Manage Roles Skill

Manage Harness RBAC (Role-Based Access Control) via MCP v2 tools.

MCP v2 Tools Used

Tool	Resource Type	Operations
harness_list	role	List all roles
harness_get	role	Get role details
harness_create	role	Create custom role
harness_update	role	Update custom role
harness_delete	role	Delete custom role
harness_list	role_assignment	List role assignments
harness_get	role_assignment	Get assignment details
harness_list	permission	List available permissions
harness_get	permission	Get permission details
harness_list	resource_group	List resource groups
harness_get	resource_group	Get resource group details
harness_describe	role	Discover role schema
harness_search	--	Search across role-related resources

For built-in roles (account/org/project/module), resource groups, common permissions, and role assignment structure, consult references/builtin-roles.md.

Instructions

Step 1: Understand Requirements

Determine:

• Who needs access (user email, group ID, or service account ID)
• What level of access (admin, developer, viewer, executor, custom)
• Where (account, org, project scope)
• Which resources (all or specific resource group)

Step 2: List Existing Roles

harness_list(
  resource_type="role",
  org_id="<org>",           # optional
  project_id="<project>",   # optional
  search_term="<keyword>"   # optional
)

Step 3: Check Current Assignments

harness_list(
  resource_type="role_assignment",
  org_id="<org>",
  project_id="<project>"
)

Step 4: List Available Permissions (for custom roles)

harness_list(resource_type="permission")

Step 5: Create Custom Role (if needed)

harness_create(
  resource_type="role",
  org_id="<org>",
  project_id="<project>",
  body={
    "identifier": "custom_deployer",
    "name": "Custom Deployer",
    "description": "Can execute pipelines and view services",
    "permissions": [
      "core_pipeline_execute",
      "core_pipeline_view",
      "core_service_view",
      "core_environment_view"
    ]
  }
)

Identifier must match pattern: ^[a-zA-Z_][0-9a-zA-Z_]{0,127}$

Step 6: View Resource Groups

harness_list(resource_type="resource_group", org_id="<org>", project_id="<project>")

Examples

List all roles in a project

/manage-roles
Show me all roles available in the payments project

Check who has admin access

/manage-roles
List all role assignments with admin privileges in the default org

Create a custom read-only deployer role

/manage-roles
Create a custom role called "release-manager" that can execute pipelines,
view services and environments, but cannot edit anything

Audit access for a user

/manage-roles
What roles does jane.smith@company.com have across all projects?

Review resource groups

/manage-roles
Show me all resource groups and what they include

Best Practices

• Prefer groups over individual users -- assign roles to USER_GROUP for easier management
• Follow least privilege -- start with viewer roles and add permissions as needed
• Scope narrowly -- use project-level roles over account-level when possible
• Use built-in roles first -- create custom roles only when built-in roles do not fit
• Naming convention: {role}_{principal} for identifiers (e.g., deployer_ops_team)

Error Handling

Error	Cause	Solution
Role not found	Invalid role identifier	Built-in roles start with _ -- verify exact identifier
Resource group not found	Invalid resource group	Check harness_list(resource_type="resource_group")
Principal not found	User/group/SA does not exist	Verify the principal exists before assigning
Duplicate identifier	Role with same ID exists	Use a unique identifier or update the existing role
Permission denied	Caller lacks RBAC management permissions	Need core_role_view / core_role_edit permissions

Performance Notes

• List existing roles and resource groups before creating new ones to avoid duplication.
• Verify role permissions match the principle of least privilege.
• Confirm user/group identifiers are correct before assigning roles — incorrect assignments may grant unintended access.

Troubleshooting

User Cannot Access Resources

1. List role assignments for the user to confirm a role is assigned
2. Check the role has the required permissions (harness_get on the role)
3. Verify the resource group scope includes the target resources
4. Check that the assignment is not disabled: true

Custom Role Not Working

1. Verify all required permissions are included (e.g., _view permission is needed alongside _edit)
2. Check the role is assigned at the correct scope (account/org/project)
3. Confirm the resource group matches the resources the user needs

Permission Denied When Managing Roles

1. The caller needs core_role_edit to create/update roles
2. The caller needs core_roleassignment_edit to manage assignments
3. Account-level operations require account admin or equivalent