HTTP Interface for User Management

This is an introduction to ArangoDB's HTTP interface for managing users.

The interface provides a simple means to add, update, and remove users. All users managed through this interface will be stored in the system collection _users. You should never manipulate the _users collection directly.

This specialized interface intentionally does not provide all functionality that is available in the regular document REST API.

Please note that user operations are not included in ArangoDB's replication.

Create User

Create a new user.

POST /_api/user

A JSON object with these properties is required:

  • passwd: The user password as a string. If no password is specified, the empty string will be used. If you pass the special value ARANGODB_DEFAULT_ROOT_PASSWORD, then the password will be set the value stored in the environment variable ARANGODB_DEFAULT_ROOT_PASSWORD. This can be used to pass an instance variable into ArangoDB. For example, the instance identifier from Amazon.
  • active: An optional flag that specifies whether the user is active. If not specified, this will default to true
  • user: The name of the user as a string. This is mandatory.
  • extra: An optional JSON object with arbitrary extra data about the user.

Create a new user. You need server access level Administrate in order to execute this REST call.

Example:

shell> curl -X POST --data-binary @- --dump - http://localhost:8529/_api/user <<EOF
{ 
  "user" : "admin@example", 
  "passwd" : "secure" 
}
EOF

HTTP/1.1 201 Created
content-type: application/json; charset=utf-8
x-content-type-options: nosniff

{ 
  "user" : "admin@example", 
  "active" : true, 
  "extra" : { 
  }, 
  "error" : false, 
  "code" : 201 
}

Return Codes

  • 201: Returned if the user can be added by the server
  • 400: If the JSON representation is malformed or mandatory data is missing from the request.
  • 401: Returned if you have No access database access level to the _system database.
  • 403: Returned if you have No access server access level.
  • 409: Returned if a user with the same name already exists.

Examples

shell> curl -X POST --data-binary @- --dump - http://localhost:8529/_api/user <<EOF
{ 
  "user" : "admin@example", 
  "passwd" : "secure" 
}
EOF

HTTP/1.1 201 Created
content-type: application/json; charset=utf-8
x-content-type-options: nosniff
show response body

Set the database access level

Set the database access level.

PUT /_api/user/{user}/database/{dbname}

A JSON object with these properties is required:

  • grant: Use "rw" to set the database access level to Administrate . Use "ro" to set the database access level to Access. Use "none" to set the database access level to No access.

Sets the database access levels for the database dbname of user user. You need the Administrate server access level in order to execute this REST call.

Example:

shell> curl -X PUT --data-binary @- --dump - http://localhost:8529/_api/user/admin@myapp/database/_system <<EOF
{ 
  "grant" : "rw" 
}
EOF

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
content-type: application/json; charset=utf-8
x-content-type-options: nosniff

{ 
  "_system" : "rw", 
  "error" : false, 
  "code" : 200 
}

Path Parameters

  • user (required): The name of the user.
  • dbname (required): The name of the database.

Return Codes

  • 200: Returned if the access level was changed successfully.
  • 400: If the JSON representation is malformed or mandatory data is missing from the request.
  • 401: Returned if you have No access database access level to the _system database.
  • 403: Returned if you have No access server access level.

Examples

shell> curl -X PUT --data-binary @- --dump - http://localhost:8529/_api/user/admin@myapp/database/_system <<EOF
{ 
  "grant" : "rw" 
}
EOF

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
content-type: application/json; charset=utf-8
x-content-type-options: nosniff
show response body

Set the collection access level

Set the collection access level.

PUT /_api/user/{user}/database/{dbname}/{collection}

A JSON object with these properties is required:

  • grant: Use "rw" to set the collection level access to Read/Write. Use "ro" to set the collection level access to Read Only. Use "none" to set the collection level access to No access.

Sets the collection access level for the collection in the database dbname for user user. You need the Administrate server access level in order to execute this REST call.

Example:

shell> curl -X PUT --data-binary @- --dump - http://localhost:8529/_api/user/admin@myapp/database/_system/reports <<EOF
{ 
  "grant" : "rw" 
}
EOF

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
content-type: application/json; charset=utf-8
x-content-type-options: nosniff

{ 
  "_system/reports" : "rw", 
  "error" : false, 
  "code" : 200 
}

Path Parameters

  • user (required): The name of the user.
  • dbname (required): The name of the database.
  • collection (required): The name of the collection.

Return Codes

  • 200: Returned if the access permissions were changed successfully.
  • 400: If the JSON representation is malformed or mandatory data is missing from the request.
  • 401: Returned if you have No access database access level to the _system database.
  • 403: Returned if you have No access server access level.

Examples

shell> curl -X PUT --data-binary @- --dump - http://localhost:8529/_api/user/admin@myapp/database/_system/reports <<EOF
{ 
  "grant" : "rw" 
}
EOF

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
content-type: application/json; charset=utf-8
x-content-type-options: nosniff
show response body

Clear the database access level

Clear the database access level, revert back to the default access level

DELETE /_api/user/{user}/database/{dbname}

Path Parameters

  • user (required): The name of the user.
  • dbname (required): The name of the database.

Clears the database access level for the database dbname of user user. As consequence the default database access level is used. If there is no defined default database access level, it defaults to No access. You need permission to the _system database in order to execute this REST call.

Example:

shell> curl -X DELETE --dump - http://localhost:8529/_api/user/admin@myapp/database/_system

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
content-type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
x-content-type-options: nosniff

Return Codes

  • 200: Returned if the access permissions were changed successfully.
  • 400: If the JSON representation is malformed or mandatory data is missing from the request.

Examples

shell> curl -X DELETE --dump - http://localhost:8529/_api/user/admin@myapp/database/_system

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
content-type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
x-content-type-options: nosniff

Clear the collection access level

Clear the collection access level, revert back to the default access level

DELETE /_api/user/{user}/database/{dbname}/{collection}

Path Parameters

  • user (required): The name of the user.
  • dbname (required): The name of the database.
  • collection (required): The name of the collection.

Clears the collection access level for the collection collection in the database dbname of user user. As consequence the default collection access level is used. If there is no defined default collection access level, it defaults to No access. You need permissions to the _system database in order to execute this REST call.

Example:

shell> curl -X DELETE --dump - http://localhost:8529/_api/user/admin@myapp/database/_system/reports

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
content-type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
x-content-type-options: nosniff

Return Codes

  • 200: Returned if the access permissions were changed successfully.
  • 400: If there was an error

Examples

shell> curl -X DELETE --dump - http://localhost:8529/_api/user/admin@myapp/database/_system/reports

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
content-type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
x-content-type-options: nosniff

List the accessible databases for a user

List the accessible databases for a user

GET /_api/user/{user}/database/

Path Parameters

  • user (required): The name of the user for which you want to query the databases.

Query Parameters

  • full (optional): Return the full set of access levels for all databases and all collections.

Fetch the list of databases available to the specified user. You need Administrate for the server access level in order to execute this REST call.

The call will return a JSON object with the per-database access privileges for the specified user. The result object will contain the databases names as object keys, and the associated privileges for the database as values.

In case you specified full, the result will contain the permissions for the databases as well as the permissions for the collections.

Example:

shell> curl --dump - http://localhost:8529/_api/user/anotherAdmin@secapp/database/

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
content-type: application/json; charset=utf-8
x-content-type-options: nosniff

{ 
  "error" : false, 
  "code" : 200, 
  "result" : { 
    "_system" : "rw" 
  } 
}

Example:

With the full response format:

shell> curl --dump - http://localhost:8529/_api/user/anotherAdmin@secapp/database?full=true

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
content-type: application/json; charset=utf-8
x-content-type-options: nosniff

{ 
  "error" : false, 
  "code" : 200, 
  "result" : { 
    "_system" : { 
      "permission" : "rw", 
      "collections" : { 
        "_apps" : "undefined", 
        "_appbundles" : "undefined", 
        "_queues" : "undefined", 
        "animals" : "undefined", 
        "_frontend" : "undefined", 
        "demo" : "undefined", 
        "_statistics15" : "undefined", 
        "_graphs" : "undefined", 
        "_aqlfunctions" : "undefined", 
        "_statistics" : "undefined", 
        "_modules" : "undefined", 
        "_statisticsRaw" : "undefined", 
        "_users" : "undefined", 
        "_routing" : "undefined", 
        "_jobs" : "undefined", 
        "*" : "none" 
      } 
    }, 
    "*" : { 
      "permission" : "none" 
    } 
  } 
}

Return Codes

  • 200: Returned if the list of available databases can be returned.
  • 400: If the access privileges are not right etc.
  • 401: Returned if you have No access database access level to the _system database.
  • 403: Returned if you have No access server access level.

Examples

shell> curl --dump - http://localhost:8529/_api/user/anotherAdmin@secapp/database/

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
content-type: application/json; charset=utf-8
x-content-type-options: nosniff
show response body

With the full response format:

shell> curl --dump - http://localhost:8529/_api/user/anotherAdmin@secapp/database?full=true

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
content-type: application/json; charset=utf-8
x-content-type-options: nosniff
show response body

Get the database access level

Get specific database access level

GET /_api/user/{user}/database/{database}

Path Parameters

  • user (required): The name of the user for which you want to query the databases.
  • database (required): The name of the database to query

Fetch the database access level for a specific database

Example:

shell> curl --dump - http://localhost:8529/_api/user/anotherAdmin@secapp/database/_system

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
content-type: application/json; charset=utf-8
x-content-type-options: nosniff

{ 
  "error" : false, 
  "code" : 200, 
  "result" : "rw" 
}

Return Codes

  • 200: Returned if the acccess level can be returned
  • 400: If the access privileges are not right etc.
  • 401: Returned if you have No access database access level to the _system database.
  • 403: Returned if you have No access server access level.

Examples

shell> curl --dump - http://localhost:8529/_api/user/anotherAdmin@secapp/database/_system

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
content-type: application/json; charset=utf-8
x-content-type-options: nosniff
show response body

Get the specific collection access level

Get the collection access level

GET /_api/user/{user}/database/{database}/{collection}

Path Parameters

  • user (required): The name of the user for which you want to query the databases.
  • database (required): The name of the database to query
  • collection (required): The name of the collection

Returns the collection access level for a specific collection

Example:

shell> curl --dump - http://localhost:8529/_api/user/anotherAdmin@secapp/database/_system/_users

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
content-type: application/json; charset=utf-8
x-content-type-options: nosniff

{ 
  "error" : false, 
  "code" : 200, 
  "result" : "none" 
}

Return Codes

  • 200: Returned if the acccess level can be returned
  • 400: If the access privileges are not right etc.
  • 401: Returned if you have No access database access level to the _system database.
  • 403: Returned if you have No access server access level.

Examples

shell> curl --dump - http://localhost:8529/_api/user/anotherAdmin@secapp/database/_system/_users

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
content-type: application/json; charset=utf-8
x-content-type-options: nosniff
show response body

Replace User

Replace an existing user.

PUT /_api/user/{user}

Path Parameters

  • user (required): The name of the user

A JSON object with these properties is required:

  • passwd: The user password as a string. Specifying a password is mandatory, but the empty string is allowed for passwords
  • active: An optional flag that specifies whether the user is active. If not specified, this will default to true
  • extra: An optional JSON object with arbitrary extra data about the user.

Replaces the data of an existing user. The name of an existing user must be specified in user. You need server access level Administrate in order to execute this REST call. Additionally, a user can change his/her own data.

Example:

shell> curl -X PUT --data-binary @- --dump - http://localhost:8529/_api/user/admin@myapp <<EOF
{ 
  "passwd" : "secure" 
}
EOF

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
content-type: application/json; charset=utf-8
x-content-type-options: nosniff

{ 
  "user" : "admin@myapp", 
  "active" : true, 
  "extra" : { 
  }, 
  "error" : false, 
  "code" : 200 
}

Return Codes

  • 200: Is returned if the user data can be replaced by the server.
  • 400: The JSON representation is malformed or mandatory data is missing from the request
  • 401: Returned if you have No access database access level to the _system database.
  • 403: Returned if you have No access server access level.
  • 404: The specified user does not exist

Examples

shell> curl -X PUT --data-binary @- --dump - http://localhost:8529/_api/user/admin@myapp <<EOF
{ 
  "passwd" : "secure" 
}
EOF

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
content-type: application/json; charset=utf-8
x-content-type-options: nosniff
show response body

Modify User

Modify attributes of an existing user

PATCH /_api/user/{user}

Path Parameters

  • user (required): The name of the user

A JSON object with these properties is required:

  • passwd: The user password as a string. Specifying a password is mandatory, but the empty string is allowed for passwords
  • active: An optional flag that specifies whether the user is active. If not specified, this will default to true
  • extra: An optional JSON object with arbitrary extra data about the user.

Partially updates the data of an existing user. The name of an existing user must be specified in user. You need server access level Administrate in order to execute this REST call. Additionally, a user can change his/her own data.

Example:

shell> curl -X PATCH --data-binary @- --dump - http://localhost:8529/_api/user/admin@myapp <<EOF
{ 
  "passwd" : "secure" 
}
EOF

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
content-type: application/json; charset=utf-8
x-content-type-options: nosniff

{ 
  "user" : "admin@myapp", 
  "active" : true, 
  "extra" : { 
  }, 
  "error" : false, 
  "code" : 200 
}

Return Codes

  • 200: Is returned if the user data can be replaced by the server.
  • 400: The JSON representation is malformed or mandatory data is missing from the request.
  • 401: Returned if you have No access database access level to the _system database.
  • 403: Returned if you have No access server access level.
  • 404: The specified user does not exist

Examples

shell> curl -X PATCH --data-binary @- --dump - http://localhost:8529/_api/user/admin@myapp <<EOF
{ 
  "passwd" : "secure" 
}
EOF

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
content-type: application/json; charset=utf-8
x-content-type-options: nosniff
show response body

Remove User

delete a user permanently.

DELETE /_api/user/{user}

Path Parameters

  • user (required): The name of the user

Removes an existing user, identified by user. You need Administrate for the server access level in order to execute this REST call.

Example:

shell> curl -X DELETE --data-binary @- --dump - http://localhost:8529/_api/user/userToDelete@myapp <<EOF
{ 
}
EOF

HTTP/1.1 202 Accepted
content-type: application/json; charset=utf-8
x-content-type-options: nosniff

{ 
  "error" : false, 
  "code" : 202 
}

Return Codes

  • 202: Is returned if the user was removed by the server
  • 401: Returned if you have No access database access level to the _system database.
  • 403: Returned if you have No access server access level.
  • 404: The specified user does not exist

Examples

shell> curl -X DELETE --data-binary @- --dump - http://localhost:8529/_api/user/userToDelete@myapp <<EOF
{ 
}
EOF

HTTP/1.1 202 Accepted
content-type: application/json; charset=utf-8
x-content-type-options: nosniff

{ 
  "error" : false, 
  "code" : 202 
}

Fetch User

fetch the properties of a user.

GET /_api/user/{user}

Path Parameters

  • user (required): The name of the user

Fetches data about the specified user. You can fetch information about yourself or you need the Administrate server access level in order to execute this REST call.

Example:

shell> curl --dump - http://localhost:8529/_api/user/admin@myapp

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
content-type: application/json; charset=utf-8
x-content-type-options: nosniff

{ 
  "user" : "admin@myapp", 
  "active" : true, 
  "extra" : { 
  }, 
  "error" : false, 
  "code" : 200 
}

Return Codes

  • 200: The user was found.
  • 401: Returned if you have No access database access level to the _system database.
  • 403: Returned if you have No access server access level.
  • 404: The user with the specified name does not exist.

Examples

shell> curl --dump - http://localhost:8529/_api/user/admin@myapp

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
content-type: application/json; charset=utf-8
x-content-type-options: nosniff
show response body

List available Users

fetch the properties of a user.

GET /_api/user/

Fetches data about all users. You need the Administrate server access level in order to execute this REST call. Otherwise, you will only get information about yourself.

The call will return a JSON object with at least the following attributes on success:

  • user: The name of the user as a string.
  • active: An optional flag that specifies whether the user is active.
  • extra: An optional JSON object with arbitrary extra data about the user.

Example:

shell> curl --dump - http://localhost:8529/_api/user

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
content-type: application/json; charset=utf-8
x-content-type-options: nosniff

{ 
  "error" : false, 
  "code" : 200, 
  "result" : [ 
    { 
      "user" : "root", 
      "active" : true, 
      "extra" : { 
      } 
    }, 
    { 
      "user" : "tester", 
      "active" : false, 
      "extra" : { 
      } 
    }, 
    { 
      "user" : "admin", 
      "active" : true, 
      "extra" : { 
      } 
    } 
  ] 
}

Return Codes

  • 200: The users that were found.
  • 401: Returned if you have No access database access level to the _system database.
  • 403: Returned if you have No access server access level.

Examples

shell> curl --dump - http://localhost:8529/_api/user

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
content-type: application/json; charset=utf-8
x-content-type-options: nosniff
show response body

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