Manage GCP Cloud Workstations IAM Bindings

The gcp:workstations/workstationConfigIamBinding:WorkstationConfigIamBinding resource, part of the Pulumi GCP provider, manages IAM role bindings for Cloud Workstations workstation configs. This guide focuses on two capabilities: authoritative role binding for multiple members and non-authoritative member addition.

IAM bindings reference existing workstation configs and clusters within a GCP project and location. The examples are intentionally small. Combine them with your own workstation infrastructure and identity management strategy.

Grant a role to multiple members at once

Teams managing workstation access often need to grant the same role to multiple users, service accounts, or groups simultaneously.

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

const binding = new gcp.workstations.WorkstationConfigIamBinding("binding", {
    project: _default.project,
    location: _default.location,
    workstationClusterId: _default.workstationClusterId,
    workstationConfigId: _default.workstationConfigId,
    role: "roles/viewer",
    members: ["user:jane@example.com"],
});

import pulumi
import pulumi_gcp as gcp

binding = gcp.workstations.WorkstationConfigIamBinding("binding",
    project=default["project"],
    location=default["location"],
    workstation_cluster_id=default["workstationClusterId"],
    workstation_config_id=default["workstationConfigId"],
    role="roles/viewer",
    members=["user:jane@example.com"])

package main

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

func main() {
	pulumi.Run(func(ctx *pulumi.Context) error {
		_, err := workstations.NewWorkstationConfigIamBinding(ctx, "binding", &workstations.WorkstationConfigIamBindingArgs{
			Project:              pulumi.Any(_default.Project),
			Location:             pulumi.Any(_default.Location),
			WorkstationClusterId: pulumi.Any(_default.WorkstationClusterId),
			WorkstationConfigId:  pulumi.Any(_default.WorkstationConfigId),
			Role:                 pulumi.String("roles/viewer"),
			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 binding = new Gcp.Workstations.WorkstationConfigIamBinding("binding", new()
    {
        Project = @default.Project,
        Location = @default.Location,
        WorkstationClusterId = @default.WorkstationClusterId,
        WorkstationConfigId = @default.WorkstationConfigId,
        Role = "roles/viewer",
        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.workstations.WorkstationConfigIamBinding;
import com.pulumi.gcp.workstations.WorkstationConfigIamBindingArgs;
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 binding = new WorkstationConfigIamBinding("binding", WorkstationConfigIamBindingArgs.builder()
            .project(default_.project())
            .location(default_.location())
            .workstationClusterId(default_.workstationClusterId())
            .workstationConfigId(default_.workstationConfigId())
            .role("roles/viewer")
            .members("user:jane@example.com")
            .build());

    }
}

resources:
  binding:
    type: gcp:workstations:WorkstationConfigIamBinding
    properties:
      project: ${default.project}
      location: ${default.location}
      workstationClusterId: ${default.workstationClusterId}
      workstationConfigId: ${default.workstationConfigId}
      role: roles/viewer
      members:
        - user:jane@example.com

The role property specifies which permission set to grant (e.g., “roles/viewer”). The members array lists all identities that receive this role. WorkstationConfigIamBinding is authoritative for its role: it replaces any existing members for that role, but preserves other roles on the workstation config. The workstationConfigId and workstationClusterId properties identify which workstation config to bind permissions to.

Add a single member to a role incrementally

When you need to add individual users without affecting existing role assignments, WorkstationConfigIamMember provides non-authoritative access control.

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

const member = new gcp.workstations.WorkstationConfigIamMember("member", {
    project: _default.project,
    location: _default.location,
    workstationClusterId: _default.workstationClusterId,
    workstationConfigId: _default.workstationConfigId,
    role: "roles/viewer",
    member: "user:jane@example.com",
});

import pulumi
import pulumi_gcp as gcp

member = gcp.workstations.WorkstationConfigIamMember("member",
    project=default["project"],
    location=default["location"],
    workstation_cluster_id=default["workstationClusterId"],
    workstation_config_id=default["workstationConfigId"],
    role="roles/viewer",
    member="user:jane@example.com")

package main

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

func main() {
	pulumi.Run(func(ctx *pulumi.Context) error {
		_, err := workstations.NewWorkstationConfigIamMember(ctx, "member", &workstations.WorkstationConfigIamMemberArgs{
			Project:              pulumi.Any(_default.Project),
			Location:             pulumi.Any(_default.Location),
			WorkstationClusterId: pulumi.Any(_default.WorkstationClusterId),
			WorkstationConfigId:  pulumi.Any(_default.WorkstationConfigId),
			Role:                 pulumi.String("roles/viewer"),
			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 member = new Gcp.Workstations.WorkstationConfigIamMember("member", new()
    {
        Project = @default.Project,
        Location = @default.Location,
        WorkstationClusterId = @default.WorkstationClusterId,
        WorkstationConfigId = @default.WorkstationConfigId,
        Role = "roles/viewer",
        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.workstations.WorkstationConfigIamMember;
import com.pulumi.gcp.workstations.WorkstationConfigIamMemberArgs;
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 member = new WorkstationConfigIamMember("member", WorkstationConfigIamMemberArgs.builder()
            .project(default_.project())
            .location(default_.location())
            .workstationClusterId(default_.workstationClusterId())
            .workstationConfigId(default_.workstationConfigId())
            .role("roles/viewer")
            .member("user:jane@example.com")
            .build());

    }
}

resources:
  member:
    type: gcp:workstations:WorkstationConfigIamMember
    properties:
      project: ${default.project}
      location: ${default.location}
      workstationClusterId: ${default.workstationClusterId}
      workstationConfigId: ${default.workstationConfigId}
      role: roles/viewer
      member: user:jane@example.com

The member property specifies a single identity to add to the role. Unlike WorkstationConfigIamBinding, this resource is non-authoritative: it adds one member without removing others. Multiple WorkstationConfigIamMember resources can manage different members for the same role, allowing distributed permission management. This approach works well when different teams or automation systems need to grant access independently.

Beyond these examples

These snippets focus on specific IAM binding features: authoritative role binding and non-authoritative member addition. They’re intentionally minimal rather than full access control configurations.

The examples reference pre-existing infrastructure such as workstation configs and clusters, and a GCP project with location. They focus on configuring IAM bindings rather than provisioning the workstation infrastructure itself.

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

Conditional IAM bindings (condition property)
Policy-level management (WorkstationConfigIamPolicy)
Custom role definitions
Federated identity configuration

These omissions are intentional: the goal is to illustrate how each IAM binding approach is wired, not provide drop-in access control modules. See the WorkstationConfigIamBinding resource reference for all available configuration options.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Resource Selection & Compatibility

Can I use WorkstationConfigIamPolicy with WorkstationConfigIamBinding or WorkstationConfigIamMember?

No, WorkstationConfigIamPolicy cannot be used with WorkstationConfigIamBinding or WorkstationConfigIamMember as they will conflict over the policy. Use WorkstationConfigIamPolicy alone for full policy control, or use WorkstationConfigIamBinding and WorkstationConfigIamMember together.

Can I use WorkstationConfigIamBinding and WorkstationConfigIamMember together?

Yes, but only if they grant different roles. Using both resources for the same role causes conflicts.

What's the difference between WorkstationConfigIamPolicy, WorkstationConfigIamBinding, and WorkstationConfigIamMember?

WorkstationConfigIamPolicy is authoritative and replaces the entire IAM policy. WorkstationConfigIamBinding is authoritative for a specific role but preserves other roles. WorkstationConfigIamMember is non-authoritative and adds a single member while preserving other members for that role.

Which IAM resource should I use for my workstation config?

Use WorkstationConfigIamPolicy for complete policy control, WorkstationConfigIamBinding to manage all members for specific roles, or WorkstationConfigIamMember to add individual members without affecting others.

Configuration & Identity Management

What member identity formats are supported?

Supported formats include allUsers, allAuthenticatedUsers, user:{email}, serviceAccount:{email}, group:{email}, domain:{domain}, project roles like projectOwner:projectid, and federated identities using the principal identifier format.

How do I specify custom IAM roles?

Custom roles must use the full name format: [projects|organizations]/{parent-name}/roles/{role-name}.

Resource Lifecycle & Limitations

Is WorkstationConfigIamBinding production-ready?

This resource is in beta and requires the terraform-provider-google-beta provider.

Can I change the role after creating a WorkstationConfigIamBinding?

No, the role property is immutable. You must recreate the resource to change roles.

Using a different cloud?

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