# Creating a Service Account

{% hint style="warning" %}
Please note the below steps can only be performed by a Symphony Messaging Pod Administrator as only they will have the necessary administrator privileges to access the Admin Portal. Please do not attempt this if you are not a Pod Administrator and reach out to your internal IT Helpdesk if you are unsure who your Symphony Messaging Pod Administrator is.
{% endhint %}

{% hint style="info" %}
If you are attempting to use the **Developer Sandbox** at [develop2.symphony.com](https://develop2.symphony.com), this section is not relevant for you. Please register for an account at the **Developer Center** at [developers.symphony.com](https://developers.symphony.com) and click on the request link in the welcome email to obtain your sandbox credentials.
{% endhint %}

In order to create a bot and begin your development journey, you must first create a bot user, also known as a service account. You can only do this yourself if you are a pod administrator on your Symphony Messaging pod. Otherwise, please seek assistance from your pod administrator or your internal IT Service Desk if you are unsure who to contact.

## Create a Bot User

### 1. Navigate to your Symphony Messaging Admin Portal for your Pod

For example, <https://mycompany.symphony.com/?admin[^1>]

### 2. Select Create an Account in the left navigation pane

<div align="left"><figure><img src="/files/XxDWA65MwdPc3hU5caMa" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure></div>

### 3. Select the Service Account tab

<div align="left"><figure><img src="/files/3xquPI7RFiVdpwLGi7Nc" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure></div>

### 4. Fill in your bot information

The bot username here has to match the username supplied by a bot configuration file exactly.

<div align="left"><figure><img src="/files/MYGbG0OWtEde9fLS8eKR" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure></div>

### 5. Fill in the RSA Public Key

Paste the entire contents of the *public key* in the **Authentication** section.\
This *public key* has to match the *private key* supplied by a bot.\
If you are unsure how to generate an RSA key pair, use the [Symphony Messaging Generator](/dev-tools/generator.md).

<div align="left"><figure><img src="/files/VJZz3dkFRdolJnAOnLND" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure></div>

### 6. Set roles and entitlements

Enable the required roles that your bot requires.

<div align="left" data-full-width="false"><figure><img src="/files/NRkoODhXX042E3PNLEp8" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure></div>

Enable the required entitlements that your bot requires.

<div align="left"><figure><img src="/files/A4vGKfDUzBDe9t7lwYxe" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure></div>

{% hint style="info" %}
Navigate to [Bot Permissions](/bots/overview-of-rest-api/bot-permissions.md) for a full list of bot roles and privileges.
{% endhint %}

### 7. Confirm Bot Creation

![](/files/4FETjaBft2trUmawCavW)

[^1]: This is an example address. Your company's pod might be located on a custom domain, in which case simply append **/?admin** behind your pod address to access the Admin Console.


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# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.developers.symphony.com/bots/getting-started/creating-a-bot-user.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.