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Bot Users

Overview​

Bot Users are similar to Users but they are intended for automated systems that programmatically interact with your ngrok accounts either by starting ngrok Agents or making requests to the API. Other platforms sometimes call this concept a Service Account.

Bot Users own a set of credentials (Authtokens, API Keys and SSH Keys) that they use to authenticate with ngrok.

You can see and manage your bot users in the ngrok Dashboard.

When should I use a Bot User?​

You should use Bot Users whenever an automated process is using with your ngrok account. Bot Users are the best choice in these circumstances because they guarantee that your agents or programs continue working after the user who set them up leaves your account. When a user leaves an account, all of their credentials are revoked; setting up Bot Users for those services helps you avoid downtime and impact to your production services.

Differences from Users​

Bot Users function exactly like Users with a few exceptions:

  • Bot Users may not log into the Dashboard
  • Bot Users are not subject to RBAC
  • Bot Users may not be a member of more than one Account
  • If you are subscribed to a seat-based pricing plan, Bot Users are not counted when computing how many seats you are charged for

Role Based Access Control​

Bot Users operate with full developer permissions and have no other permissions. You cannot currently used RBAC to restrict Bot User privileges.

Event Logs​

When a Bot User takes actions against your ngrok account, it will be recorded as the Principal in the logged Event. This helps you isolate what an automated service is doing with your ngrok account, especially when there are multiple such services.

Pricing​

Bot Users are available to all ngrok users at no additional charge. You only incur costs if usage or resources provisioned by the Bot User incur a cost.