## Connect AWS Glue with IAM access keys

URL: https://docs.atlan.com/apps/connectors/etl-tools/aws-glue/how-tos/connect-with-iam-access-keys

> The fastest path to connect Atlan to AWS Glue - create a read-only IAM user in your AWS account and give Atlan its key pair.

The fastest path: create a read-only IAM user in your AWS account and give Atlan its key pair. Three phases, each labeled with who performs it.

## Prerequisites

- Someone with permission to create IAM users and policies in the AWS account that holds the Glue Data Catalog.
- The AWS **account ID** and **region** of the catalog (see [Choose how Atlan connects to AWS Glue](https://docs.atlan.com/llms/connectors/aws-glue/choose-how-atlan-connects-to-aws-glue/llms.txt)).
- If your catalog is governed by **AWS Lake Formation**, the Lake Formation grants from [Catalog permissions & Lake Formation](https://docs.atlan.com/llms/connectors/aws-glue/catalog-permissions-and-lake-formation/llms.txt) - IAM alone isn't enough.

## Three phases at glance

| Phase | What happens | Owner | Typical time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Policy | Create the read-only IAM policy | AWS admin | 15 minutes |
| 2. User & keys | Create an IAM user, attach the policy, generate keys | AWS admin | 15 minutes |
| 3. Connect & verify | Enter keys + region in Atlan and test | Atlan User | 15 minutes |

## Phase 1 - Create IAM policy

**Owner:** AWS admin

Create a policy with exactly the read-only actions Atlan needs (see also [Set up AWS Glue](https://docs.atlan.com/llms/connectors/aws-glue/set-up-aws-glue/llms.txt)); replace `<region>` and `<account_id>` with your values.

```json
{
 "Version": "2012-10-17",
 "Statement": [
 {
 "Effect": "Allow",
 "Action": [
 "glue:GetTables", "glue:GetDatabases", "glue:GetTable",
 "glue:GetDatabase", "glue:SearchTables", "glue:GetTableVersions",
 "glue:GetTableVersion", "glue:GetPartition", "glue:GetPartitions",
 "glue:GetUserDefinedFunctions", "glue:GetUserDefinedFunction"
 ],
 "Resource": [
 "arn:aws:glue:<region>:<account_id>:tableVersion/*/*/*",
 "arn:aws:glue:<region>:<account_id>:table/*/*",
 "arn:aws:glue:<region>:<account_id>:catalog",
 "arn:aws:glue:<region>:<account_id>:database/*"
 ]
 }
 ]
}
```

> **Caution: The Resource ARNs are region-scoped**
>
>
> Each resource line names one region. If the policy says `us-east-1` but you configure the Atlan connection for `us-west-2`, every call is denied - or worse, *silently returns nothing*. Crawling multiple regions needs the resource lines repeated per region (and one Atlan connection per region - see [Special cases](https://docs.atlan.com/llms/connectors/aws-glue/special-cases/llms.txt)).
>

## Phase 2 - Create IAM user and keys

**Owner:** AWS admin

1. In the AWS console, create an IAM user (suggested name: `atlan-glue-crawler` - an `atlan-` prefix makes audits easier).
2. Attach the Phase 1 policy. No console access, no other permissions.
3. Create an access key for the user and copy **both** values immediately - **the secret is displayed only once**. Store them in your password manager, then share them with the person doing Phase 3 through a secure channel (not email or chat).

> **Warning: Key rotation is the #1 cause of sudden Glue failures**
>
>
> The recurring script: the connection works for months, then every run fails with `UnrecognizedClientException: The security token included in the request is invalid`. The cause is almost always keys that were rotated, expired, or deactivated by a security policy - without updating Atlan. **Add "update Atlan Glue connection" to your key-rotation runbook now.** Better: use the [cross-account role](https://docs.atlan.com/llms/connectors/aws-glue/connect-with-a-cross-account-iam-role/llms.txt) and never rotate anything.
>

## Phase 3 - Connect and verify

**Owner:** Atlan User

1. In Atlan, open **New workflow → AWS Glue Assets** and choose Direct extraction.
2. Enter the **AWS Access Key**, **AWS Secret Key**, and the **Region** of your catalog. Leave the Role ARN field empty for this method.
3. Click **Test Authentication**.
4. Configure include/exclude filters and run the crawler (or **Schedule & Run** for a recurring crawl).

### Success checklist

- **Test Authentication** passes
- All three preflight checks pass (authentication, `GetDatabases`, `GetTables`)
- A first crawl completes and the **column counts look right** - tables with zero columns usually mean [Lake Formation is filtering](https://docs.atlan.com/llms/connectors/aws-glue/catalog-permissions-and-lake-formation/llms.txt)
- Your key-rotation runbook mentions Atlan

## Next steps

[Crawl AWS Glue](https://docs.atlan.com/llms/connectors/aws-glue/crawl-aws-glue/llms.txt): Configure and run the crawler to extract metadata from AWS Glue

_Last updated: 8 October 2026._

---

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