--- title: Set up InfluxDB description: Learn how to set up InfluxDB for the “Get started with InfluxDB” tutorial. url: https://docs.influxdata.com/influxdb/v2/get-started/setup/ estimated_tokens: 6114 product: InfluxDB OSS v2 version: v2 publisher: InfluxData canonical: https://docs.influxdata.com/influxdb/v2/get-started/setup/ date: '2026-05-15T15:46:14-06:00' lastmod: '2026-05-15T15:46:14-06:00' --- * 1 / 5 This page documents an earlier version of InfluxDB OSS.[InfluxDB 3 Core](/influxdb3/core/) is the latest stable version. #### API token hashing is enabled by default in InfluxDB OSS 2.9.0 Stronger token security: tokens are stored as hashes on disk, so a copy of the database file doesn’t expose usable tokens. Existing tokens are hashed on first startup and the original strings can’t be recovered afterward — **capture any plaintext tokens you still need before you upgrade**. For more information, see [Token hashing](/influxdb/v2/admin/tokens/#token-hashing). As you get started with this tutorial, do the following to make sure everything you need is in place. * [Run the initial setup process](#run-initial-setup-process) * [Create an All Access API token](#create-an-all-access-api-token) * [Configure authentication credentials](#configure-authentication-credentials) * [Create a bucket](#create-a-bucket) 1. **Run the initial setup process**. After you [install and start InfluxDB](/influxdb/v2/install/), run the initial setup process to create the following: * An [organization](/influxdb/v2/admin/organizations/) with the name you provide. * A [bucket](/influxdb/v2/admin/buckets/) with the name you provide. * An admin [authorization](/influxdb/v2/admin/tokens/) with the following properties: * The username and password that you provide. * An API [Operator token](/influxdb/v2/admin/tokens/#operator-token). * Read-write permissions for all resources in the InfluxDB instance. You can use the InfluxDB UI, the `influx` CLI, or the HTTP API to run the setup process. * To run an interactive setup that prompts you for the required information, use the InfluxDB user interface (UI) or the `influx` command line interface (CLI). * To automate the setup–for example, with a script that you write– use the `influx` command line interface (CLI) or the `/api/v2/setup` InfluxDB API endpoint. > [!Note] > #### Automated setup with Docker #### > If you installed InfluxDB using [Docker with initial setup options](/influxdb/v2/install/?t=docker/#install-and-setup-influxdb-in-a-container), then you’ve already completed the setup process. If you installed InfluxDB using [Docker with initial setup options](/influxdb/v2/install/?t=docker/#install-and-setup-influxdb-in-a-container), then you’ve already completed the setup process. #### Set up with the UI #### 1. With InfluxDB running, visit [http://localhost:8086](http://localhost:8086). 2. Click **Get Started** #### Set up your initial user #### 1. Enter a **Username** for your initial user. 2. Enter a **Password** and **Confirm Password** for your user. 3. Enter your initial **Organization Name**. 4. Enter your initial **Bucket Name**. 5. Click **Continue**. 6. Copy the provided **operator API token** and store it for safe keeping. > [!Note] > > [!Note] > > [!Note] > We recommend using a password manager or a secret store to securely store > sensitive tokens. Your InfluxDB instance is now initialized. 1. Download and install the `influx` CLI, which provides a simple way to interact with InfluxDB from a command line. For detailed installation and setup instructions, see [Use the influx CLI](/influxdb/v2/tools/influx-cli/). 2. Use the `influx setup` CLI command to initialize your InfluxDB instance–choose one of the following: * **Set up with prompts**. To setup interactively, enter the following command: ``` influx setup ``` The command walks you through the initial setup process by prompting for a username, password, organization, bucket, and retention period. * **Set up non-interactively**. To run setup non-interactively (for example, in your automation scripts), pass [command line flags](/influxdb/v2/reference/cli/influx/setup/#flags) for the initialization values, and pass the `-f, --force` flag to bypass the final confirmation prompt–for example, enter the following command: ``` influx setup \ --username USERNAME \ --password PASSWORD \ --token TOKEN \ --org ORG_NAME \ --bucket BUCKET_NAME \ --force ``` Replace the following: * `USERNAME`: A name for your initial admin [user](/influxdb/v2/admin/users/) * `PASSWORD`: A password for your initial admin [user](/influxdb/v2/admin/users/) * `TOKEN`: A string value to set for the [*operator* token](/influxdb/v2/admin/tokens/#operator-token). If you don’t include this flag, InfluxDB generates a token for you and stores it in an[`influx` CLI connection configuration](/influxdb/v2/tools/influx-cli/#provide-required-authentication-credentials). * `ORG_NAME`: A name for your initial [organization](/influxdb/v2/admin/organizations/) * `BUCKET_NAME`: A name for your initial [bucket](/influxdb/v2/admin/buckets/) InfluxDB is initialized with an[Operator token](/influxdb/v2/admin/tokens/#operator-token),[user](/influxdb/v2/reference/glossary/#user),[organization](/influxdb/v2/reference/glossary/#organization), and [bucket](/influxdb/v2/reference/glossary/#bucket). The output is similar to the following: ``` User Organization Bucket USERNAME ORGANIZATION_NAME BUCKET_NAME ``` InfluxDB stores these values in a `default` connection configuration that provides your InfluxDB URL, organization, and API token to `influx` CLI commands. For information about connection configurations, see [`influx config`](/influxdb/v2/reference/cli/influx/config/). Send a request to the following HTTP API endpoint: ``` POST http://localhost:8086/api/v2/setup ``` The `POST /api/v2/setup` API endpoint doesn’t require authentication In the request body, specify values for the initial username, password, organization, bucket, and an optional Operator token–for example: ``` curl http://localhost:8090/api/v2/setup \ --data '{ "username": "USERNAME", "password": "PASSWORD", "token": "TOKEN", "bucket": "BUCKET_NAME", "org": "ORG_NAME" }' ``` Replace the following: * `USERNAME`: A name for your initial admin [user](/influxdb/v2/admin/users/) * `PASSWORD`: A password for your initial admin [user](/influxdb/v2/admin/users/) * `ORG_NAME`: A name for your initial [organization](/influxdb/v2/admin/organizations/) * `BUCKET_NAME`: A name for your initial [bucket](/influxdb/v2/admin/buckets/) * `TOKEN`: A string value to set for the [*operator* token](/influxdb/v2/admin/tokens/#operator-token). If you don’t include this flag, InfluxDB generates a token for you. The response body contains the created resources, including the [Operator token](/influxdb/v2/admin/tokens/#operator-token) and its list of permissions. We recommend using a password manager or a secret store to securely store sensitive tokens. For more options and details, see the [`POST /api/v2/setup` API endpoint documentation](/influxdb/v2/api/setup/). 2. Recommended: **Create an All Access API token.** During the [InfluxDB initial set up process](/influxdb/v2/install/#set-up-influxdb), you created an admin user and [Operator token](/influxdb/v2/admin/tokens/#operator-token)that have permissions to manage everything in your InfluxDB instance. While you can use your Operator token to interact with InfluxDB, we recommend creating an [All Access token](/influxdb/v2/admin/tokens/#all-access-token) that is scoped to an organization, and then using this token to manage InfluxDB. Use the **InfluxDB UI**, **`influx` CLI**, or **InfluxDB API** to create an All Access token. #### InfluxDB UI #### 1. Visit[localhost:8086](http://localhost:8086) in a browser to log in and access the InfluxDB UI. 2. Navigate to **Load Data** \> **API Tokens** using the left navigation bar. 3. Click **+ Generate API token** and select**All Access API Token**. 4. Enter a description for the API token and click **✓ Save**. 5. Copy the generated token and store it for safe keeping. 1. If you haven’t already, [download, install, and configure the `influx` CLI](/influxdb/v2/tools/influx-cli/). 2. Use the [`influx auth create` command](/influxdb/v2/reference/cli/influx/auth/create/)to create an All Access token. Provide the following: * `--all-access` flag * `--host` flag with your [InfluxDB host URL](/influxdb/v2/reference/urls/) * `-o, --org` or `--org-id` flags with your InfluxDB organization name or[ID](/influxdb/v2/admin/organizations/view-orgs/#view-your-organization-id) * `-t, --token` flag with your Operator token ``` influx auth create \ --all-access \ --host http://localhost:8086 \ --org \ --token ``` 3. Copy the generated token and store it for safe keeping. Send a request to the InfluxDB API `/api/v2/authorizations` endpoint using the `POST` request method. ``` POST http://localhost:8086/api/v2/authorizations ``` Include the following with your request: * **Headers**: * **Authorization**: Token \ * **Content-Type**: application/json * **Request body**: JSON body with the following properties: * **status**: `"active"` * **description**: API token description * **orgID**: [InfluxDB organization ID](/influxdb/v2/admin/organizations/view-orgs/#view-your-organization-id) * **permissions**: Array of objects where each object represents permissions for an InfluxDB resource type or a specific resource. Each permission contains the following properties: * **action**: “read” or “write” * **resource**: JSON object that represents the InfluxDB resource to grant permission to. Each resource contains at least the following properties: * **orgID**: [InfluxDB organization ID](/influxdb/v2/admin/organizations/view-orgs/#view-your-organization-id) * **type**: Resource type.*For information about what InfluxDB resource types exist, use the[`/api/v2/resources` endpoint](/influxdb/v2/api/resources/).* The following example uses cURL and the InfluxDB API to generate an All Access token: ``` export INFLUX_HOST=http://localhost:8086 export INFLUX_ORG_ID= export INFLUX_TOKEN= curl --request POST \ "$INFLUX_HOST/api/v2/authorizations" \ --header "Authorization: Token $INFLUX_TOKEN" \ --header "Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8" \ --data '{ "status": "active", "description": "All access token for get started tutorial", "orgID": "'"$INFLUX_ORG_ID"'", "permissions": [ {"action": "read", "resource": {"orgID": "'"$INFLUX_ORG_ID"'", "type": "authorizations"}}, {"action": "write", "resource": {"orgID": "'"$INFLUX_ORG_ID"'", "type": "authorizations"}}, {"action": "read", "resource": {"orgID": "'"$INFLUX_ORG_ID"'", "type": "buckets"}}, {"action": "write", "resource": {"orgID": "'"$INFLUX_ORG_ID"'", "type": "buckets"}}, {"action": "read", "resource": {"orgID": "'"$INFLUX_ORG_ID"'", "type": "dashboards"}}, {"action": "write", "resource": {"orgID": "'"$INFLUX_ORG_ID"'", "type": "dashboards"}}, {"action": "read", "resource": {"orgID": "'"$INFLUX_ORG_ID"'", "type": "orgs"}}, {"action": "write", "resource": {"orgID": "'"$INFLUX_ORG_ID"'", "type": "orgs"}}, {"action": "read", "resource": {"orgID": "'"$INFLUX_ORG_ID"'", "type": "sources"}}, {"action": "write", "resource": {"orgID": "'"$INFLUX_ORG_ID"'", "type": "sources"}}, {"action": "read", "resource": {"orgID": "'"$INFLUX_ORG_ID"'", "type": "tasks"}}, {"action": "write", "resource": {"orgID": "'"$INFLUX_ORG_ID"'", "type": "tasks"}}, {"action": "read", "resource": {"orgID": "'"$INFLUX_ORG_ID"'", "type": "telegrafs"}}, {"action": "write", "resource": {"orgID": "'"$INFLUX_ORG_ID"'", "type": "telegrafs"}}, {"action": "read", "resource": {"orgID": "'"$INFLUX_ORG_ID"'", "type": "users"}}, {"action": "write", "resource": {"orgID": "'"$INFLUX_ORG_ID"'", "type": "users"}}, {"action": "read", "resource": {"orgID": "'"$INFLUX_ORG_ID"'", "type": "variables"}}, {"action": "write", "resource": {"orgID": "'"$INFLUX_ORG_ID"'", "type": "variables"}}, {"action": "read", "resource": {"orgID": "'"$INFLUX_ORG_ID"'", "type": "scrapers"}}, {"action": "write", "resource": {"orgID": "'"$INFLUX_ORG_ID"'", "type": "scrapers"}}, {"action": "read", "resource": {"orgID": "'"$INFLUX_ORG_ID"'", "type": "secrets"}}, {"action": "write", "resource": {"orgID": "'"$INFLUX_ORG_ID"'", "type": "secrets"}}, {"action": "read", "resource": {"orgID": "'"$INFLUX_ORG_ID"'", "type": "labels"}}, {"action": "write", "resource": {"orgID": "'"$INFLUX_ORG_ID"'", "type": "labels"}}, {"action": "read", "resource": {"orgID": "'"$INFLUX_ORG_ID"'", "type": "views"}}, {"action": "write", "resource": {"orgID": "'"$INFLUX_ORG_ID"'", "type": "views"}}, {"action": "read", "resource": {"orgID": "'"$INFLUX_ORG_ID"'", "type": "documents"}}, {"action": "write", "resource": {"orgID": "'"$INFLUX_ORG_ID"'", "type": "documents"}}, {"action": "read", "resource": {"orgID": "'"$INFLUX_ORG_ID"'", "type": "notificationRules"}}, {"action": "write", "resource": {"orgID": "'"$INFLUX_ORG_ID"'", "type": "notificationRules"}}, {"action": "read", "resource": {"orgID": "'"$INFLUX_ORG_ID"'", "type": "notificationEndpoints"}}, {"action": "write", "resource": {"orgID": "'"$INFLUX_ORG_ID"'", "type": "notificationEndpoints"}}, {"action": "read", "resource": {"orgID": "'"$INFLUX_ORG_ID"'", "type": "checks"}}, {"action": "write", "resource": {"orgID": "'"$INFLUX_ORG_ID"'", "type": "checks"}}, {"action": "read", "resource": {"orgID": "'"$INFLUX_ORG_ID"'", "type": "dbrp"}}, {"action": "write", "resource": {"orgID": "'"$INFLUX_ORG_ID"'", "type": "dbrp"}}, {"action": "read", "resource": {"orgID": "'"$INFLUX_ORG_ID"'", "type": "notebooks"}}, {"action": "write", "resource": {"orgID": "'"$INFLUX_ORG_ID"'", "type": "notebooks"}}, {"action": "read", "resource": {"orgID": "'"$INFLUX_ORG_ID"'", "type": "annotations"}}, {"action": "write", "resource": {"orgID": "'"$INFLUX_ORG_ID"'", "type": "annotations"}}, {"action": "read", "resource": {"orgID": "'"$INFLUX_ORG_ID"'", "type": "remotes"}}, {"action": "write", "resource": {"orgID": "'"$INFLUX_ORG_ID"'", "type": "remotes"}}, {"action": "read", "resource": {"orgID": "'"$INFLUX_ORG_ID"'", "type": "replications"}}, {"action": "write", "resource": {"orgID": "'"$INFLUX_ORG_ID"'", "type": "replications"}} ] } ' ``` [](#) The response body contains a JSON object with the following properties: * **id**: API Token ID * **token**: API Token (Important) * **status**: Token status * **description**: Token description * **orgID**: InfluxDB organization ID the token is associated with * **org**: InfluxDB organization name the token is associated with * **userID**: User ID the token is associated with * **user**: Username the token is associated with * **permissions**: List of permissions for organization resources **Copy the generated `token` and store it for safe keeping.** We recommend using a password manager or a secret store to securely store sensitive tokens. 3. **Configure authentication credentials**. As you go through this tutorial, interactions with InfluxDB 2.9require your InfluxDB **host**, **organization name or ID**, and your **API token**. How you provide credentials depends on which client you use to interact with InfluxDB. > [!Note] > When configuring your token, if you [created an All Access token](#create-an-all-access-api-token), > use that token to interact with InfluxDB. > Otherwise, use the Operator token that you created during the setup process. #### InfluxDB UI #### When managing InfluxDB through the InfluxDB UI, authentication credentials are provided automatically using credentials associated with the user you log in with. There are three ways to provided authentication credentials to the `influx` CLI: [](#cli-connection-configurations-recommended) CLI connection configurations *(Recommended)* The `influx` CLI lets you specify connection configuration presets that let you store and quickly switch between multiple sets of InfluxDB connection credentials. A connection configuration stores your credentials to avoid having to pass your InfluxDB API token with each `influx` command. If you [set up InfluxDB](#set-up-influxdb) using the CLI, it creates a default[connection configuration](/influxdb/v2/reference/cli/influx/config/) for you. Use the [`influx config create` command](/influxdb/v2/reference/cli/influx/config/create/)to manually create a new CLI connection configuration for the All Access token you created in the preceding step. Include the following flags: ``` influx config create \ --config-name get-started \ --host-url http://localhost:8086 \ --org ORG_NAME \ --token API_TOKEN ``` Replace the following: * `get-started`: Connection configuration name. Examples in this tutorial use `get-started`. * `http://localhost:8086`: [InfluxDB host URL](/influxdb/v2/reference/urls/). * `ORG`: [your organization name](/influxdb/v2/admin/organizations/view-orgs/). * `API_TOKEN`: [your API token](/influxdb/v2/admin/tokens/view-tokens/). *For more information about `influx` CLI connection configurations, see[Install and use the `influx` CLI](/influxdb/v2/tools/influx-cli/#set-up-the-influx-cli).* [](#environment-variables) Environment variables The `influx` CLI checks for specific environment variables and, if present, uses those environment variables to populate authentication credentials. Set the following environment variables in your command line session: * `INFLUX_HOST`: [InfluxDB host URL](/influxdb/v2/reference/urls/). * `INFLUX_ORG`: InfluxDB organization name. * `INFLUX_ORG_ID`: InfluxDB [organization ID](/influxdb/v2/admin/organizations/view-orgs/#view-your-organization-id). * `INFLUX_TOKEN`: InfluxDB API token. ``` export INFLUX_HOST=localhost:8086 export INFLUX_ORG= export INFLUX_ORG_ID= export INFLUX_TOKEN= ``` Replace the following: * ``: The name of your [organization](/influxdb/v2/admin/organizations/) * ``: Your [organization ID](/influxdb/v2/admin/organizations/view-orgs/#view-your-organization-id) * ``: Your [All Access token](#create-an-all-access-api-token) or operator [token](/influxdb/v2/admin/tokens/) [](#command-line-flags) Command line flags Use the following `influx` CLI flags to provide required credentials to commands: * `--host`: [InfluxDB host URL](/influxdb/v2/reference/urls/). * `-o`, `--org` or `--org-id`: InfluxDB organization name or[ID](/influxdb/v2/admin/organizations/view-orgs/#view-your-organization-id). * `-t`, `--token`: InfluxDB API token. > [!Note] > All `influx` CLI examples in this getting started tutorial assume your InfluxDB**host**, **organization**, and **token** are provided by either the[active `influx` CLI configuration](/influxdb/v2/reference/cli/influx/#provide-required-authentication-credentials)or by environment variables. When using the InfluxDB API, provide the required connection credentials in the following ways: * **InfluxDB host**: The domain and port to send HTTP(S) requests to. * **InfluxDB API Token**: Include an `Authorization` header that uses either the`Bearer` or `Token` scheme and your InfluxDB [API token](/influxdb/v2/admin/tokens/)–for example: ``` Authorization: Bearer 0xxx0o0XxXxx00Xxxx000xXXxoo0== ``` * **InfluxDB organization name or ID**: Depending on the API endpoint used, pass this as part of the URL path, query string, or in the request body. All API examples in this tutorial use **cURL** from a command line. To provide all the necessary credentials to the example cURL commands, set the following environment variables in your command line session. ``` export INFLUX_HOST=http://localhost:8086 export INFLUX_ORG= export INFLUX_ORG_ID= export INFLUX_TOKEN= ``` Replace the following: * ``: The name of your [organization](/influxdb/v2/admin/organizations/) * ``: Your [organization ID](/influxdb/v2/admin/organizations/view-orgs/#view-your-organization-id) * ``: Your [All Access token](#create-an-all-access-api-token) or Operator token 4. Optional: **Create a bucket**. In the [initial setup process](#run-initial-setup-process), you created a bucket. You can use that bucket or create one specifically for this getting started tutorial. All examples in this tutorial assume a bucket named*get-started*. Use the **InfluxDB UI**, **`influx` CLI**, or **InfluxDB API** to create a new bucket. #### InfluxDB UI #### 1. Visit[localhost:8086](http://localhost:8086) in a browser to log in and access the InfluxDB UI. 2. Navigate to **Load Data** \> **Buckets** using the left navigation bar. 3. Click **+ Create bucket**. 4. Provide a bucket name (get-started) and select Neverto create a bucket with an infinite [retention period](/influxdb/v2/reference/glossary/#retention-period). 5. Click **Create**. 1. If you haven’t already, [download, install, and configure the `influx` CLI](/influxdb/v2/tools/influx-cli/). 2. Use the [`influx bucket create` command](/influxdb/v2/reference/cli/influx/bucket/create/) to create a bucket. **Provide the following**: * `-n, --name` flag with the bucket name. * [Connection and authentication credentials](#configure-authentication-credentials) ``` influx bucket create --name get-started ``` To create a bucket using the InfluxDB HTTP API, send a request to the InfluxDB API `/api/v2/buckets` endpoint using the `POST` request method. ``` POST http://localhost:8086/api/v2/buckets ``` Include the following with your request: * **Headers**: * **Authorization**: Token `INFLUX_TOKEN` * **Content-Type**: `application/json` * **Request body**: JSON object with the following properties: * **org**: InfluxDB organization name * **name**: Bucket name * **retentionRules**: List of retention rule objects that define the bucket’s retention period. Each retention rule object has the following properties: * **type**: `"expire"` * **everySeconds**: Retention period duration in seconds.`0` indicates the retention period is infinite. The following example shows how to use cURL and the InfluxDB API to create a bucket: ``` export INFLUX_HOST=http://localhost:8086 export INFLUX_ORG_ID= export INFLUX_TOKEN= curl --request POST \ "$INFLUX_HOST/api/v2/buckets" \ --header "Authorization: Token $INFLUX_TOKEN" \ --header "Content-Type: application/json" \ --data '{ "orgID": "'"$INFLUX_ORG_ID"'", "name": "get-started", "retentionRules": [ { "type": "expire", "everySeconds": 0 } ] }' ``` [Get started](/influxdb/v2/get-started/)[Write data](/influxdb/v2/get-started/write/) #### Related * [Install InfluxDB OSS v2](/influxdb/v2/install/) * [InfluxDB configuration options](/influxdb/v2/reference/config-options/) * [Manage API tokens](/influxdb/v2/admin/tokens/) * [Manage buckets](/influxdb/v2/admin/buckets/) * [Install and use the influx CLI](/influxdb/v2/tools/influx-cli/)