{
  "schema_version": 2,
  "id": "operate/rs/security/access-control/manage-users/default-user",
  "title": "Manage default user",
  "url": "https://redis.io/docs/latest/operate/rs/security/access-control/manage-users/default-user/",
  "summary": "Manage a database's default user.",
  "tags": [
    "docs",
    "operate",
    "rs"
  ],
  "last_updated": "2026-10-01T15:48:36+01:00",
  "page_type": "content",
  "content_hash": "eeecdc8e83561eaa320e2359583ef73a4aa29f59cf7ff3df3620c57f482fcaf4",
  "sections": [
    {
      "id": "overview",
      "title": "Overview",
      "role": "overview",
      "text": "When you [create a database](https://redis.io/docs/latest/operate/rs/databases/create), default user database access is enabled by default (**Unauthenticated access** is selected). This gives the default user full access to the database and enables compatibility with versions of Redis before Redis 6.\n\nSelect **Password-only authentication**, then enter and confirm a default database password to require authentication for connections to the database.\n\n![Select Password-only authentication to require a password to access the database.](https://redis.io/docs/latest/images/rs/screenshots/databases/security-access-control-password-only.png)"
    },
    {
      "id": "authenticate-as-default-user",
      "title": "Authenticate as default user",
      "role": "security",
      "text": "When you configure a password for your database, all connections to the database must authenticate using the [AUTH](https://redis.io/docs/latest/commands/auth) command. See Redis security's [authentication](https://redis.io/docs/latest/operate/oss_and_stack/management/security#authentication) section for more information.\n\n[code example]"
    },
    {
      "id": "change-default-database-password",
      "title": "Change default database password",
      "role": "content",
      "text": "To change the default user's password:\n\n1. From the database's **Security** tab, select **Edit**.\n\n1. In the **Access Control** section, select **Password-only authentication** as the **Access method**.\n\n1. Enter and re-enter the new password.\n\n1. Select **Save**."
    },
    {
      "id": "deactivate-default-user",
      "title": "Deactivate default user",
      "role": "content",
      "text": "If you set up [role-based access control](https://redis.io/docs/latest/operate/rs/security/access-control) with [access control lists](https://redis.io/docs/latest/operate/rs/security/access-control/create-db-roles) (ACLs) for your database and don't require backwards compatibility with versions earlier than Redis 6, you can [deactivate the default user](https://redis.io/docs/latest/operate/rs/security/access-control/manage-users/default-user).\n\n> [!WARNING]\n> - Before you deactivate default user access, make sure the role associated with the database is [assigned to a user](https://redis.io/docs/latest/operate/rs/security/access-control/create-users). Otherwise, the database will be inaccessible.\n>\n> - If you enabled the default database password during the creation of an [Active-Active database](https://redis.io/docs/latest/operate/rs/databases/active-active), you should not turn off the default database password because it could prevent the removal of participating database instances.\n\nTo deactivate the default user:\n\n1. From the database's **Security** tab, select **Edit**.\n\n1. In the **Access Control** section, select **Using ACL only** as the **Access method**.\n\n    ![Select Using ACL only to deactivate default user access to the database.](https://redis.io/docs/latest/images/rs/screenshots/databases/security-access-control-acl-only.png)\n\n1. Choose at least one role and Redis ACL to access the database.\n\n1. Select **Save**."
    }
  ],
  "examples": [
    {
      "id": "authenticate-as-default-user-ex0",
      "language": "sh",
      "code": "AUTH <default-database-password>",
      "section_id": "authenticate-as-default-user"
    }
  ]
}