Session Lifecycle

When you connect to an account through PAM, a session is created. The session tracks who connected, when, for how long, and what they did. Here's what happens at each stage.

Requesting Access

When you click Launch on an account from the My Access page (or run the CLI command), PAM checks:

1. Do you have permission? — You need a membership (on the folder or account) with the Connector or Admin role
2. Template requirements — If the template requires a reason, you'll be prompted to enter one. If it requires MFA, you'll need to verify your identity.

If everything checks out, the session is approved and you can connect.

Connecting

Once approved, the connection is established through the Gateway:

1. Your client (browser or CLI) connects to the Gateway
2. The Gateway fetches the account credentials from Infisical
3. The Gateway connects to the actual database or server
4. Traffic flows through the Gateway — you never see the credentials

For Web Access, this all happens in the browser. For CLI Access, the CLI starts a local proxy and you connect your preferred client to localhost.

During the Session

While you're connected:

• Recording — Every query (database) or command (SSH) is captured
• Session timer — The session has a maximum duration set by the template. When time runs out, you're disconnected.
• Logs upload — Session activity uploads to Infisical in real-time, so admins can monitor active sessions

You can see your active sessions on the Sessions page.

Ending the Session

A session ends when:

• You disconnect (close the browser tab, press Ctrl+C, or type exit)
• The max session duration is reached
• An admin terminates the session

Recordings are available in real-time — you can review activity even while the session is still active.

After the Session

Every session is logged:

• Audit log — records who accessed what, when, and from where
• Session recording — captures everything that happened during the session

Admins and Auditors can review sessions from the Sessions page. See Session Recording for details on how recordings work.

Next Steps

<CardGroup cols={2}> <Card title="Sessions" icon="display" href="/documentation/platform/pam/sessions/overview"> View and manage sessions. </Card> <Card title="Session Recording" icon="video" href="/documentation/platform/pam/sessions/session-recording"> How recordings are captured and stored. </Card> </CardGroup>