1---
2layout: "docs"
3page_title: "Database - Secrets Engines"
4sidebar_title: "Databases"
5sidebar_current: "docs-secrets-databases"
6description: |-
7  The database secrets engine generates database credentials dynamically based
8  on configured roles. It works with a number of different databases through a
9  plugin interface. There are a number of builtin database types and an exposed
10  framework for running custom database types for extendability.
11---
12
13# Databases
14
15The database secrets engine generates database credentials dynamically based on
16configured roles. It works with a number of different databases through a plugin
17interface. There are a number of builtin database types and an exposed framework
18for running custom database types for extendability. This means that services
19that need to access a database no longer need to hardcode credentials: they can
20request them from Vault, and use Vault's leasing mechanism to more easily roll
21keys.
22
23Since every service is accessing the database with unique credentials, it makes
24auditing much easier when questionable data access is discovered. You can track
25it down to the specific instance of a service based on the SQL username.
26
27Vault makes use of its own internal revocation system to ensure that users
28become invalid within a reasonable time of the lease expiring.
29
30### Static Roles
31
32The database secrets engine supports the concept of "static roles", which are
33a 1-to-1 mapping of Vault Roles to usernames in a database. The current password
34for the database user is stored and automatically rotated by Vault on a
35configurable period of time. This is in contrast to dynamic secrets, where a
36unique username and password pair are generated with each credential request.
37When credentials are requested for the Role, Vault returns the current
38password for the configured database user, allowing anyone with the proper
39Vault policies to have access to the user account in the database.
40
41Not all database types support static roles at this time. Please consult the
42specific database documentation on the left navigation to see if a given
43database backend supports static roles.
44
45
46## Setup
47
48Most secrets engines must be configured in advance before they can perform their
49functions. These steps are usually completed by an operator or configuration
50management tool.
51
521. Enable the database secrets engine:
53
54    ```text
55    $ vault secrets enable database
56    Success! Enabled the database secrets engine at: database/
57    ```
58
59    By default, the secrets engine will enable at the name of the engine. To
60    enable the secrets engine at a different path, use the `-path` argument.
61
621. Configure Vault with the proper plugin and connection information:
63
64    ```text
65    $ vault write database/config/my-database \
66        plugin_name="..." \
67        connection_url="..." \
68        allowed_roles="..." \
69        username="..." \
70        password="..."
71    ```
72
73    This secrets engine can configure multiple database connections. For details
74    on the specific configuration options, please see the database-specific
75    documentation.
76
771. Configure a role that maps a name in Vault to an SQL statement to execute to create the database credential:
78
79    ```text
80    $ vault write database/roles/my-role \
81        db_name=my-database \
82        creation_statements="..." \
83        default_ttl="1h" \
84        max_ttl="24h"
85    Success! Data written to: database/roles/my-role
86    ```
87
88    The `{{name}}` and `{{password}}` fields will be populated by the plugin
89    with dynamically generated values. In some plugins the `{{expiration}}`
90    field is also be supported.
91
92## Usage
93
94After the secrets engine is configured and a user/machine has a Vault token with
95the proper permission, it can generate credentials.
96
971. Generate a new credential by reading from the `/creds` endpoint with the name
98of the role:
99
100    ```text
101    $ vault read database/creds/my-role
102    Key                Value
103    ---                -----
104    lease_id           database/creds/my-role/2f6a614c-4aa2-7b19-24b9-ad944a8d4de6
105    lease_duration     1h
106    lease_renewable    true
107    password           8cab931c-d62e-a73d-60d3-5ee85139cd66
108    username           v-root-e2978cd0-
109    ```
110
111## Custom Plugins
112
113This secrets engine allows custom database types to be run through the exposed
114plugin interface. Please see the [custom database
115plugin](/docs/secrets/databases/custom.html) for more information.
116
117## API
118
119The database secrets engine has a full HTTP API. Please see the [Database secret
120secrets engine API](/api/secret/databases/index.html) for more details.
121