanceName = "your-bigtable-instance",
        Role = "roles/bigtable.user",
        Members = new[]
        {
            "user:jane@example.com",
        },
    });

});
package generated_program;

import com.pulumi.Context;
import com.pulumi.Pulumi;
import com.pulumi.core.Output;
import com.pulumi.gcp.bigtable.TableIamBinding;
import com.pulumi.gcp.bigtable.TableIamBindingArgs;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Map;
import java.io.File;
import java.nio.file.Files;
import java.nio.file.Paths;

public class App {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        Pulumi.run(App::stack);
    }

    public static void stack(Context ctx) {
        var editor = new TableIamBinding("editor", TableIamBindingArgs.builder()
            .table("your-bigtable-table")
            .instanceName("your-bigtable-instance")
            .role("roles/bigtable.user")
            .members("user:jane@example.com")
            .build());

    }
}
resources:
  editor:
    type: gcp:bigtable:TableIamBinding
    properties:
      table: your-bigtable-table
      instanceName: your-bigtable-instance
      role: roles/bigtable.user
      members:
        - user:jane@example.com

The TableIamBinding resource is authoritative for the specified role. When you set members to a list of identities, the resource replaces any existing members for that role. The role property specifies the IAM role (like “roles/bigtable.user”), and members lists the identities to grant access. Each member uses a prefix like “user:”, “serviceAccount:”, or “group:” followed by an email address.

Add a single member to a role

When onboarding individual users or granting access to specific service accounts, TableIamMember adds one member without affecting others already assigned to the role.

import * as pulumi from "@pulumi/pulumi";
import * as gcp from "@pulumi/gcp";

const editor = new gcp.bigtable.TableIamMember("editor", {
    table: "your-bigtable-table",
    instanceName: "your-bigtable-instance",
    role: "roles/bigtable.user",
    member: "user:jane@example.com",
});
import pulumi
import pulumi_gcp as gcp

editor = gcp.bigtable.TableIamMember("editor",
    table="your-bigtable-table",
    instance_name="your-bigtable-instance",
    role="roles/bigtable.user",
    member="user:jane@example.com")
package main

import (
	"github.com/pulumi/pulumi-gcp/sdk/v9/go/gcp/bigtable"
	"github.com/pulumi/pulumi/sdk/v3/go/pulumi"
)

func main() {
	pulumi.Run(func(ctx *pulumi.Context) error {
		_, err := bigtable.NewTableIamMember(ctx, "editor", &bigtable.TableIamMemberArgs{
			Table:        pulumi.String("your-bigtable-table"),
			InstanceName: pulumi.String("your-bigtable-instance"),
			Role:         pulumi.String("roles/bigtable.user"),
			Member:       pulumi.String("user:jane@example.com"),
		})
		if err != nil {
			return err
		}
		return nil
	})
}
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using Pulumi;
using Gcp = Pulumi.Gcp;

return await Deployment.RunAsync(() => 
{
    var editor = new Gcp.BigTable.TableIamMember("editor", new()
    {
        Table = "your-bigtable-table",
        InstanceName = "your-bigtable-instance",
        Role = "roles/bigtable.user",
        Member = "user:jane@example.com",
    });

});
package generated_program;

import com.pulumi.Context;
import com.pulumi.Pulumi;
import com.pulumi.core.Output;
import com.pulumi.gcp.bigtable.TableIamMember;
import com.pulumi.gcp.bigtable.TableIamMemberArgs;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Map;
import java.io.File;
import java.nio.file.Files;
import java.nio.file.Paths;

public class App {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        Pulumi.run(App::stack);
    }

    public static void stack(Context ctx) {
        var editor = new TableIamMember("editor", TableIamMemberArgs.builder()
            .table("your-bigtable-table")
            .instanceName("your-bigtable-instance")
            .role("roles/bigtable.user")
            .member("user:jane@example.com")
            .build());

    }
}
resources:
  editor:
    type: gcp:bigtable:TableIamMember
    properties:
      table: your-bigtable-table
      instanceName: your-bigtable-instance
      role: roles/bigtable.user
      member: user:jane@example.com

Unlike TableIamBinding, TableIamMember is non-authoritative. It adds a single member to a role without removing existing members. Use this when you need incremental access grants rather than replacing the entire member list for a role.

Beyond these examples

These snippets focus on specific IAM binding features: role-based access control and authoritative vs non-authoritative binding. They’re intentionally minimal rather than full access management solutions.

The examples reference pre-existing infrastructure such as Bigtable tables and instances. They focus on configuring IAM bindings rather than provisioning the underlying Bigtable resources.

To keep things focused, common IAM patterns are omitted, including:

  • Conditional IAM bindings (condition property)
  • Project-level configuration (project property)
  • Full policy replacement (TableIamPolicy resource)
  • Custom role definitions

These omissions are intentional: the goal is to illustrate how IAM bindings are wired, not provide drop-in access management modules. See the Bigtable TableIamBinding resource reference for all available configuration options.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Resource Selection & Conflicts
Which IAM resource should I use for Bigtable tables?
Use gcp.bigtable.TableIamPolicy to set the entire IAM policy (authoritative). Use gcp.bigtable.TableIamBinding to manage all members for a specific role (authoritative for that role). Use gcp.bigtable.TableIamMember to add individual members to a role (non-authoritative).
Can I use TableIamPolicy with TableIamBinding or TableIamMember?
No, gcp.bigtable.TableIamPolicy cannot be used with gcp.bigtable.TableIamBinding or gcp.bigtable.TableIamMember because they will conflict over the policy.
Can I use TableIamBinding and TableIamMember together?
Yes, but only if they grant different roles. Using both for the same role causes conflicts.
What happens if I use TableIamPolicy incorrectly?
gcp.bigtable.TableIamPolicy replaces the entire IAM policy, so you can accidentally remove ownership permissions if you don’t include them in the new policy.
Configuration & Constraints
Can I have multiple TableIamBinding resources for the same role?
No, only one gcp.bigtable.TableIamBinding can be used per role.
What member formats are supported in TableIamBinding?
Supported formats include allUsers, allAuthenticatedUsers, user:{emailid}, serviceAccount:{emailid}, group:{emailid}, and domain:{domain}.
How do I specify custom roles for Bigtable tables?
Custom roles must use the format [projects|organizations]/{parent-name}/roles/{role-name}.
Immutability & Updates
What properties are immutable after creating a TableIamBinding?
The instanceName, project, role, table, and condition properties cannot be changed after creation.

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