How to reset the root password

You can temporarily start ArangoDB with authentication disabled to set a new password for the root user

You can reset the root password in the following way:

  • Stop the Server
  • Set authentication=false in the arangod.conf file
  • Restart the Server
    • Note: you might need to take any needed precaution to avoid this server can be accessed from outside as currently authentication is temporarily disabled. You might do this by disabling network access or using localhost for the binding (--server.endpoint tcp://127.0.0.1:8529)
  • Change the password using the ArangoDB web interface, or using the following command via arangosh:
require("@arangodb/users").update("root", "newpassword");

This command should return:

{
  "user" : "root",
  "active" : true,
  "extra" : {
  },
  "code" : 200
}
  • Set authentication=true in the arangod.conf file
  • Restart the server
  • Test the connection

Please note that the above procedure is meant for Single Instance. If you are using an ArangoDB Cluster or Active Failover you should disable and enable authentication in the arangod.conf file of each node. Changes to the arangod.conf file under the path etc/arangodb3/arangod.conf in Cluster and Active Failover deployments will not work in this case.