> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.streamnative.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Set up Your Environment

This section introduces how to set up a new service account to run kafka connectors. To perform the following operations, you need to be the cluster administrator beforehand.

## Create a service account for Pulsar users

1. On the left navigation pane of StreamNative Cloud Console, click **Service Accounts**.

2. Click **Create Service Account**.

3. Enter a name for the service account, and then click **Confirm**.

<Note title="Note">
  You may see the `Role xxxx cannot access topic public/__kafka_connect/__kafka_connect_offset_storage` exception when you create a connector, this is a known issue which uses a wrong namespace `public/__kafka_connect` to create the offset storage topic,
  after v3.3.1.5, this issue has been fixed, and will use namespace `public/default` instead.

  You can create a **Super Admin** service account or create the `public/__kafka_connect` namespace and grant `produce` permission to this service account you created as the workaround.
</Note>

## Authorize the service account

To make the service account work, you need to make the service account granted with proper permissions (`packages`, `produce`, and `consume`).

To grant the service account permissions on the namespace level, follow these steps:

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Cloud Console">
    1. Navigate to the **Namespace Dashboard** page by [switching to the namespace workspace](/cloud/get-started/cloud-console#switch-a-namespace).

    2. On the **Namespace Dashboard** page, click **Configuration** on the left navigation pane.

    3. On the **Namespace configuration** page, click **ADD ROLE**, and select the service account that you want to authorize.

    4. On the drop-down menu below the service account, select the proper permissions to assign to the service account. There are six permissions in total:

    * `consume`: allow the service account to consume messages.
    * `produce`: allow the service account to publish messages.
    * `functions`: allow the service account to submit and manage functions.
    * `sinks`: allow the service account to create and manage sink connectors.
    * `sources`: allow the service account to create and manage source connectors.
    * `packages`: allow the service account to upload and manage pulsar packages. If you want to submit a customized function/connector, then you will need to upload the function/connector’s JAR/NAR/Python file first, which requires the `packages` permission.

          <img src="https://mintcdn.com/streamnative/leDK9vfVV1vzDfM1/media/authorize-sa.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=leDK9vfVV1vzDfM1&q=85&s=104b2ef6f69dd498ca2552ecb26221cf" alt="Authorize Service Account" width="3218" height="1802" data-path="media/authorize-sa.png" />
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

## Grant access to the service account

To grant the underlying infrastructure with access to the newly created service account's OAuth2 key file, you need to create a service account binding via UI.

Go to the `Service Accounts` tab and choose the service account you want to use for running the connector. Clicking on the right button and there will be a `Edit service account bindings` option.

<img src="https://mintcdn.com/streamnative/pWNa1MQhJLhzkRwZ/media/function-binding-sa-1.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=pWNa1MQhJLhzkRwZ&q=85&s=30c14b1d0ee34f0b718a1e43036d46bf" alt="Binding Service Account step-1" width="1999" height="1071" data-path="media/function-binding-sa-1.png" />

Click the `Edit service account bindings`, choose the desired pool member and confirm.

<img src="https://mintcdn.com/streamnative/y4N9nGGIRiHdtP_Y/media/function-binding-sa-2.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=y4N9nGGIRiHdtP_Y&q=85&s=e50110bcbcc1d7df0c39ecd573d86a60" alt="Binding Service Account step-2" width="3456" height="1980" data-path="media/function-binding-sa-2.png" />

You can also enable the `Enable IAM Role Creation` option to create a separate IAM role for the service account.

Now your connector is ready to use the service account in StreamNative environments.

## (Optional) Create a separate IAM role for the service account

StreamNative's I/O components (Pulsar Functions, Pulsar Connectors, and Kafka Connectors) run as cloud-native workloads on AWS, GCP, and Azure infrastructures.

Use the cloud providers' native IAM (Identity and Access Management) services to control access to infrastructure resources such as S3, GCS, and Azure Blob Storage. This removes the need for password-based authentication for the service accounts that run connectors in StreamNative Cloud.

By default, StreamNative uses a single service account per `PulsarCluster` for all I/O components (Pulsar Functions, Pulsar Connectors, and Kafka Connectors) to access underlying infrastructure resources. This means all I/O Components in the same cluster share one service account and the same permissions.

<Warning>
  Using a single service account for all I/O components means all functions and connectors share the same permissions. If one component is compromised, it could access resources intended for other components.

  So it's better to leave the default service account with no permissions and use it for running IO components that do not require access to external resources.

  And create separate service accounts with the minimum required permissions for each IO component that need to access external resources.
</Warning>

To enhance security and improve isolation, you can create a separate IAM role for each service account used to run connectors. This let you grant only the permissions each service account needs.

Create a separate IAM role for your service account:

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Snctl">
    <Note title="Note">
      This feature is available in [snctl](/tools/cli/snctl/snctl-overview) v1.3.0 or later.
    </Note>

    1. Get the `PoolMember` name and namespace from the `PulsarCluster`

       ```shell theme={null}
       snctl get pulsarcluster <cluster-id> -o yaml
       ```

       In the output, find the `poolMemberRef` block, which looks like:

       ```yaml theme={null}
       poolMemberRef:
         name: <pool-member-name>
         namespace: <namespace>
       ```

           <Note title="Note">
             Multiple clusters may be located in the same `PoolMember`. You do not need to create separate IAM roles for each cluster within the same `PoolMember`.
           </Note>

    2. Create a new `ServiceAccountBinding` that binds the service account to the `PoolMember`

       ```shell theme={null}
       snctl create serviceaccountbinding <binding-name> \
         --pool-member <pool-member-namespace>/<pool-member-name> \
         --enable-iam-account-creation \
         --service-account-name <service-account-name>
       ```

       **AWS only:** You can specify one or more `AWS Assume Role ARNs` that can be assumed by the IAM role created for the service account (repeat the flag for each ARN):

       ```shell theme={null}
       snctl create serviceaccountbinding <binding-name> \
         --pool-member <pool-member-namespace>/<pool-member-name> \
         --enable-iam-account-creation \
         --service-account-name <service-account-name> \
         --aws-assume-role-arns <arn1> \
         --aws-assume-role-arns <arn2>
       ```

           <Note title="Note">
             The IAM role created by StreamNative will include permissions to call `sts:AssumeRole` on `arn1` and `arn2`. You must still add a trust policy on `arn1` and `arn2` to allow the newly created role to assume them, an example likes below:

             ```json theme={null}
             {
                 "Version": "2012-10-17",
                 "Statement": [
                     {
                         "Effect": "Allow",
                         "Principal": {
                             "AWS": "arn:aws:iam::[aws-account-id]:role/StreamNative/sncloud-role/authorization.streamnative.io/iamaccounts/IamAccount-[org-id]-sab-[binding-name]"
                         },
                         "Action": "sts:AssumeRole"
                     }
                 ]
             }
             ```
           </Note>

    3. (Optional) Update an existing `ServiceAccountBinding` to create the IAM role

       ```shell theme={null}
       snctl edit serviceaccountbinding <binding-name>
       ```

    4. Verify the IAM role was created successfully

       ```shell theme={null}
       snctl get serviceaccountbinding <binding-name> -o yaml
       ```

       Expected output (example):

       ```yaml theme={null}
       apiVersion: cloud.streamnative.io/v1alpha1
       kind: ServiceAccountBinding
       metadata:
         creationTimestamp: "2025-06-25T08:45:35Z"
         finalizers:
         - serviceaccountbinding.finalizers.cloud.streamnative.io
         generation: 1
         name: test-admin
         namespace: o-lftqu
         ownerReferences:
         - apiVersion: cloud.streamnative.io/v1alpha1
           kind: ServiceAccount
           name: admin
           uid: 4ef639aa-6278-4863-9a23-f1da50cea448
         resourceVersion: "54707713"
         uid: 918d40ad-551d-416b-a2ae-d41548d6608e
       spec:
         enableIamRoleCreation: true
         poolMemberRef:
           name: azure-eastus-zephyr
           namespace: streamnative
         serviceAccountName: admin
       status:
         conditions:
         - lastTransitionTime: "2025-06-25T08:45:35Z"
           status: "True"
           type: IAMAccountReady
         - lastTransitionTime: "2025-06-25T08:45:35Z"
           status: "True"
           type: ServiceAccountReady
         - lastTransitionTime: "2025-07-16T13:56:17Z"
           status: "True"
           type: ResourceExists
         - lastTransitionTime: "2025-07-16T13:56:17Z"
           status: "True"
           type: PoolMemberReady
         - lastTransitionTime: "2025-07-16T13:56:17Z"
           reason: AllConditionStatusTrue
           status: "True"
           type: Ready
       ```

       In the output, the `status.conditions` array should include a condition with `type: IAMAccountReady` and `status: "True"`, indicating the IAM role was created successfully.<br /><br />

    5. Use the service account when creating I/O components

       <br /><br />You can now select this service account in Console (or use its API key with the CLI) when creating I/O components (Pulsar Functions, Pulsar Connectors, and Kafka Connectors). The components will inherit the permissions granted to the IAM role created in the previous step.
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Console">
    You can also create a separate IAM role for your service account via StreamNative Cloud Console. Just enable the `Enable IAM Role Creation` option when creating or editing a service account binding.

    <img src="https://mintcdn.com/streamnative/y4N9nGGIRiHdtP_Y/media/function-binding-sa-2.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=y4N9nGGIRiHdtP_Y&q=85&s=e50110bcbcc1d7df0c39ecd573d86a60" alt="Binding Service Account step-2" width="3456" height="1980" data-path="media/function-binding-sa-2.png" />

    **AWS only:** You can specify one or more `AWS Assume Role ARNs` that can be assumed by the IAM role created for the service account (use one line for each ARN)

    <img src="https://mintcdn.com/streamnative/y4N9nGGIRiHdtP_Y/media/function-binding-sa-3.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=y4N9nGGIRiHdtP_Y&q=85&s=33695bce700a9af551bbe4a21250b431" alt="Binding Service Account step-3" width="1528" height="532" data-path="media/function-binding-sa-3.png" />

    <Note title="Note">
      The IAM role created by StreamNative will include permissions to call `sts:AssumeRole` on `arn1` and `arn2`. You must still add a trust policy on `arn1` and `arn2` to allow the newly created role to assume them, an example likes below:

      ```json theme={null}
      {
          "Version": "2012-10-17",
          "Statement": [
              {
                  "Effect": "Allow",
                  "Principal": {
                      "AWS": "arn:aws:iam::[aws-account-id]:role/StreamNative/sncloud-role/authorization.streamnative.io/iamaccounts/IamAccount-[org-id]-sab-[binding-name]"
                  },
                  "Action": "sts:AssumeRole"
              }
          ]
      }
      ```
    </Note>
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

<Note title="Note">
  In Azure, a Managed Identity `sab-[binding-name]-[org-id]` is created;

  In AWS, an IAM role `role/StreamNative/sncloud-role/authorization.streamnative.io/iamaccounts/IamAccount-[org-id]-sab-[binding-name]` is created;

  In GCP, a service account with display name: `IamAccount/[org-id]/sab-[binding-name]` is created.
</Note>

## Set up client tools

### Using StreamNative Cloud CLI tool `snctl`

Starting from v1.0.0 of the StreamNative Cloud CLI tool `snctl`, it supports to manage Kafka Connectors running on StreamNative Cloud.

Follow the steps below to set up `snctl`:

1. use `snctl config set --organization $ORG` to your StreamNative Cloud organization.
2. use `snctl context use` to interactivly select your target StreamNative Cloud cluster.
3. use `snctl kafka admin connect --as-service-account $SERVICE_ACCOUNT_NAME ...` or `snctl kafka admin connect --use-service-account ...` to send Kafka Connect admin requests with selected Service Account.
4. Verify the setup using `snctl kafka admin connect info`, it should print something like below.

   ```shell theme={null}
   > snctl kafka admin connect info
   URL:               https://${KAFKA-SERVICE-URL}/admin/kafkaconnect/
   Version:           3.7.0
   Commit:            839b886f9b732b15
   Kafka Cluster ID:  connect
   ```

### Using kcctl

We have tested with the [kcctl](https://github.com/kcctl/kcctl) to manage Kafka Connectors, you can also try other CLI tools you like.

Follow the steps below to set up it:

1. Create an apikey from the service account you created.

   You can follow the instructions to [create an API key](/cloud/security/authentication/service-accounts/use-api-keys/api-keys-overview#create-an-cluster-api-key) for the service account you choose to use.

2. Set up the kcctl with the apikey.

   ```shell theme={null}
   kcctl config set-context --bootstrap-servers ${KAFKA-SERVICE-URL}:9093 --cluster=https://${KAFKA-SERVICE-URL}/admin/kafkaconnect/ --username public/default --password "token:${APIKEY}" ${NAME}
   kcctl config use-context ${NAME}
   ```

<Note title="Note">
  The KAFKA-SERVICE-URL is the endpoint of the Kafka service, you can find it in the StreamNative Cloud Console.
</Note>

3. Verify the setup using `kcctl info`, it should print something like below.

   ```shell theme={null}
   > kcctl info
   URL:               https://${KAFKA-SERVICE-URL}/admin/kafkaconnect/
   Version:           3.7.0
   Commit:            839b886f9b732b15
   Kafka Cluster ID:  connect
   ```

## What’s next?

* [Check kafka connect availability](/cloud/connect/kafka-connect/deploy-kafka-connectors/kafka-connect-check)

* [Create kafka connectors](/cloud/connect/kafka-connect/deploy-kafka-connectors/kafka-connect-create)