open-vault/website/content/docs/commands/operator/raft.mdx

---
layout: docs
page_title: operator raft - Command
sidebar_title: <code>raft</code>
description: >-
  The "operator raft" command is used to interact with the integrated Raft storage backend.
---

# operator raft

This command groups subcommands for operators to manage the integrated Raft storage backend.

```text
Usage: vault operator raft <subcommand> [options] [args]

 This command groups subcommands for operators interacting with the Vault
 integrated Raft storage backend. Most users will not need to interact with these
 commands. Here are a few examples of the Raft operator commands:

Subcommands:
    join           Joins a node to the Raft cluster
    list-peers     Returns the Raft peer set
    remove-peer    Removes a node from the Raft cluster
    snapshot       Restores and saves snapshots from the Raft cluster
```

## join

This command is used to join a new node as a peer to the Raft cluster. In order
to join, there must be at least one existing member of the cluster. If Shamir
seal is in use, then unseal keys are to be supplied before or after the
join process, depending on whether it's being used exclusively for HA.

If raft is used for `storage`, the node must be joined before unsealing and the
`leader-api-addr` argument must be provided. If raft is used for `ha_storage`,
the node must be first unsealed before joining and the `leader-api-addr` must
_not_ be provided.

```text
Usage: vault operator raft join [options] <leader-api-addr>

  Join the current node as a peer to the Raft cluster by providing the address
  of the Raft leader node.

	  $ vault operator raft join "http://127.0.0.2:8200"
```

The `join` command also allows operators to specify cloud auto-join configuration
instead of a static IP address or hostname. When provided, Vault will attempt to
automatically discover and resolve potential leader addresses based on the provided
auto-join configuration.

Vault uses go-discover to support the auto-join functionality. Please see the
go-discover
[README](https://github.com/hashicorp/go-discover/blob/master/README.md) for
details on the format.

By default, Vault will attempt to reach discovered peers using HTTPS and port 8200.
Operators may override these through the `--auto-join-scheme` and `--auto-join-port`
CLI flags respectively.

```text
Usage: vault operator raft join [options] <auto-join-configuration>
  Join the current node as a peer to the Raft cluster by providing cloud auto-join
  metadata configuration.
    $ vault operator raft join "provider=aws region=eu-west-1 ..."
```

### Parameters

The following flags are available for the `operator raft join` command.

- `-leader-ca-cert` `(string: "")` - CA cert to communicate with Raft leader.

- `-leader-client-cert` `(string: "")` - Client cert to to authenticate to Raft leader.

- `-leader-client-key` `(string: "")` - Client key to to authenticate to Raft leader.

- `-non-voter` `(bool: false) (enterprise)` - This flag is used to make the
  server not participate in the Raft quorum, and have it only receive the data
  replication stream. This can be used to add read scalability to a cluster in
  cases where a high volume of reads to servers are needed. The default is false.

- `-retry` `(bool: false)` - Continuously retry joining the Raft cluster upon
  failures. The default is false.

## list-peers

This command is used to list the full set of peers in the Raft cluster.

```text
Usage: vault operator raft list-peers

  Provides the details of all the peers in the Raft cluster.

	  $ vault operator raft list-peers
```

### Example Output

```json
{
 ...
  "data": {
    "config": {
      "index": 62,
      "servers": [
        {
          "address": "127.0.0.2:8201",
          "leader": true,
          "node_id": "node1",
          "protocol_version": "3",
          "voter": true
        },
        {
          "address": "127.0.0.4:8201",
          "leader": false,
          "node_id": "node3",
          "protocol_version": "3",
          "voter": true
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}
```

## remove-peer

This command is used to remove a node from being a peer to the Raft cluster. In
certain cases where a peer may be left behind in the Raft configuration even
though the server is no longer present and known to the cluster, this command
can be used to remove the failed server so that it is no longer affects the Raft
quorum.

```text
Usage: vault operator raft remove-peer <server_id>

  Removes a node from the Raft cluster.

	  $ vault operator raft remove-peer node1
```

## snapshot

This command groups subcommands for operators interacting with the snapshot
functionality of the integrated Raft storage backend. There are 2 subcommands
supported: `save` and `restore`.

```text
Usage: vault operator raft snapshot <subcommand> [options] [args]

  This command groups subcommands for operators interacting with the snapshot
  functionality of the integrated Raft storage backend.

Subcommands:
    restore    Installs the provided snapshot, returning the cluster to the state defined in it
    save       Saves a snapshot of the current state of the Raft cluster into a file
```

### snapshot save

Takes a snapshot of the Vault data. The snapshot can be used to restore Vault to
the point in time when a snapshot was taken.

```text
Usage: vault operator raft snapshot save <snapshot_file>

  Saves a snapshot of the current state of the Raft cluster into a file.

	  $ vault operator raft snapshot save raft.snap
```

~> **Note:** Snapshot is not supported when Raft is used only for `ha_storage`.

### snapshot restore

Restores a snapshot of Vault data taken with `vault operator raft snapshot save`.

```text
Usage: vault operator raft snapshot restore <snapshot_file>

  Installs the provided snapshot, returning the cluster to the state defined in it.

	  $ vault operator raft snapshot restore raft.snap
```