Why integrate Pgcli with Okta Group Rules

The terminal cursor blinked, waiting for the next command. You’ve connected Pgcli to your database, but user access still depends on slow, manual provisioning. With Okta Group Rules, that bottleneck disappears.

Pgcli is a Postgres CLI tool with rich features like autocompletion, syntax highlighting, and structured output. Okta Group Rules let you automate group assignments in Okta based on user attributes. Combine them, and you get seamless, secure database access that updates in real time as your team changes.

Why integrate Pgcli with Okta Group Rules

Manual role management in Postgres doesn’t scale. Okta Group Rules link user attributes — such as department, location, or custom profiles — to Okta Groups automatically. Those groups map to database roles. When a user joins, changes teams, or leaves, Okta updates their group membership without you touching SQL grants by hand. Pgcli then becomes your efficient interface to verify and manage those roles.

How to set it up

1. Create Groups in Okta for each database role (e.g., db_readonly, db_admin).
2. Define Group Rules in Okta to auto-assign users based on attributes from your IdP.
3. Sync groups to Postgres using your preferred SCIM connector or directory integration.
4. Map Okta Groups to Postgres roles via GRANT statements.
5. Use Pgcli to verify role memberships with queries like:

\dg
SELECT rolname, rolmember FROM pg_auth_members;

6. Test by adding and removing a user from an Okta group and observing the changes live in Pgcli.

Best practices

• Align group names in Okta with role names in Postgres to simplify automation.
• Restrict high-privilege roles to explicit, audited conditions in Group Rules.
• Use Pgcli’s table formatting and syntax support for faster audits.
• Schedule periodic checks to confirm rules still match org structure.

When tuned correctly, Pgcli plus Okta Group Rules gives you instant, least-privilege access control at database speed. No stale accounts. No manual grants. Just a live reflection of your team’s state.

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