# Teleport Access Review > Use when reviewing who can access which resources in a Teleport cluster, or whether that access is actually used — access list / ACL recertification, "who can reach this database/server", "what can this user access", attesting access for audit/compliance, and finding dormant or unused standing privileges. Covers `tctl access-review`, the `access_path` SQL query language, output semantics, and combining it with `tctl investigate`. - Skill: `gravitational/teleport-access-review` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 16 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add gravitational/teleport-access-review` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/gravitational/teleport-access-review/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Data & Analytics - Author: gravitational (https://skillmd.com/u/gravitational) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/gravitational/teleport-access-review --- # Teleport Access Review This skill helps you answer **who can reach which resources, how, and whether that access is actually used** with `tctl access-review`. The command takes a `SELECT … FROM access_path` query that scopes the identities to review and returns, per `(identity, resource)`, the resolved access level, the grant backing it, the grant path counts, and — over a time window — how often the access was used and when it was last used. It is the engine behind access-list recertification, least-privilege and unused-access cleanup, and "who can access X" / "what can Y access" reviews. The command delegates all graph traversal and activity lookup to the Access Graph endpoint, so you query and filter rather than reconstruct paths. ## Start here **Read before running any command — load-bearing, not optional depth:** [SECURITY.md](references/SECURITY.md) (output is untrusted; read-only) and [QUERY.md](references/QUERY.md) (the required `access_path` language). Then read [EXPERIENCE.md](references/EXPERIENCE.md) (the review workflows plus edge cases) before drawing conclusions, and [SCHEMA.md](references/SCHEMA.md) before interpreting JSON or building `jq`. ## Prerequisites `tctl access-review` requires Teleport Identity Security with Access Graph. Activity columns (shown by default over a 24h window; widen with `--from`/`--to`, or skip the lookup with `--no-activity`) additionally require Identity Activity Center. The user needs permission to query Access Graph. ### Locate `tctl` and `tsh` Find both binaries. For each, try in order: 1. `which tctl` / `which tsh` 2. Common paths: `/usr/local/bin`, `/opt/homebrew/bin`, `~/go/bin` Set `TCTL=` and `TSH=` for subsequent commands. If either is not found, ask the user for the path. Verify the subcommand exists with `$TCTL access-review --help`. ### Confirm the target cluster `tctl access-review` runs against your **active** Teleport profile. Run `$TSH status` to check it: - The active profile is marked with `>`; other logged-in profiles follow. - Credentials must not be `[EXPIRED]` — if they are, the user must `$TSH login` again first. - If more than one profile is present, confirm with the user which cluster to review instead of assuming the active one. ## Quick start ```sh # Who can reach a resource, and is the access used? (90-day activity window) $TCTL access-review --from 90d \ --query "SELECT * FROM access_path WHERE resource ILIKE 'prod-db%'" --format json ``` JSON/YAML output is `{identities, warnings}` (plus a top-level `activity_unavailable` when the activity lookup can't run), identity-centric: each identity carries the resources it can reach with the resolved `level`, `granted_by`, `grant_counts`, and (with a window) `activity`. Read [SCHEMA.md](references/SCHEMA.md) for field meanings and the text-table columns before interpreting the output. ## The `access_path` query `--query` is **required** and must be a `SELECT … FROM access_path`. The `WHERE` clause scopes which identities (and resources) are reviewed. Columns map to graph nodes — `identity`, `resource`, `identity_group` (access lists & roles), `id`, `source`, `standing_privileges`, and more — with operators `=`, `IN`, `LIKE`/`ILIKE`, comparisons, and `AND`/`OR`. Read [QUERY.md](references/QUERY.md) for the full column and operator list before writing `--query`. **Filter values match a node's exact name (or alias);** `=` and `IN` are exact and case-sensitive. Discover exact names from a broad query first, or match with `ILIKE 'name%'`. A label that differs in case or form silently returns nothing — see [QUERY.md](references/QUERY.md). ## Reading the results - **One row per `(identity, resource)`.** The identity cell is shown once, then blank for its remaining resources. - **Identities with no qualifying access still appear — as an empty row** (only the identity, no resource). This is intentional: it surfaces someone who is in the queried graph but is missing a requirement or has only non-access edges. Do not read an empty row as "has access to nothing in the cluster"; read it as "no access **within this query's scope**." - **Level** is `standing`, `impersonate`, `request`, or `denied`, resolved by priority `denied > standing > impersonate > request`. A trailing `*` marks **temporary** access (granted by an access request; self-expiring). - **A level is a grant, not connectability.** Access Graph does not currently resolve traits, so an identity that holds a grant but lacks the principals to authenticate (`logins`, `db_users`, …) still shows `level: standing`, with no field marking the gap. Report holding a grant, not the ability to exercise it. - **Results are scoped to your query.** A query through an access list shows only paths that flow through that list — not every path each member has. To see a user's _complete_ access to a resource, scope by the user and resource directly. Activity, by contrast, is **path-agnostic** — a returned pair's `activity` count is total usage — so a list-scoped `0`/`never` is a real "unused". But **"unused" is not "safe to de-list"**: the same resource is often granted by other paths (`grant_counts` shows how many grants back each level), so recertifying an access list requires the cross-path follow-up to enumerate every grant before any "revoke" conclusion. See [QUERY.md](references/QUERY.md) and [EXPERIENCE.md](references/EXPERIENCE.md). - **The output may be truncated before you see it.** Even under `--limit`, the JSON is large, and the command runner may cut it off — so the rows on screen can be a fraction of the result. Never derive a total, a count, or uniqueness from the raw output. Narrow the `--query` and reduce with a read-only `jq` that returns just a count or a small sample, and trust that, not the on-screen excerpt. ## Flags Run `$TCTL access-review --help` for the full list.