Google Cloud OS Login API
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For Agents
Manage SSH key bindings and POSIX login profiles for Google Cloud users so VM access flows through IAM rather than per-host key files.
Use for: Get the OS Login profile for the authenticated Google user, Import a new SSH public key for a user who is onboarding, Delete an SSH key that has been compromised, Update the expiry of an SSH public key
Not supported: Does not authenticate SSH sessions, manage VM metadata, or create user accounts — use for SSH key bindings and POSIX login profile reads only.
The Cloud OS Login API manages SSH access to Google Compute Engine VMs through IAM identities rather than per-VM key files. It exposes the user's login profile (POSIX username, UID/GID, secondary aliases) and lets administrators import, delete, and update SSH public keys associated with that identity. Use it to centralise SSH access management, remove a former employee's keys across all VMs at once, or build automation that issues short-lived SSH keys to engineers. The spec exposes 6 endpoints.
Install Jentic One Beta
Connect the Cloud OS Login API to your agent
Jentic One is a self-hosted execution layer for AI agents. It lets your agent call the Cloud OS Login API, or any other public or private API you need. You set the rules, the agent never sees your credentials, and every call is logged.
Two steps, two machines. Install the instance in a safe environment, then register your agent from wherever it runs.
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Step 1: Jentic One Host machine
# On the machine that will host your Jentic One instance:
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jentic/jentic-one/main/tools/install.sh | sh2
Step 2: Agent machine
# On the machine where your agent runs (keep this separate from the instance):
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jentic/jentic-one/main/tools/install.sh | sh
jentic register # connects your agent to your Jentic One instanceJentic One is in public beta. The setup above keeps your agent separate from the instance, which is what you want before using real credentials: an agent running as the same OS user as Jentic One can read its stored keys directly. Just evaluating? A single local install is fine to start. See the secure deployment guide for the tiers.
Capabilities
What an agent can do with Cloud OS Login API.
Read a user's OS Login profile including POSIX username, UID, and home directory
Import a new SSH public key for an authenticated Google identity
Delete an SSH public key when an employee leaves or rotates credentials
Update an existing SSH public key's expiry or fingerprint metadata
List the SSH public keys currently associated with a user account
Resolve a Google identity to its POSIX login profile across the project's VM fleet
Use Cases
Patterns agents use Cloud OS Login API for, with concrete tasks.
★ Centralised SSH key lifecycle
Replace per-VM SSH key files with IAM-driven access by importing each engineer's public key once via OS Login. The API binds the key to a Google identity, and every VM with OS Login enabled accepts it automatically. Removing a key removes access fleet-wide — a single source of truth for SSH access management.
Import a new SSH public key for user alice@example.com via POST /v1/{+parent}:importSshPublicKey and confirm by listing the keys on her login profile.
Rapid revocation on offboarding
When an engineer leaves, delete their SSH public keys via OS Login to revoke access from every VM that uses OS Login at once. The alternative — pruning authorized_keys files VM by VM — is slow and error-prone. This use case turns access revocation into a single API call instead of an audit project.
List all SSH public keys for user bob@example.com via GET /v1/{+name}/loginProfile and DELETE /v1/{+name} for each fingerprint to revoke fleet access.
Short-lived SSH keys for engineers
Issue short-lived SSH public keys that expire after a defined interval, and let the OS Login API enforce the expiry across the fleet. The expirationTimeUsec field on imported keys means an automation can mint a key valid for a few hours, ship it to the engineer's local agent, and never need to remember to revoke it.
Import an SSH public key for user alice@example.com with expirationTimeUsec set to 4 hours from now via POST /v1/{+parent}:importSshPublicKey.
Agent-driven SSH access management via Jentic
An access agent reacting to a JIT request — for example, an engineer asking for VM access via Slack — can use Jentic to import a key with the correct expiry and reply with the VM hostname. Credentials stay in the Jentic vault, so the agent runs under scoped admin tokens with audit trail.
Use Jentic to find the import-ssh-key operation, load its schema, and import a public key for the requesting user with a 60-minute expiry.
Key Endpoints
6 endpoints — the cloud os login api manages ssh access to google compute engine vms through iam identities rather than per-vm key files.
METHOD
PATH
DESCRIPTION
GET
/v1/{+name}/loginProfile
Get the user's OS Login profile
POST
/v1/{+parent}:importSshPublicKey
Import an SSH public key
POST
/v1/{+parent}/sshPublicKeys
Create an SSH public key entry
PATCH
/v1/{+name}
Update an SSH public key's metadata
DELETE
/v1/{+name}
Delete an SSH public key
GET
/v1/{+name}/loginProfile
Get the user's OS Login profile
POST
/v1/{+parent}:importSshPublicKey
Import an SSH public key
POST
/v1/{+parent}/sshPublicKeys
Create an SSH public key entry
PATCH
/v1/{+name}
Update an SSH public key's metadata
DELETE
/v1/{+name}
Delete an SSH public key
Why Jentic?
Three things that make agents converge on Jentic-routed access.
Credential isolation
Google OAuth 2.0 tokens are minted from a service account stored in the Jentic vault (MAXsystem). Agents act under scoped, short-lived tokens — the service-account key never enters their context.
Intent-based discovery
Agents search Jentic with intents like import ssh key or revoke ssh access and Jentic returns the matching OS Login operation, its scopes, and its input schema.
Time to first call
Direct integration: a few hours to wire OAuth and key management. Through Jentic: under 15 minutes — search, load, execute.
Related APIs
Alternatives and complements available in the Jentic catalogue.
FAQs
Specific to using Cloud OS Login API through Jentic.
What authentication does the Cloud OS Login API use?
The API uses Google OAuth 2.0 with the cloud-platform or compute scope, plus the relevant OS Login admin or self-management role. Through Jentic, tokens come from a service account in the Jentic vault.
Can I delete an SSH key for a user who has left?
Yes. List the user's keys via GET /v1/{+name}/loginProfile, then DELETE /v1/{+name} for each public key fingerprint. The change propagates to every VM that uses OS Login.
What are the rate limits for the OS Login API?
Google Cloud meters profile reads and key writes under per-project quotas. Bulk imports should batch and back off; treat key propagation to VMs as eventually consistent in the order of seconds.
How do I import an SSH key through Jentic?
Search Jentic for import ssh public key, load the schema for POST /v1/{+parent}:importSshPublicKey, and execute it with the public key and an optional expirationTimeUsec. Jentic returns the resulting profile so the agent can confirm the binding.
Does this API authenticate the SSH session itself?
No — actual SSH authentication happens on each VM by the OS Login PAM module, which validates the inbound key against this API's bindings. This API only stores the bindings and profile data.
How do I find a user's POSIX username?
Call GET /v1/{+name}/loginProfile with the user resource name and read the posixAccounts field; each entry includes the username and UID assigned for OS Login.
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