How Do I Configure Service Accounts?

Service accounts prevent disruptions to your integrations. Learn how to create them for every integration we support.

Nicholas Freund avatar
Written by Nicholas Freund
Updated over a week ago

Contents:

Why should I consider using a service account?

While it is not technically required to use a service account to connect your tools to Workstream, it is recommended. Connecting with a personal account could result in service disruptions—for example if the connecting user leaves the company, or has their access downgraded.

Please Note: If you are just trying Workstream out, feel free to connect with a personal account. You can always connect with a service account later.

Another benefit of service accounts is that they are much easier to audit and manage. API connections like those used to integrate with Workstream generally access the application on behalf of the user who created the connection. Having all integration activity come through a dedicated service account makes it easier to separate an individual's activity from the application's.

Important Considerations

There are a few considerations before you get started with creating a service account:

  1. Service accounts should be clearly labelled to ensure they aren't accidentally deleted

  2. In order for the connection to function properly, the service account must have access to any information you are trying to sync into Workstream

  3. You must have an email address available that is not already designated as a user in the application you are connecting (or have an existing account that can be repurposed). In most cases you will also need to be able to login to this account in order to accept an invitation and generate API tokens.

    1. We recommend that you or your IT team create a single email address that can be used as the service account for all of your integrations with Workstream. This keeps managing the account simple.

Mode Service Account

To create a service account in Mode, please follow the steps below:

  1. Login to Mode

  2. Click on the Mode icon located at the top left of the page. A navigation menu will open (this menu may already be open, depending on which Mode page you start from). Click the dropdown arrow next to the account name. Choose "Invite to Mode…"

    Image showing Mode's admin menu with "Invite to Mode" indicated
  3. Enter the email address for the service account.

  4. Mode sends an email to the newly registered user. Open the email and click "Accept Invite". Provide an easily identifiable name for the service account.

  5. Ensure this service account has access to any collections you want synced with Workstream.

You are now ready to use the service account to connect Mode to Workstream.

Looker Service Account

To create a service account in Looker, please follow the steps below:

  1. Navigate to the Users page from the Admin section of the left menu, and click "Add Users" at the top left.

    Gif showing a user navigating to the Users section of Looker Admin settings
  2. Enter an email address that does not belong to an existing Looker account

  3. Set the role to "Developer"

  4. Do not select a group

  5. Click "Add User"

  6. The next page will indicate if there are errors. If "success" displays, click "Done"

  7. Looker sends an email to the newly registered user. Open the email and click "Activate Your Account". We recommend naming the account "Workstream Service Account" or something else easily identifiable.

You are now ready to use the service account to connect Looker to Workstream.

Tableau Service Account

To create a service account in Tableau, please follow the steps below. Be aware that the steps are slightly different when creating the account in Tableau Server vs. Tableau Online.

  1. Click on the "Users" link on the lefthand navigation

    Image showing where to find the "Users" option in Tableau
  2. Click the "Add Users" button at the top of the page. Choose "Add Users by Email"

    Video showing adding users to Tableau by email address
  3. For Tableau Online enter the following in the modal:

    1. Select either "Tableau with MFA" or "Tableau"

    2. Enter the email address for the service account you created

    3. Choose "Viewer" for the site role

    4. Click "Add Users"

    5. Tableau sends an email to the newly registered user. Open the email and click "Join Now". Fill out the form with the service account's details, being sure to choose an easily identifiable name.

    6. Click "Let's Go"

  4. For Tableau Server enter the following in the modal:

    1. Select "New User"

    2. Enter the email address for the service account you created for the user name or choose one i.e. workstreamsvcacct

    3. Set the Display Name to something like "Workstream Service Account"

    4. Generate a password

    5. Choose "Viewer" for the site role

    6. Click "Add User"

  5. Ensure this service account has access to collections you want synced with Workstream

You are now ready to use the service account to connect Tableau to Workstream.

Creating a dbt Cloud Service Account

You can create a service account in dbt Cloud by taking the following steps:

  1. Login to dbt Cloud

  2. Click on the menu in the top left corner, and navigate to "Account Settings" > "Team" > "Invite"

    Video depicting navigating to the "invite" option in your dbt Cloud account settings
  3. Enter the email address of the service account

  4. Make sure the license is set to "Developer" and that the "Owner" option is selected

    Image showing the required permissions for dbt Cloud
  5. Send the invitation

  6. Login to the service account's email, and click the "Join" button to accept the invitation

Your service account is now ready to connect dbt Cloud to Workstream.

Creating a JIRA Service Account

Before we walk through the steps to add a service account, there are a couple of things to keep in mind:

  • There are a few ways to add new users to JIRA. The steps below are the simplest, but where relevant we've listed alternative options

  • Your role in JIRA may limit your ability to add new users. If this is the case, you can either have someone with JIRA admin access take these steps for you, or have a JIRA admin approve the user's invitation once you request it

Please follow the steps below to create your service account:

  1. Select "People" from the top menu, and click "Invite a teammate"

    Image showing the "Invite a teammate" option within JIRA
  2. Enter the user's email address, and click "Invite"

    1. Note: JIRA admins can also invite users by switching to "Administration" from the menu in the top left corner of the page, and clicking "Manage users".

  3. Locate the invite email in the service account's inbox and click the "Join the Team" link to create your account

  4. Make sure the service account has access to the project that you will use to sync with Workstream. Users can be easily added by navigating to the project, and clicking the "Add people" button

    Image showing where to add additional people to a JIRA project
  5. Enter the service account's email address, and select the appropriate role. Roles vary widely by organization, but Workstream requires that the user have read and write access to the project (most users who are actively contributing to the project will have this level of access). If you are unsure which role to choose, your JIRA admin should be able to help.

Now that your service account is set up, you are ready to connect JIRA to Workstream!

We understand that navigating service accounts and API integrations can be tricky. Please don't hesitate to contact us with any questions or concerns, or if you need a more hands-on walkthrough. We're available via the support widget on this page as well as at [email protected].

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