open-vault/website/content/docs/configuration/service-registration/consul.mdx

---
layout: docs
page_title: Consul - Service Registration - Configuration
description: >-
  Consul Service Registration registers Vault as a service in Consul with a
  default

  health check.
---

# Consul Service Registration

Consul Service Registration registers Vault as a service in [Consul][consul] with
a default health check. When Consul is configured as the storage backend, the stanza
`service_registration` is not needed as it will automatically register Vault as a service.

~> **Version information:** The `service_registration` configuration option was introduced in Vault 1.4.0.

- **HashiCorp Supported** – Consul Service Registration is officially supported
  by HashiCorp.

```hcl
service_registration "consul" {
  address      = "127.0.0.1:8500"
}
```

Once properly configured, an unsealed Vault installation should be available and
accessible at:

```text
active.vault.service.consul
```

Unsealed Vault instances in standby mode are available at:

```text
standby.vault.service.consul
```

All unsealed Vault instances are available as healthy at:

```text
vault.service.consul
```

Sealed Vault instances will mark themselves as unhealthy to avoid being returned
at Consul's service discovery layer.

## `consul` Parameters

- `address` `(string: "127.0.0.1:8500")` – Specifies the address of the Consul
  agent to communicate with. This can be an IP address, DNS record, or unix
  socket. It is recommended that you communicate with a local Consul agent; do
  not communicate directly with a server.

- `check_timeout` `(string: "5s")` – Specifies the check interval used to send
  health check information back to Consul. This is specified using a label
  suffix like `"30s"` or `"1h"`.

- `disable_registration` `(string: "false")` – Specifies whether Vault should
  register itself with Consul.

- `scheme` `(string: "http")` – Specifies the scheme to use when communicating
  with Consul. This can be set to "http" or "https". It is highly recommended
  you communicate with Consul over https over non-local connections. When
  communicating over a unix socket, this option is ignored.

- `service` `(string: "vault")` – Specifies the name of the service to register
  in Consul.

- `service_tags` `(string: "")` – Specifies a comma-separated list of tags to
  attach to the service registration in Consul.

- `service_address` `(string: nil)` – Specifies a service-specific address to
  set on the service registration in Consul. If unset, Vault will use what it
  knows to be the HA redirect address - which is usually desirable. Setting
  this parameter to `""` will tell Consul to leverage the configuration of the
  node the service is registered on dynamically. This could be beneficial if
  you intend to leverage Consul's
  [`translate_wan_addrs`][consul-translate-wan-addrs] parameter.

- `token` `(string: "")` – Specifies the [Consul ACL token][consul-acl] with
  permission to register the Vault service into Consul's service catalog.
  This is **not** a Vault token. See the ACL section below for help.

The following settings apply when communicating with Consul via an encrypted
connection. You can read more about encrypting Consul connections on the
[Consul encryption page][consul-encryption].

- `tls_ca_file` `(string: "")` – Specifies the path to the CA certificate used
  for Consul communication. This defaults to system bundle if not specified.
  This should be set according to the
  [`ca_file`](https://developer.hashicorp.com/consul/docs/agent/config/config-files#ca_file) setting in
  Consul.

- `tls_cert_file` `(string: "")` (optional) – Specifies the path to the
  certificate for Consul communication. This should be set according to the
  [`cert_file`](https://developer.hashicorp.com/consul/docs/agent/config/config-files#cert_file) setting
  in Consul.

- `tls_key_file` `(string: "")` – Specifies the path to the private key for
  Consul communication. This should be set according to the
  [`key_file`](https://developer.hashicorp.com/consul/docs/agent/config/config-files#key_file) setting
  in Consul.

- `tls_min_version` `(string: "tls12")` – Specifies the minimum TLS version to
  use. Accepted values are `"tls10"`, `"tls11"`, `"tls12"` or `"tls13"`.

- `tls_skip_verify` `(string: "false")` – Disable verification of TLS certificates.
  Using this option is highly discouraged.

## ACLs

If using ACLs in Consul, you'll need appropriate permissions to register the
Vault service. The following ACL policy will work for most use-cases, assuming
that your service name is `vault`:

```json
{
  "service": {
    "vault": {
      "policy": "write"
    }
  }
}
```

## `consul` Examples

### Local Agent

This example shows a sample configuration which communicates with a local
Consul agent running on `127.0.0.1:8500`.

```hcl
service_registration "consul" {}
```

### Detailed Customization

This example shows communicating with Consul on a custom address with an ACL
token.

```hcl
service_registration "consul" {
  address = "10.5.7.92:8194"
  token   = "abcd1234"
}
```

### Consul via Unix Socket

This example shows communicating with Consul over a local unix socket.

```hcl
service_registration "consul" {
  address = "unix:///tmp/.consul.http.sock"
}
```

### Custom TLS

This example shows using a custom CA, certificate, and key file to securely
communicate with Consul over TLS.

```hcl
service_registration "consul" {
  scheme        = "https"
  tls_ca_file   = "/etc/pem/vault.ca"
  tls_cert_file = "/etc/pem/vault.cert"
  tls_key_file  = "/etc/pem/vault.key"
}
```

[consul]: https://www.consul.io/ 'Consul by HashiCorp'
[consul-acl]: https://www.consul.io/docs/guides/acl.html 'Consul ACLs'
[consul-encryption]: https://www.consul.io/docs/agent/encryption.html 'Consul Encryption'
[consul-translate-wan-addrs]: https://www.consul.io/docs/agent/options.html#translate_wan_addrs 'Consul Configuration'