# Roles

Lenses IAM is role-based. Roles contain one or more policies. Each policy defines actions a user is allowed to perform on resources.

Roles are then assigned to groups.

## Role Policies

Policies are resource-based. They are YAML documents attached to a role.

Each policy has:

1. Action
2. Resource
3. Effect

{% hint style="warning" %}
The resource is the **name** of the resource. This is defined by the creator of the resource.
{% endhint %}

### Action

The action describes the action or verb that a user can perform. The format of the action is

```
service:operation
```

For example, to list topics in Kafka:

```yaml
policy:
  - action:
      - kafka:ListTopics
```

{% hint style="info" %}
For a full list of the actions see [Permission Reference](/latest/devx/6.1/user-guide/iam/iam-reference.md).

To allow all actions set '**\*'**
{% endhint %}

### Resource

Resources scope a policy to specific entities. For example, to only allow topics that start with `red`, use the `resource` field.

{% hint style="info" %}
For a full list of the actions see [Permission Reference](/latest/devx/6.1/user-guide/iam/iam-reference.md).

To allow all actions set '**\*'**
{% endhint %}

### Effect

Effect is either allow the action on the resource or deny. If allow is not set the action will be denied and if any policy for a resource has a deny effect it takes precedence.

## Create a Role

To create a role, go to **IAM → Roles → New Role**.

<figure><img src="/files/qoM53umjsVxQq4oirien" alt=""><figcaption><p>Create a role and add permissions</p></figcaption></figure>

You can also manage roles via the CLI and YAML, for CI/CD automation.

{% code title="terminal" %}

```bash
➜  lenses roles
Manage Roles.

Usage:
  lenses roles [command]

Available Commands:
  create      Creates a new role.
  delete      Deletes a role.
  get         Returns a specific role.
  list        Returns all roles.
  metadata    Manages role metadata.
  update      Updates a role.
```

{% endcode %}


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