AWS IAM Policy Generator
Generate AWS IAM policies from searchable action metadata and export ready-to-use JSON, Terraform, or CloudFormation snippets.
Step 1
Configure defaults
Set the policy mode and ARN defaults before choosing actions. These values seed generated resources and principals for new action cards.
Step 2
Choose the actions
Tip: use asterisks to match anything and commas to filter multiple values at once.
Step 3
Configure actions
No actions selected yet.
Search for a service or IAM action above to start generating a policy.
Build IAM policies from AWS action metadata
This generator uses AWS IAM action metadata to help you find actions, pick resources and condition keys, and turn the result into policy documents you can paste into AWS, Terraform, or CloudFormation.
How to use the IAM policy generator
- Search for an AWS service, service prefix, or action name.
- Filter actions by access level when you only want list, read, write, permission, or tagging actions.
- Choose whether you are building an identity policy or a resource/trust policy.
- Configure resources, condition keys, and principals for the selected actions.
- Copy the generated JSON, Terraform, or CloudFormation policy document.
Identity policies vs resource policies
IAM identity policies attach to users, groups, or roles and do not contain a Principal element. Resource-based policies and trust policies include principals because they define who can access or assume the target resource. The generator hides or shows principal controls based on the selected policy type.
Least-privilege policy workflow
Start with the smallest set of actions you know you need, replace wildcard resources with specific ARNs when the service supports them, then add conditions for tags, organization IDs, source accounts, or other context keys where they fit your access model.
Related tools
Amazon Resource Names (ARNs) Reference
Search AWS service prefixes and Amazon Resource Name formats for IAM policies and resource references.
AWS IAM Service Principals Reference
Search the complete AWS service principal reference for IAM trust policies, resource policies, and service-linked role setup.
CloudFormation Resource Attributes Reference
Search AWS CloudFormation resource types and the attributes available through Fn::GetAtt for each resource.
Next step
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