Documentation

influxd-ctl join

The influxd-ctl join command joins a meta or data node data node to an InfluxDB Enterprise cluster. The command searches for influxd and influxd-meta processes running on the local machine bound to specific ports and determines if that process is an InfluxDB meta or data node.

  • 8088: Data node
  • 8091: Meta node

If the InfluxDB data or meta processes are running on non-default ports, the join operation cannot detect them.

Usage

influxd-ctl join [flags] <meta-node-http-bind-address>

Arguments

  • meta-node-http-bind-address: HTTP bind address of a meta node in an existing cluster. Use this argument to add un-joined meta or data node to an existing cluster.

Flags

FlagDescription
-pAdd the data node as a passive node
-vPrint verbose information when joining

Examples

Join a meta and data node into a cluster

In the following example, influxd-ctl join command detects a meta node process running at cluster-node-03:8091 and a data node process running at cluster-node-03:8088 and joins them into a new cluster.

influxd-ctl join
Command output
Joining meta node at localhost:8091
Searching for meta node on cluster-node-03:8091...
Searching for data node on cluster-node-03:8088...

Successfully created cluster

  * Added meta node 1 at cluster-node-03:8091
  * Added data node 2 at cluster-node-03:8088

  To join additional nodes to this cluster, run the following command:

  influxd-ctl join cluster-node-03:8091

Join a meta and data node to an existing cluster

In the following example, influxd-ctl join detects a meta node process running at cluster-node-03:8091 and a data node process running at cluster-node-03:8088. It uses the meta node running at cluster-meta-node-02:8091 in an existing cluster to join the newly detected meta and data nodes to the cluster.

influxd-ctl join cluster-meta-node-02:8091
Command output
Joining meta node at cluster-meta-node-02:8091
Searching for meta node on cluster-node-03:8091...
Searching for data node on cluster-node-03:8088...

Successfully joined cluster

  * Added meta node 3 at cluster-node-03:8091
  * Added data node 4 at cluster-node-03:8088

Join a meta node to an existing cluster

In the following example, influxd-ctl join detects a meta node process running at cluster-meta-node-03:8091, but does not detect a data node process. It uses the meta node running at cluster-meta-node-02:8091 in an existing cluster to join the newly detected meta node to the cluster.

influxd-ctl join cluster-meta-node-02:8091
Command output
Joining meta node at cluster-meta-node-02:8091
Searching for meta node on cluster-meta-node-03:8091...
Searching for data node on cluster-meta-node-03:8088...

Successfully joined cluster

  * Added meta node 18 at cluster-meta-node-03:8091
  * No data node added.  Run with -v to see more information

Troubleshoot influxd-ctl join

Common problems when attempting to join nodes to InfluxDB Enterprise clusters:

  • The influxd or influxd-meta processes are using non-standard ports and can’t be detected.
  • The influxd or influxd-meta processes are not running. Check the logs for startup errors.

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New in InfluxDB 3.5

Key enhancements in InfluxDB 3.5 and the InfluxDB 3 Explorer 1.3.

See the Blog Post

InfluxDB 3.5 is now available for both Core and Enterprise, introducing custom plugin repository support, enhanced operational visibility with queryable CLI parameters and manual node management, stronger security controls, and general performance improvements.

InfluxDB 3 Explorer 1.3 brings powerful new capabilities including Dashboards (beta) for saving and organizing your favorite queries, and cache querying for instant access to Last Value and Distinct Value caches—making Explorer a more comprehensive workspace for time series monitoring and analysis.

For more information, check out:

InfluxDB Docker latest tag changing to InfluxDB 3 Core

On November 3, 2025, the latest tag for InfluxDB Docker images will point to InfluxDB 3 Core. To avoid unexpected upgrades, use specific version tags in your Docker deployments.

If using Docker to install and run InfluxDB, the latest tag will point to InfluxDB 3 Core. To avoid unexpected upgrades, use specific version tags in your Docker deployments. For example, if using Docker to run InfluxDB v2, replace the latest version tag with a specific version tag in your Docker pull command–for example:

docker pull influxdb:2