Alibaba Cloud assigns a unique 16-digit identifier to every account, such as 0123456789012345. This identifier is known as the account ID (also written as Account ID or UID). The account ID is the basis for resource ownership, billing, and permission boundaries for all your resources on Alibaba Cloud. It is critical for automated operations and maintenance (O&M), permission management, and cross-account collaboration. This guide shows you several ways to find your account ID.
The account ID identifies your account. Although it is not confidential information like a password or an AccessKey, use and share it with caution.
Use cases
Use an account ID to precisely identify accounts and resource ownership in the following scenarios:
Cost and billing analysis: In downloaded billing reports, fields such as
ResourcePurchaseAccountIdandResourceOwnerAccountIdcontain the account ID for resource purchases or ownership.Call cloud product API calls: Some OpenAPIs for cross-account operations require the account ID as a parameter (such as
OwnerIdorOwnerAccount).Cross-account resource access: When you create a shared VPC or configure a VPC peering connection, the account ID is the unique identifier for the authorized party.
Cross-account authorization with Resource Access Management (RAM): When granting permissions to another Alibaba Cloud account, specify the other account's ID in the
Principalfield of the access policy.Alibaba Cloud Resource Name (ARN) construction: ARNs include the account ID to locate resources across all regions.
ECS instance ARN:
acs:ecs:{#regionId}:{#accountId}:instance/{#instanceId}OSS bucket ARN:
acs:oss:<region>:<account-id>:<relative-id>
Find your account ID
You can find your account ID in the console or via an OpenAPI, depending on your use case. Note that the information displayed in the console or returned by the OpenAPI varies depending on the identity that you use to sign in. The following sections provide instructions for an Alibaba Cloud account, a RAM user, and a RAM role.
Console
You can find the account ID by hovering over your profile picture in the upper-right corner of the console. The specific ID displayed depends on the identity that you use to sign in.
Alibaba Cloud account logon
Log on to the console with your Alibaba Cloud account. Hover over your profile picture in the upper-right corner to see your Account ID.
RAM user
Log on to the console as a RAM user. Hover over your profile picture in the upper-right corner to see the Alibaba Cloud account ID of the parent account (displayed as Main Account ID).
RAM role
Sign in to the console by assuming a RAM role. Hover over your profile picture in the upper-right corner to see the Alibaba Cloud account ID of the parent account (displayed as Main Account ID).
OpenAPI
Call the GetCallerIdentity API to obtain the account ID for the current caller. The API returns a JSON object that contains your identity information. The AccountId field contains the Alibaba Cloud account ID. The returned fields vary based on the caller's identity. The following table describes the key fields in the response:
Key API response field | Alibaba Cloud account | RAM user | RAM role |
IdentityType | Account | RAMUser | AssumedRoleUser |
AccountId | Your account ID | ID of the parent Alibaba Cloud account | ID of the parent Alibaba Cloud account |
UserId / RoleId | Same as AccountId | ID of the RAM user | ID of the RAM role |
PrincipalId | Same as AccountId | Same as UserId | RoleId:SessionName |
Comparison of account ID and login name
An account ID is a permanent, system-generated identifier used for programmatic access and resource attribution. In contrast, a login name is a mutable credential, such as an email address or alias, used only for logging into the console.
While they are often confused, they serve distinct purposes. Here is a detailed comparison:
Item | Account ID | Login name |
Nature | Identity identifier | Login credential |
Format | A unique, system-generated 16-digit number string | The email address that you use to log in |
Mutability | Cannot be changed | Can be changed; changing the login name does not affect the account ID |
Purpose | Programmatic identification, access policies, API calls, and billing attribution | Used only for logging in to the console |
When writing automation scripts, code, or access policies, you must use the static account ID to identify an account. Do not use the login name, because it can be changed and is not a reliable identifier for programmatic tasks.