Documentation

Manage users and authentication

User authentication is a preview feature

Multi-user authentication is available as a preview in InfluxDB 3 Enterprise 3.10 and is off by default. Existing apiv3_ token workflows are unaffected. Two known limitations apply:

  • influxdb3 auth logout removes local credentials but does not revoke the issued JWT server-side.
  • A non-admin user can currently create tokens with broader permissions than their assigned role.

Multi-user authentication lets users log in to InfluxDB 3 Enterprise with individual credentials that issue JSON Web Tokens (JWTs), with access governed by role-based access control (RBAC). It complements–but doesn’t replace–apiv3_ token authentication.

Enable user authentication

User authentication is off by default (--without-user-auth true). To enable it, start the server with --without-user-auth false:

influxdb3 serve --without-user-auth false

For the complete list of authentication serve flags, see the influxdb3 serve CLI reference.

Configure JWT signing keys

User authentication signs JWTs with an RSA private key that must be in PKCS#1 format. Generate a compatible key with the -traditional flag:

openssl genrsa -traditional -out jwt-private-key.pem 2048

Use PKCS#1 keys, not PKCS#8

A PKCS#8 key (the default openssl genrsa output without -traditional) silently fails to sign tokens. Always generate the key with openssl genrsa -traditional.

Bootstrap the initial admin

After enabling user authentication, create the initial admin user and operator token with influxdb3 manage init-admin:

influxdb3 manage init-admin

For complete syntax, see the influxdb3 manage CLI reference.

Log in and out

Users authenticate with influxdb3 auth login and end their session with influxdb3 auth logout:

influxdb3 auth login

Credentials are stored at ~/.influxdb3/credentials.json and refreshed automatically.

influxdb3 auth logout removes the local credentials but does not revoke the issued JWT server-side. The token remains valid until it expires.

Optional: Authenticate with OAuth/OIDC

You can optionally delegate authentication to an OAuth/OIDC identity provider using the --oauth-* serve flags (for example, --oauth-issuer, --oauth-client-id). See the influxdb3 serve CLI reference for the full set of OAuth flags.

Roles

InfluxDB 3 Enterprise includes three built-in roles–Admin, Auditor, and Member. Assign roles to users to control what they can do. For details on each role and the permissions model, see Role-based access control (RBAC).

Authoring custom roles is not available in InfluxDB 3.10. Use the built-in roles.


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InfluxDB OSS 2.9.0: API tokens are hashed by default

Stronger token security in InfluxDB OSS 2.9.0 — tokens are hashed on disk by default. Existing tokens are hashed on first startup and can’t be recovered afterward. Capture any plaintext tokens you still need before you upgrade.

View InfluxDB OSS 2.9.0 release notes

Hashed tokens authenticate exactly like unhashed tokens — clients and integrations keep working.

Also new in 2.9.0:

  • Configurable backup compression
  • Restore support for backups containing hashed tokens
  • Tighter Edge Data Replication queue validation
  • Flux upgrade
  • Compaction reliability improvements

Key enhancements in Explorer 1.8

Explorer 1.8 is now available with streaming data subscriptions (beta), line protocol preview, and query history & saved queries.

View Explorer 1.8 release notes

Explorer 1.8 includes new features and improvements that make it easier to ingest, explore, and manage data.

Highlights:

  • Streaming data subscriptions (beta): Stream data into Explorer from MQTT, Kafka, and AMQP sources.
  • Line protocol preview: Preview line protocol, schema, and parse errors before data is written.
  • Custom sample data: Generate custom sample datasets with line protocol and schema preview.
  • Query history and saved queries: Browse query history and save/re-run named queries.
  • Retention period management: Set, update, or clear retention periods on databases and tables.

For more details, see Explorer 1.8 release notes

InfluxDB 3.9: Performance upgrade preview

InfluxDB 3 Enterprise 3.9 includes a beta of major performance upgrades with faster single-series queries, wide-and-sparse table support, and more.

InfluxDB 3 Enterprise 3.9 includes a beta of major performance and feature updates.

Key improvements:

  • Faster single-series queries
  • Consistent resource usage
  • Wide-and-sparse table support
  • Automatic distinct value caches for reduced latency with metadata queries

Preview features are subject to breaking changes.

For more information, see:

Telegraf Enterprise now in public beta

Get early access to the Telegraf Controller and provide feedback to help shape the future of Telegraf Enterprise.

See the Blog Post

The upcoming Telegraf Enterprise offering is for organizations running Telegraf at scale and is comprised of two key components:

  • Telegraf Controller: A control plane (UI + API) that centralizes Telegraf configuration management and agent health visibility.
  • Telegraf Enterprise Support: Official support for Telegraf Controller and Telegraf plugins.

Join the Telegraf Enterprise beta to get early access to the Telegraf Controller and provide feedback to help shape the future of Telegraf Enterprise.

For more information:

Telegraf Controller v0.0.7-beta now available

Telegraf Controller v0.0.7-beta is now available with new features, improvements, bug fixes, and an important breaking change.

View the release notes
Download Telegraf Controller v0.0.7-beta

InfluxDB Docker latest tag changing to InfluxDB 3 Core

On September 15, 2026, 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