Users
TypeDB authenticates via login with a username and password.
Managing users
Like database management, all user management operations are administrative, meaning they are performed through the TypeDB Console or client drivers by a user with administrative privileges, rather than with TypeQL queries.
After first boot, the only user is admin. Cloud users will be able to set a custom initial password for admin during the initial
setup. In TypeDB CE, the default initial password for admin is password.
User creation and deletion
The lifecycle of a user is managed through a few simple commands. An administrator can add a new user at any time using user create
<username> [<password>] in the Console (you will be prompted for a password if it’s not provided), or programmatically with
driver.users.create("<username>", "<password>"). To view all users currently on the server, an administrator can use the user list
command. If a user’s access needs to be revoked, it can be done permanently with the user delete <username> command.
User updates
A user can change their password using user update-password <username> [<new-password>] in the Console (once again, you will be prompted
for a new password if it’s not provided), or programmatically with driver.users.updatePassword("<new-password>").
Administrators can change any user’s password, while normal users can only change their own passwords.
Permissions
TypeDB’s permission model is currently comprised of two roles. The administrator role is currently exclusive to the user admin and has full
administrative privileges, including the ability to manage users and databases. Any other user is considered a standard user and, by
default, is granted read and write permissions for all databases on the server, but cannot perform administrative actions. This model
simplifies permission management by focusing on user-level access rather than complex, object-level grants.
For a secure deployment, it is crucial to follow best practices. In a CE deployment, it is recommended to change the default admin password immediately. Furthermore, instead of using the powerful admin account for your applications, you should create dedicated standard users for each application or service. This follows the principle of least privilege and ensures that your applications have the necessary database access without possessing unnecessary administrative rights.
TypeDB Enterprise and TypeDB Cloud have role-based permssion systems in the roadmap. Reach out if this is critical to you!