---
title: "Manage users and teams for Synthetic Monitoring | Grafana Cloud documentation"
description: "Manage users and teams for Synthetic Monitoring Depending on the size of your team or organization, you might reach a point where you have a large number of checks, and you want to control who gets access to the information they need. Grafana provides two ways to manage user access: basic role authorization, and role-based access control (RBAC)."
---

> For a curated documentation index, see [llms.txt](/llms.txt). For the complete documentation index, see [llms-full.txt](/llms-full.txt).

# Manage users and teams for Synthetic Monitoring

Depending on the size of your team or organization, you might reach a point where you have a large number of checks, and you want to control who gets access to the information they need. Grafana provides two ways to manage user access: basic role authorization, and role-based access control (RBAC).

You can use both mechanisms to give users in your organization the access they need to view, edit, and manage resources in Synthetic Monitoring.

## Before you begin

- Ensure you have organization administrator privileges.

> Note
> 
> User roles and teams are managed at the organization level of your Grafana instance. They can’t be configured via the Synthetic Monitoring application. For more details, refer to [Manage users in an organization](/docs/grafana/latest/administration/user-management/manage-org-users/).

## User roles and permissions

There are two ways to manage user roles and permissions for Synthetic Monitoring.

### Basic role authorization

By default, authorization within Synthetic Monitoring relies on the basic user roles configured at the organization level. All users are assigned a basic role by the organization administrator. There are three available roles: `Viewer`, `Editor`, and `Admin`.

### Role-based access control (RBAC)

RBAC for Grafana plugins provides fine-grained access control, allowing you to define custom roles and actions for users in Synthetic Monitoring. You can use RBAC to grant specific permissions without modifying the user’s basic role at the organization level. Additionally, you can fine-tune basic roles to add or remove specific Synthetic Monitoring RBAC roles.

For example, a user with the basic `Viewer` role at the organization level may need to edit checks. By assigning the `Checks Writer` role from Grafana Synthetic Monitoring’s RBAC, you can allow the user to view everything in Synthetic Monitoring, as well as allow them to edit checks.

To learn more about how RBAC works in Grafana, refer to [Role-based access control (RBAC)](/docs/grafana/latest/administration/roles-and-permissions/access-control/).

## Synthetic Monitoring RBAC

To access and use Synthetic Monitoring, a user needs permissions to the following data sources:

- The Synthetic Monitoring data source
- The metrics data source (Prometheus)
- The logs data sources (Loki)

By default, if a user has a basic role assigned of `Viewer`, `Editor`, or `Admin`, they already have the necessary query permissions.

### Configure query permissions

To manually configure query permissions, you have two options:

- Configure the query permissions for each data source in your stack by going to **Connections** > **Data sources**.
- Assign the `datasources:query` role using file-based provisioning.

#### Assign permissions via the Grafana Cloud stack UI

To configure query permissions for a data source in your Grafana Cloud stack:

- Open your Grafana Cloud stack.
- On the main menu, click **Connections** > **Data sources**.
- For each data source (Loki, Prometheus, and Synthetic Monitoring):
  
  - Click on the data source to open its configuration page.
  - Click the **Permissions** tab.
  - Check that your user role has the **Query** permission. If your user doesn’t have that permission configured, click **+ Add a permission** to add a new permission for your RBAC configuration.

#### Assign permissions using file-based provisioning

You can give a user the required data sources access by assigning them the `datasources:query` permission. For more fine-grained access, you can scope it to the data source UIDs.

For metrics and logs, the permissions are:

![Copy code to clipboard](/media/images/icons/icon-copy-small-2.svg) Copy

```none
  "action": "datasources:query",
  "scope": "datasources:uid:grafanacloud-prom" //metrics datasource

  "action": "datasources:query",
  "scope": "datasources:uid:grafanacloud-logs" //logs datasource
```

For the Synthetic Monitoring data source, the UID is variable:

![Copy code to clipboard](/media/images/icons/icon-copy-small-2.svg) Copy

```none
  "action": "datasources:query",
  "scope": "datasources:uid:<SM_DS_UID>"
```

To find the UID value for your stack:

- Open your Grafana Cloud stack.
- On the main menu, click **Testing &amp; synthetics** &gt; **Synthetics** &gt; **Config**.
- Click **Synthetic Monitoring** under **Data sources**.
- Copy the UID value from the URL, after “/edit/”. For example: `https://<stack_name>.grafana.net/connections/datasources/edit/<SM_DS_UID>`.

### Synthetic Monitoring RBAC roles

> Note
> 
> Granting any of the following roles also grants the user the `plugins.app:access` action with a scope of `plugins:id:grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app`, which gives the user access to the Synthetic Monitoring plugin. Additionally, none of the following RBAC roles support scopes.

The following table provides details about the available Synthetic Monitoring roles and the actions each role grants to users or teams. Some roles may require additional permissions external to Synthetic Monitoring. In such scenarios, the required permissions are explicitly detailed.

For details on how to assign roles to a user or team, refer to [Assign RBAC roles](/docs/grafana/latest/administration/roles-and-permissions/access-control/assign-rbac-roles/).

Expand table

| Role                  | Description                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    | Granted Actions                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   | Basic Roles Granted To |
|-----------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------|
| Checks reader         | Read checks in the Synthetic Monitoring app                                                                                                                                                                                                    | `grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app:read`  <br />  <br />`grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app.checks:read`                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             | Viewer                 |
| Checks writer         | Create, edit, and delete checks in the Synthetic Monitoring app                                                                                                                                                                                | `grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app:read`  <br />  <br />`grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app:write`  <br />  <br />`grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app.checks:write`  <br />  <br />`grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app.checks:read`  <br />  <br />`grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app.checks:delete`                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      | Admin, Editor          |
| Probes reader         | Read probes in the Synthetic Monitoring app                                                                                                                                                                                                    | `grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app:read`  <br />  <br />`grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app.probes:read`                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             | Viewer                 |
| Probes writer         | Create, edit, and delete probes in the Synthetic Monitoring app                                                                                                                                                                                | `grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app:read`  <br />  <br />`grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app:write`  <br />  <br />`grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app.probes:write`  <br />  <br />`grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app.probes:read`  <br />  <br />`grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app.probes:delete`                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      | Admin, Editor          |
| Alerts reader         | Read alerts in the Synthetic Monitoring app.  <br />Also requires `alert.instances.external:read`                                                                                                                                              | `grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app:read`  <br />  <br />`grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app.alerts:read`                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             | Viewer                 |
| Alerts writer         | Create, edit, and delete alerts in the Synthetic Monitoring app.  <br />Also requires `alert.instances.external:write`                                                                                                                         | `grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app:read`  <br />  <br />`grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app:write`  <br />  <br />`grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app.alerts:write`  <br />  <br />`grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app.alerts:read`  <br />  <br />`grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app.alerts:delete`                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      | Admin, Editor          |
| Thresholds reader     | Read thresholds in the Synthetic Monitoring app                                                                                                                                                                                                | `grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app:read`  <br />  <br />`grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app.thresholds:read`                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         | Viewer                 |
| Thresholds writer     | Read and edit thresholds in the Synthetic Monitoring app                                                                                                                                                                                       | `grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app:read`  <br />  <br />`grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app:write`  <br />  <br />`grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app.thresholds:write`  <br />  <br />`grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app.thresholds:read`  <br />  <br />`grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app.thresholds:delete`                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          | Admin, Editor          |
| Access tokens writer  | Create and delete access tokens in the Synthetic Monitoring app                                                                                                                                                                                | `grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app:read`  <br />  <br />`grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app:write`  <br />  <br />`grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app.access-tokens:write`                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             | Admin                  |
| Secure values creator | Create secrets in the Synthetic Monitoring app                                                                                                                                                                                                 | `secret.securevalues:create`                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      | Admin                  |
| Secure values deletor | Delete secrets in the Synthetic Monitoring app                                                                                                                                                                                                 | `secret.securevalues:delete`                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      | Admin                  |
| Secure values reader  | Read and list available secrets in the Synthetic Monitoring app                                                                                                                                                                                | `secret.securevalues:read`                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        | Admin                  |
| Secure values updater | Update secret values in the Synthetic Monitoring app                                                                                                                                                                                           | `secret.securevalues:write`                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       | Admin                  |
| Admin                 | Full access to write and manage checks, probes, alerts, thresholds, secrets, and access tokens, as well as enabling/disabling the Synthetic Monitoring plugin.  <br />When enabling the datasource, `datasources:create` must also be granted. | `grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app:read`  <br />  <br />`grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app:write`  <br />  <br />`grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app.plugin:write`  <br />  <br />`grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app.checks:write`  <br />  <br />`grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app.probes:write`  <br />  <br />`grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app.alerts:write`  <br />  <br />`grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app.thresholds:write`  <br />  <br />`grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app.access-tokens:write`  <br />  <br />`grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app.checks:read`  <br />  <br />`grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app.probes:read`  <br />  <br />`grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app.alerts:read`  <br />  <br />`grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app.thresholds:read`  <br />  <br />`grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app.checks:delete`  <br />  <br />`grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app.probes:delete`  <br />  <br />`grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app.alerts:delete`  <br />  <br />`grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app.thresholds:delete`  <br />  <br />`secret.securevalues:create`  <br />  <br />`secret.securevalues:delete`  <br />  <br />`secret.securevalues:read`  <br />  <br />`secret.securevalues:write` | Admin                  |
| Editor                | Add, update and delete checks, probes, alerts, thresholds, and access tokens in the Synthetic Monitoring app                                                                                                                                   | `grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app:read`  <br />  <br />`grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app:write`  <br />  <br />`grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app.checks:write`  <br />  <br />`grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app.probes:write`  <br />  <br />`grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app.alerts:write`  <br />  <br />`grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app.thresholds:write`  <br />  <br />`grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app.checks:read`  <br />  <br />`grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app.probes:read`  <br />  <br />`grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app.alerts:read`  <br />  <br />`grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app.thresholds:read`  <br />  <br />`grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app.checks:delete`  <br />  <br />`grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app.probes:delete`  <br />  <br />`grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app.alerts:delete`  <br />  <br />`grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app.thresholds:delete`                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   | Admin, Editor          |
| Reader                | Read checks, probes, alerts, thresholds, and access tokens in the Synthetic Monitoring app                                                                                                                                                     | `grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app:read`  <br />  <br />`grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app.checks:read`  <br />  <br />`grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app.probes:read`  <br />  <br />`grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app.alerts:read`  <br />  <br />`grafana-synthetic-monitoring-app.thresholds:read`                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               | Viewer                 |