Files
zitadel/apps/docs
Florian ForsterandGitHub 92a628d892 feat(database): enhance PostgreSQL setup documentation and commands for non-admin access (#11631)
Users deploying ZITADEL against a managed PostgreSQL service (RDS, Cloud
SQL, Azure Database, etc.) often do not have superuser access and cannot
provide `Admin.*` credentials. The documented workaround — provisioning
the user and database manually and then running `start-from-setup` —
silently skips schema bootstrapping, causing `relation
"eventstore.events" does not exist` errors with no clear recovery path.

The root cause is that `zitadel init` conflates two steps that require
different privileges without exposing them separately:

- **Provisioning step** (`CREATE ROLE`, `CREATE DATABASE`, `GRANT`) —
requires superuser.
- **Schema bootstrapping step** (create
`eventstore`/`projections`/`system` schemas and base tables) — requires
only DB owner.

Users who handle the provisioning step externally have no supported way
to run schema bootstrapping alone.

## Changes

- **`cmd/initialise/verify_schema.go`** (renamed from
`verify_zitadel.go`): Rename `newZitadel()` → `newSchema()` (internal);
rename the `init zitadel` sub-command to `zitadel init schema`
(backwards-compatible alias kept) with a clear description that it
bootstraps the ZITADEL database schema without admin/superuser
privileges. Fix stale error log message to reference `init schema`.
- **`cmd/initialise/verify_schema_test.go`** (renamed from
`verify_zitadel_test.go`): Test file renamed to match source file.
- **`cmd/initialise/init.go`**: Update call site to `newSchema()`. Add
guidance in the `init` command's Long description about using `zitadel
init schema` for users without admin credentials.
- **`cmd/initialise/verify_database.go`**: Add a `pg_database` catalog
pre-check before attempting `CREATE DATABASE`, so `zitadel init` with
`ADMIN=service_user` no longer fails with `permission denied to create
database` when the database was already provisioned externally.
- **`cmd/initialise/verify_database_test.go`**: Add test cases covering
the new catalog-check skip path, the existing error-skip path, and the
error-propagation path when the `pg_database` query itself fails.
- **`apps/docs/content/self-hosting/manage/database/index.mdx`**: Inline
the `_postgres.mdx` partial (now only PostgreSQL is supported), add a
top-level callout, and add a **Managed PostgreSQL / No Admin Access**
section with explicit 3-step instructions and security guidance (strong
passwords, SSL, TLS). Additional improvements: add inline `# Use
'require' or 'verify-full' for production` comments on `Mode: disable`
lines in the YAML example; add clarifying comment to the redundant
`GRANT` in the SQL snippet; replace admonition syntax with proper
Fumadocs `<Callout>` components; add full database connection env vars
to the `start-from-setup` example.
- **`apps/docs/content/self-hosting/manage/updating_scaling.mdx`**:
Rewrite the init phase description to clearly distinguish the
provisioning and schema bootstrapping steps, and document `zitadel init
schema` as the path for manual provisioning. Replace admonition syntax
with proper Fumadocs `<Callout>` components.
- **`apps/docs/content/self-hosting/manage/database/_postgres.mdx`**:
Deleted (content merged into `index.mdx`).

## Problem

This relates to https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/discussions/9363

I think we can improve our UX in cases where a user wants to use an
external DB and/or does not want to share too broad permissions with
zitadel

## Related problems

* https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/issues/10432
* https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/discussions/8583
* https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/issues/7903
* https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/issues/9718
* https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/issues/8012
* https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/issues/8558

## Related PRs

https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/pull/11021
2026-03-03 07:05:32 +01:00
..
2026-01-30 18:11:12 +00:00

@zitadel/docs

Documentation for Zitadel, built with Fumadocs and Next.js.

Getting Started

Ensure you have followed the root quick start to set up dependencies.

Local Development

Start the development server:

pnpm nx run @zitadel/docs:dev

The site will be available at http://localhost:3000.

Scripts

Key scripts for documentation workflows:

Script Description
dev Starts the development server.
build Builds the production application.
fetch:remote-content Fetches remote tags and referenced content.
generate Runs all generation steps (fetch:remote-content, generate:proto-docs, generate:api-reference, generate:index-pages).
check:links Validates content integrity (broken links, missing frontmatter, schema errors).
check-types Validates typescript types.
test Runs all validation steps (check-types, check:links).
lint checks for code style and syntax errors (ESLint).
clean Cleans the build output and generated files.

Validation

  • Code Quality: Run pnpm lint to check for syntax and style issues in JS/TS/MDX files.
  • Content Integrity: Run pnpm check:links to validate content structure, including:
    • Broken internal links
    • Missing required front-matter (e.g., title)
    • Image references

Contributing

Build Process

The docs build process automatically handling the following steps via generate:

  1. Downloads required protoc plugins.
  2. Generates gRPC documentation from proto files.
  3. Generates API documentation from OpenAPI specs.
  4. Generates index files for directory structures.

Style Guide

  • Variables: Use environment variables in code snippets where possible.
  • Embedded Content: Use _filename.mdx for content embedded in other pages (not indexed individually).
  • Code Embedding: Use the file property in code blocks to embed code from the repo.
  • Voice: Use active voice and sentence case for titles.

Refer to the Google Developer Style Guide for general guidelines.

Adding Content

All documentation content is located in the content directory. Note that the system strictly accepts only .mdx files.

To add a new page:

  1. Create a .mdx file in the appropriate subdirectory of content.
  2. Register the new page in the sidebar settings at lib/sidebar-data.ts to make it accessible in the navigation.

Pull Requests

Use docs(<scope>): <short summary> for PR titles. Pass quality checks before submitting:

pnpm nx run @zitadel/docs:build
pnpm nx run @zitadel/docs:check:links

You can also run specific steps individually:

  • pnpm fetch:remote-content
  • pnpm generate:api-reference