---
layout: docs
page_title: Couchbase - Database - Secrets Engines
description: |-
  Couchbase is one of the supported plugins for the database secrets engine.
  This plugin generates database credentials dynamically based on configured
  roles for the Couchbase database.
---

# Couchbase Database Secrets Engine

Couchbase is one of the supported plugins for the database secrets engine. This
plugin generates database credentials dynamically based on configured roles for
the Couchbase database.

See the [database secrets engine](/docs/secrets/databases) docs for
more information about setting up the database secrets engine.

## Capabilities

| Plugin Name                 | Root Credential Rotation | Dynamic Roles | Static Roles | Username Customization |
| --------------------------- | ------------------------ | ------------- | ------------ | ---------------------- |
| `couchbase-database-plugin` | Yes                      | Yes           | Yes          | Yes (1.7+)             |

## Setup

1.  Enable the database secrets engine if it is not already enabled:

    ```bash
    $ vault secrets enable database
    Success! Enabled the database secrets engine at: database/
    ```

    By default, the secrets engine will enable at the name of the engine. To
    enable the secrets engine at a different path, use the `-path` argument.

1.  Configure Vault with the proper plugin and connection configuration:

    ```bash
    $ vault write database/config/my-couchbase-database \
        plugin_name="couchbase-database-plugin" \
        hosts="couchbases://127.0.0.1" \
        tls=true \
        base64pem="${BASE64PEM}" \
        username="vaultuser" \
        password="vaultpass" \
        allowed_roles="my-*-role"
    ```

    Where `${BASE64PEM}` is the server's root certificate authority in PEM
    format, encoded as a base64 string with no new lines.

    To connect to clusters prior to version 6.5.0, a `bucket_name` must also
    be configured:

    ```bash
    $ vault write database/config/my-couchbase-database \
        plugin_name="couchbase-database-plugin" \
        hosts="couchbases://127.0.0.1" \
        tls=true \
        base64pem="${BASE64PEM}" \
        username="vaultuser" \
        password="vaultpass" \
        allowed_roles="my-*-role" \
        bucket_name="travel-sample"
    ```

1.  You should consider rotating the admin password. Note that if you do, the
    new password will never be made available through Vault, so you should
    create a Vault-specific database admin user for this.

    ```bash
    vault write -force database/rotate-root/my-couchbase-database
    ```

## Usage

After the secrets engine is configured, configure dynamic and static roles
to enable generating credentials.

### Dynamic roles

1.  Configure a dynamic role that maps a name in Vault to a JSON string
    specifying a Couchbase RBAC role. The default value for
    `creation_statements` is a read-only admin role:
    `{"Roles": [{"role":"ro_admin"}]}`.

    ```bash
    $ vault write database/roles/my-dynamic-role \
        db_name="my-couchbase-database" \
        creation_statements='{"Roles": [{"role":"ro_admin"}]}' \
        default_ttl="5m" \
        max_ttl="1h"
    ```

    Note that any groups specified in the creation statement must already exist.

1.  Generate a new credential by reading from the `/creds` endpoint with the name
    of the role:

    ```bash
    $ vault read database/creds/my-dynamic-role
    Key                Value
    ---                -----
    lease_id           database/creds/my-dynamic-role/wiLNQjtcvCOT1VnN3qnUJnBz
    lease_duration     5m
    lease_renewable    true
    password           mhyM-Gs7IpmOPnSqXEDe
    username           v-root-my-dynamic-role-eXnVr4gm55dpM1EVgTYz-1596815027
    ```

### Static roles

1.  Configure a static role that maps a name in Vault to an existing couchbase
    user.

    ```bash
    $ vault write database/static-roles/my-static-role \
        db_name="my-couchbase-database" \
        username="my-existing-couchbase-user" \
        rotation_period=5m
    ```

1.  Retrieve the credentials from the `/static-creds` endpoint:

    ```bash
    $ vault read database/static-creds/my-static-role
    Key                    Value
    ---                    -----
    last_vault_rotation    2020-08-07T16:50:48.393354+01:00
    password               Z4-KH8F-VK5VJc0hSkXQ
    rotation_period        5m
    ttl                    4m39s
    username               my-existing-couchbase-user
    ```

## API

The full list of configurable options can be seen in the [Couchbase database plugin API](/api-docs/secret/databases/couchbase) page.

For more information on the database secrets engine's HTTP API please see the [Database secret secrets engine API](/api-docs/secret/databases) page.