Database - Zitadel — ContextQMD

Database Configuration

<Callout type="info"> Even if you provision the PostgreSQL user and database manually, you must still run `zitadel init schema` to bootstrap the required schemas and tables before running `start-from-setup` or `zitadel start`. Skipping this step causes `relation "eventstore.events" does not exist` errors. See the [Managed PostgreSQL / No Admin Access](#managed-postgresql--no-admin-access) section below for the exact steps.

The command is zitadel init schema (alias: zitadel init zitadel for backwards compatibility). </Callout>

ZITADEL with Postgres

PostgreSQL is the default database for ZITADEL due to its reliability, robustness, and adherence to SQL standards. It is well-suited for handling the complex data requirements of an identity management system.

If you are using Zitadel v2 and want to use a PostgreSQL database, you can overwrite the default configuration.

Currently, versions 14 to 18 are supported.

Connect ZITADEL to your PostgreSQL database by providing a DSN (connection URL) via the environment variable:

bash

export ZITADEL_DATABASE_POSTGRES_DSN=postgresql://zitadel:password@localhost:5432/zitadel?sslmode=disable

If you prefer configuration files, set the DSN in your YAML config:

yaml

Database:
  postgres:
    DSN: postgresql://zitadel:password@localhost:5432/zitadel?sslmode=disable
    MaxOpenConns: 15
    MaxIdleConns: 10
    MaxConnLifetime: 1h
    MaxConnIdleTime: 5m

Pool and tuning settings can be configured alongside the DSN as overlays. SSL is configured through DSN query parameters. For example, to require TLS with certificate verification:

bash

postgresql://zitadel:[email protected]:5432/zitadel?sslmode=verify-full&sslrootcert=/path/to/ca.crt

Managed PostgreSQL / No Admin Access

If you don't have a PostgreSQL superuser available (e.g. managed services like RDS, Cloud SQL, or Azure Database), you can pre-provision the user and database yourself and skip the admin-credential requirement.

The init command performs two steps that require different privileges:

Provisioning step — CREATE ROLE, CREATE DATABASE, GRANT → requires a superuser/admin.
Schema bootstrapping step — creates schemas (eventstore, projections, system) and tables → requires only database owner privileges.

If you handle the provisioning step manually, you still must run the schema bootstrapping step. Use the dedicated sub-command zitadel init schema, which performs only schema bootstrapping using the service user credentials — no admin privileges needed.

Provisioning step — Provision user and database (run as superuser)

<Callout type="warn"> Replace `<strong-password>` with a strong, unique password and store it in a secret manager. Do not use trivial passwords in production. </Callout>

sql

CREATE ROLE zitadel LOGIN PASSWORD '<strong-password>';
CREATE DATABASE zitadel WITH OWNER zitadel;
-- The GRANT below is redundant when zitadel is the database owner,
-- but is included for clarity. Owners implicitly hold all privileges.
GRANT CONNECT, CREATE ON DATABASE zitadel TO zitadel;

Adjust pg_hba.conf if needed to allow the zitadel user to connect.

Schema bootstrapping step — Bootstrap schemas and tables (run as the service user)

Provide the DSN with the service user credentials. For managed/remote PostgreSQL, set sslmode to require or verify-full to encrypt the connection. disable is only appropriate for local development.

bash

ZITADEL_DATABASE_POSTGRES_DSN=postgresql://zitadel:<strong-password>@<your-host>:5432/zitadel?sslmode=require \
    zitadel init schema

Run setup and start

<Callout type="note"> For production deployments, configure TLS to encrypt authentication traffic. See the [TLS configuration guide](/self-hosting/manage/tls_modes) for the available modes. </Callout>

bash

ZITADEL_DATABASE_POSTGRES_DSN=postgresql://zitadel:<strong-password>@<your-host>:5432/zitadel?sslmode=require \
    zitadel start-from-setup --masterkey "<32-character-key>"

See the phases guide for details on separating init, setup, and runtime for production deployments.

Zitadel Credentials

The init phase of ZITADEL creates the ZITADEL database user if it does not exist and admin credentials are provided. Init does not update or deprecate existing users or passwords. If you need to change the ZITADEL database user or rotate its password, you must do this manually.

<Callout type="warn"> The `init` command is designed to be run **only once**, during the initial setup of ZITADEL. Running `init` again after changing the database user or credentials does **not** migrate database object ownerships, nor does it reassign permissions on schemas, tables, or other objects to a new user. You must update these permissions manually if you switch users. </Callout>

Rotating Database Credentials

If you must rotate the credentials:

You can change the password for the existing ZITADEL user, but you must manually update the password wherever ZITADEL needs it.
Creating a new database user requires manual reassignment of ownership and privileges for all required database objects (schemas, tables, etc.) to the new user.
After migration, remove or deprecate the old user using admin access and commands appropriate for your database provider.

Attempting to run init a second time with new credentials will fail if the user already exists, and will not change existing permissions or migrate data.

<Callout type="warn"> Dropping and recreating the database does **not** automatically remove existing users. Always verify and clean up old users if necessary. </Callout>