authn: !UserTable
rules:
# admin always requires a password
- user: admin
method: PASSWORD
# We trust local connections
- remoteAddress: 127.0.0.1
method: TRUST
# Everything else requires a password
- method: PASSWORD
Authentication
XTDB provides authentication to control database access and secure connections. Authentication rules determine which users can connect and what credentials they must provide.
Authentication Providers
XTDB supports two authentication providers:
-
User Table (
!UserTable
): Uses an internal user table with password-based authentication -
OpenID Connect (
!OpenIdConnect
): Integrates with external identity providers like Keycloak, Auth0, AWS Cognito or Azure Entra.
User Table
The !UserTable
authentication method uses an internal user table with password-based authentication.
Configuration
User Management
- Default User
-
The
pg_user
table contains a default user "xtdb" with password "xtdb". - Creating Users
CREATE USER alan WITH PASSWORD 'TURING'
- Modifying Users
ALTER USER ada WITH PASSWORD 'LOVELACE'
- Password Validation
-
When
PASSWORD
method is specified, credentials are validated against thepg_user
table entries.
OpenID Connect (OIDC)
The !OpenIdConnect
authentication method integrates with external identity providers like Keycloak, Auth0, AWS Cognito or Azure Entra.
Basic Configuration
authn: !OpenIdConnect
issuerUrl: https://your-keycloak.example.com/realms/master
clientId: xtdb-client
clientSecret: !Env OIDC_CLIENT_SECRET
rules:
- user: oidc-client
method: CLIENT_CREDENTIALS
- method: PASSWORD
For complete OIDC configuration, setup guides, and troubleshooting, see OpenID Connect Authentication.
Rule Configuration
XTDB controls database access through authentication rules that match users and IP addresses to determine the required authentication method.
Authentication Rules
Authentication rules are evaluated in order until the first match. If no rules match, the connection is rejected.
- Rule Parameters
-
-
user
(optional): Match specific username -
remoteAddress
(optional): Match IP address or CIDR block (IPv4 or IPv6) -
method
(required): Authentication method to use
-
- Available Methods
-
-
TRUST
: No authentication required -
PASSWORD
: Require username/password validation -
CLIENT_CREDENTIALS
: OAuth client credentials flow (OIDC only) -
DEVICE_AUTH
: OAuth device authorization flow (OIDC only)
-
- Example Rule
- user: admin
remoteAddress: 127.0.0.1
method: PASSWORD
This rule requires the admin
user to provide a password when connecting from localhost
.
- Server Configuration
-
Authentication rules are configured at server startup and apply to both Postgres wire protocol and HTTP connections. For HTTP, authentication must be provided with each request as HTTP is stateless.