> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.useshipd.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Create a service account

> Mint a scoped shipd_sa_ token for CI instead of a personal management key.

## Overview

A service account is a non-human identity for CI and integrations. Tokens start with `shipd_sa_`, are shown once, and can be scoped, bound to a project/environment, expired, and revoked.

Prefer this over a personal management key (`shipd_mgmt_`) for GitHub Actions and other integrations.

## Steps

**1. Create the account**

Dashboard → **Settings → Service accounts** → **Create service account**. Name it after the job, e.g. `github-actions`.

**2. Mint a token**

Open the account. **Create token**. Pick the smallest scopes the job needs. Every `shipd push` needs `flag:update`; add `flag:create` for additions, `flag:archive` with `--prune`, `flag_state:update` for non-production default-only changes, and `flag_production:toggle` for production, definition changes, or additions. Bind it to `web-app` at the project level when the job creates or changes flag definitions. Environment-bound tokens are for environment-only reads and state operations. Optionally set an expiry.

**3. Use it in CI**

```bash theme={null}
SHIPD_API_KEY=shipd_sa_… shipd push --yes --project web-app --env production
```

If the token is org-wide (no project/environment binding), `--project` and `--env` are required.

Disable the account to invalidate every token at once. Revoke a single token when one pipeline is compromised.

An approval policy may accept a default change but queue it for review. The CLI returns exit code `5` and reports the queued request instead of claiming that change is live. See [Review production changes](/operations/approvals).

Related: [Service account tokens](/reference/service-account-tokens) · [Sync flags in CI](/config-as-code/ci) · [SDK keys, management API keys, and service account tokens](/concepts/keys).


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