Skip to main content
This feature is in public preview.
SF Compute uses role-based access control (RBAC). A role is a named set of permissions that defines what actions the holder can perform. A grant assigns a role to a user or token within a workspace or across the organization. When a request arrives, SF Compute collects the caller’s grants, evaluates the rules from every matched role, and allows the action only if a rule matches. Otherwise it is denied. Role names are slugs, unique within the organization. Roles are organization-wide. The same role can be granted across multiple workspaces.

​
Creating a role

Write a role definition in TOML and pass it to the CLI. 
sf roles create --name training-operator -f role.toml

api_version = "roles/v1"
description = "Can manage instances and view capacity"

[[rules]]
effect = "allow"

[rules.actions]
instance = ["*"]
capacity = ["read"]
ssh_key  = ["*"]
secret   = ["read"]
api_version must be roles/v1. actions is a map from resource name to a list of verbs. Use "*" as either the verb or the resource for a wildcard. A role grants nothing on its own. Create a grant to assign it to a user or token.

​
Rule syntax

A rule says what a user or token is allowed to do. It has two pieces:
  1. An actions map, which pairs each resource (such as instance or capacity) with a list of verbs (such as read or write).
  2. An effect that says what to do about those actions. Only allow is currently supported.
api_version = "roles/v1"
description = "Instance management"

[[rules]]
effect = "allow"

[rules.actions]
instance = ["read", "write", "delete", "list"]

​
Supported resources and verbs

Resources: instance, instance_template, image, capacity, secret, ssh_key, firewall, role, grant, token, billing, order, limits, user, * Verbs: read, write, delete, list, create, * Each rule covers every (resource, verb) pair you list. Use "*" as either the resource or the verb for a wildcard. Common patterns: 
instance = ["read"]           # Read instance details
instance = ["write"]          # Create or update instances
instance = ["delete"]         # Delete instances
instance = ["*"]              # All instance actions
capacity = ["read"]           # View capacity details
capacity = ["write"]          # Create capacities, attach schedulers
order    = ["read"]           # View orders
order    = ["write"]          # Place buy/sell orders
billing  = ["read"]           # View balance, usage, invoices, rates
billing  = ["write"]          # Create and manage budgets
limits   = ["read"]           # View hard and soft limits
limits   = ["write"]          # Set and remove soft limits
secret   = ["read"]           # Read secrets from metadata service
firewall = ["*"]              # Manage firewalls
token    = ["*"]              # Manage tokens
ssh_key  = ["*"]              # Manage SSH keys
"*"      = ["*"]              # Everything (equivalent to admin)
If no rule matches, the action is denied.

​
Built-in roles

SF Compute provides built-in roles that cover common patterns. 
sf roles list

NAME                  TYPE       DESCRIPTION
admin                 built-in   Full access to all resources in the workspace
viewer                built-in   Read-only access to all resources
operator              built-in   Infrastructure management, no IAM access
billing               built-in   Billing and orders only, no infrastructure
member                built-in   Standard org member: read-only across non-sensitive resources
training-operator     custom     Can manage instances and view capacity
Built-in roles cannot be modified or deleted.

​
Admin role

Full access to all resources. Use sparingly. 
api_version = "roles/v1"
description = "Full access to all resources"

[[rules]]
effect = "allow"

[rules.actions]
"*" = ["*"]

​
Viewer role

Read-only access to all resources. Cannot make any changes. 
api_version = "roles/v1"
description = "Read-only access to all resources"

[[rules]]
effect = "allow"

[rules.actions]
"*" = ["read", "list"]

​
Operator role

Full access to infrastructure resources — instances, instance templates, images, capacity, secrets, firewalls, SSH keys, and more — with no access to IAM (roles, grants, tokens) and no broader read access.

​
Billing role

Access to billing and orders only. No infrastructure access. Good for finance teams. 
api_version = "roles/v1"
description = "Billing and orders only"

[[rules]]
effect = "allow"

[rules.actions]
billing = ["*"]
order   = ["*"]
limits  = ["read"]

​
Member role

Read and list access across non-sensitive resources, with no access to secrets, billing, tokens, or SSH keys. This is the default role users hold when they join an organization.

​
Listing and inspecting roles

sf roles list
sf roles get training-operator

​
Updating a role

sf roles set training-operator -f role-v2.toml
Changes take effect immediately for all grants that reference this role. Existing sessions are re-evaluated on the next API call.

​
Deleting a role

Deleting a role removes it from any grants that reference it. This cannot be undone. 
sf roles delete training-operator

​
Example roles

​
CI/CD deployer

Can create and delete instances, read capacity, manage no other resources. 
api_version = "roles/v1"
description = "CI/CD pipeline - deploy and teardown training jobs"

[[rules]]
effect = "allow"

[rules.actions]
instance = ["*"]
capacity = ["read"]
secret   = ["read"]
ssh_key  = ["read"]

​
Researcher

Can use existing infrastructure but not modify capacity or access controls. 
api_version = "roles/v1"
description = "Researcher - run training jobs on allocated capacity"

[[rules]]
effect = "allow"

[rules.actions]
instance = ["read", "write", "list"]
ssh_key  = ["*"]
secret   = ["read"]

​
Finance

View billing data, manage budgets, and view orders. No infrastructure access. 
api_version = "roles/v1"
description = "Finance - view spending and invoices, manage budgets, view orders"

[[rules]]
effect = "allow"

[rules.actions]
billing = ["read", "write"]
order   = ["read"]