When should I attach AWSCodePipeline_ReadOnlyAccess?

The reference page describes it as read only access to AWS CodePipeline via the AWS Management Console, and says you can attach it to users, groups and roles. Use it for people who only need to view pipelines.

What does AWSCodePipeline_ReadOnlyAccess grant?

It allows eight codepipeline read actions, s3:ListAllMyBuckets and three CodeStar Notifications list actions on all resources, s3:GetObject, s3:ListBucket and s3:GetBucketPolicy on codepipeline-* buckets, and codestar-notifications:DescribeNotificationRule for CodePipeline notification rules.

What are the security risks of AWSCodePipeline_ReadOnlyAccess?

The permissions are reads, but s3:GetObject applies to the arn:aws:s3::*:codepipeline-* pattern, so object contents matching it are readable. AWS managed policies do not grant least privilege permissions, and an AWS update to the policy affects every identity it is attached to.

AWSCodePipeline_ReadOnlyAccess

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Summary

Provides read only access to AWS CodePipeline via the AWS Management Console, as the AWS Managed Policy Reference Guide describes it.

Permissions imported from the AWS Managed Policy Reference Guide; other sections reviewed against the listed AWS sources.

Identity

ARN: arn:aws:iam::aws:policy/AWSCodePipeline_ReadOnlyAccess
Default version: v1
Created: 2020-08-03
Last edited: 2020-08-03
Services: codepipeline, codestar-notifications, s3

Control-plane actions (14)

By access level: 6 List, 8 Read.

Control-plane actions by service
Service	Granted	Access levels and limits	Granted by
CodePipeline	8 of 44	2 List, 6 Read; 0 restricted, 0 conditional	codepipeline:GetPipeline, codepipeline:GetPipelineExecution, codepipeline:GetPipelineState, codepipeline:ListActionExecutions, codepipeline:ListActionTypes, codepipeline:ListPipelineExecutions, codepipeline:ListPipelines, codepipeline:ListTagsForResource
CodeStar Notifications	4 of 13	3 List, 1 Read; 1 restricted, 1 conditional	codestar-notifications:DescribeNotificationRule, codestar-notifications:ListEventTypes, codestar-notifications:ListNotificationRules, codestar-notifications:ListTargets
S3	2 of 155	1 List, 1 Read; 1 restricted, 0 conditional	s3:GetBucketPolicy, s3:ListAllMyBuckets

CodePipeline: 8 actions

codepipeline:GetPipeline (Read)
codepipeline:GetPipelineExecution (Read)
codepipeline:GetPipelineState (Read)
codepipeline:ListActionExecutions (Read)
codepipeline:ListActionTypes (Read)
codepipeline:ListPipelineExecutions (List)
codepipeline:ListPipelines (List)
codepipeline:ListTagsForResource (Read)

CodeStar Notifications: 4 actions

codestar-notifications:DescribeNotificationRule (Read)
codestar-notifications:ListEventTypes (List)
codestar-notifications:ListNotificationRules (List)
codestar-notifications:ListTargets (List)

S3: 2 actions

s3:GetBucketPolicy (Read)
s3:ListAllMyBuckets (List)

Data-plane actions (2)

By access level: 1 List, 1 Read.

Data-plane actions by service
Service	Granted	Access levels and limits	Granted by
S3	2 of 25	1 List, 1 Read; 2 restricted, 0 conditional	s3:GetObject, s3:ListBucket

S3: 2 actions

s3:GetObject (Read)
s3:ListBucket (List)

Excluded and conditional actions

No patterns are excluded by NotAction or Deny statements.

Resource scope and attachment

Resource scope across granted actions: mixed.

Can be attached: Yes, to users, groups and roles.

Why this tier

Grants only List and Read actions.

Guidance

Practical scope

One statement allows, on Resource "*", codepipeline:GetPipeline, GetPipelineState, GetPipelineExecution, ListPipelineExecutions, ListActionExecutions, ListActionTypes, ListPipelines and ListTagsForResource, s3:ListAllMyBuckets, and codestar-notifications:ListNotificationRules, ListEventTypes and ListTargets. A second statement allows s3:GetObject, s3:ListBucket and s3:GetBucketPolicy on arn:aws:s3::*:codepipeline-*. A third allows codestar-notifications:DescribeNotificationRule when codestar-notifications:NotificationsForResource matches arn:aws:codepipeline:*.

Use cases

View CodePipeline pipelines, their state and executions, and their notification rules from the AWS Management Console.

Best practices

AWS managed policies don't grant least privilege permissions. The IAM User Guide suggests using IAM Access Analyzer to see which permissions principals actually use, then writing a custom policy or generating one with only the required permissions.

Security considerations

s3:GetObject is allowed on arn:aws:s3::*:codepipeline-*, so object contents matching that ARN pattern are readable.
You cannot change the permissions in an AWS managed policy. If AWS updates the policy, the update affects every user, group and role it is attached to.

Assignment guidance

You can attach this policy to your users, groups and roles. The reference page also links to guidance on creating a permission set using AWS managed policies in IAM Identity Center. It fits where viewing CodePipeline is the only requirement.

Same service

Same domain

Frequently asked questions

When should I attach AWSCodePipeline_ReadOnlyAccess?: The reference page describes it as read only access to AWS CodePipeline via the AWS Management Console, and says you can attach it to users, groups and roles. Use it for people who only need to view pipelines.
What does AWSCodePipeline_ReadOnlyAccess grant?: It allows eight codepipeline read actions, s3:ListAllMyBuckets and three CodeStar Notifications list actions on all resources, s3:GetObject, s3:ListBucket and s3:GetBucketPolicy on codepipeline-* buckets, and codestar-notifications:DescribeNotificationRule for CodePipeline notification rules.
What are the security risks of AWSCodePipeline_ReadOnlyAccess?: The permissions are reads, but s3:GetObject applies to the arn:aws:s3::*:codepipeline-* pattern, so object contents matching it are readable. AWS managed policies do not grant least privilege permissions, and an AWS update to the policy affects every identity it is attached to.

Policy JSON

Download policy.json

{
  "Statement": [
    {
      "Action": [
        "codepipeline:GetPipeline",
        "codepipeline:GetPipelineState",
        "codepipeline:GetPipelineExecution",
        "codepipeline:ListPipelineExecutions",
        "codepipeline:ListActionExecutions",
        "codepipeline:ListActionTypes",
        "codepipeline:ListPipelines",
        "codepipeline:ListTagsForResource",
        "s3:ListAllMyBuckets",
        "codestar-notifications:ListNotificationRules",
        "codestar-notifications:ListEventTypes",
        "codestar-notifications:ListTargets"
      ],
      "Effect": "Allow",
      "Resource": "*"
    },
    {
      "Action": [
        "s3:GetObject",
        "s3:ListBucket",
        "s3:GetBucketPolicy"
      ],
      "Effect": "Allow",
      "Resource": "arn:aws:s3::*:codepipeline-*"
    },
    {
      "Sid": "CodeStarNotificationsReadOnlyAccess",
      "Effect": "Allow",
      "Action": [
        "codestar-notifications:DescribeNotificationRule"
      ],
      "Resource": "*",
      "Condition": {
        "StringLike": {
          "codestar-notifications:NotificationsForResource": "arn:aws:codepipeline:*"
        }
      }
    }
  ],
  "Version": "2012-10-17"
}

Version history

Current version v1, edited by AWS on 2020-08-03. Version history is recorded from 2026-11-11. Earlier versions are in the IAM console under Policy versions.

Attach snippets

AWS CLI

aws iam attach-role-policy --role-name ROLE_NAME --policy-arn arn:aws:iam::aws:policy/AWSCodePipeline_ReadOnlyAccess
aws iam attach-user-policy --user-name USER_NAME --policy-arn arn:aws:iam::aws:policy/AWSCodePipeline_ReadOnlyAccess
aws iam attach-group-policy --group-name GROUP_NAME --policy-arn arn:aws:iam::aws:policy/AWSCodePipeline_ReadOnlyAccess

CloudFormation

Resources:
  ExampleRole:
    Type: AWS::IAM::Role
    Properties:
      AssumeRolePolicyDocument: {}  # replace with your trust policy
      ManagedPolicyArns:
        - arn:aws:iam::aws:policy/AWSCodePipeline_ReadOnlyAccess

Terraform

resource "aws_iam_role_policy_attachment" "awscodepipeline_readonlyaccess" {
  role       = aws_iam_role.example.name
  policy_arn = "arn:aws:iam::aws:policy/AWSCodePipeline_ReadOnlyAccess"
}

CDK (TypeScript)

role.addManagedPolicy(
  iam.ManagedPolicy.fromAwsManagedPolicyName("AWSCodePipeline_ReadOnlyAccess"),
);

Sources

AWSCodePipeline_ReadOnlyAccess (AWS Managed Policy Reference Guide) (retrieved 2026-11-13; supports summary, practicalScope, useCases, securityConsiderations, assignmentGuidance, faqs)
AWS managed policies for job functions (IAM User Guide) (retrieved 2026-11-12; supports bestPractices, faqs)
Managed policies and inline policies (IAM User Guide) (retrieved 2026-11-12; supports securityConsiderations, faqs)