Florian ForsterandGitHub
92a628d892
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
The Identity Infrastructure for Developers
ZITADEL is an open-source identity and access management platform built for teams that need more than basic auth. Whether you're securing a SaaS product, building a B2B platform, or self-hosting a production IAM stack — ZITADEL gives you everything out of the box: SSO, MFA, Passkeys, OIDC, SAML, SCIM, and a battle-tested multi-tenancy model.
No vendor lock-in. No compromise on control. Just a robust, API-first identity platform you can own.
🏡 Website | 💬 Chat | 📋 Docs | 🧑💻 Blog | 📞 Contact
Why ZITADEL
We built ZITADEL to handle the hardest IAM challenges at scale — starting with multi-tenancy.
| ZITADEL | FusionAuth | Keycloak | Auth0/Okta | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open-source | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Self-hostable | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Infrastructure-level tenants | ✅ Instances (High scale) | ✅ Tenants | 🟡 Realms (Scaling limits) | ❌ (Multi-tenant = multi-account) |
| B2B Organizations | ✅ Native & Unlimited | 🟡 via Entity Management | ✅ (Recent addition) | 🟡 (Plan/Account dependent) |
| Full audit trail | ✅ Comprehensive Event Stream* | 🟡 Audit logs | 🟡 Audit logs | 🟡 Audit logs |
| Passkeys (FIDO2) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Actions / webhooks | ✅ | ✅ | 🟡 via SPI | ✅ |
| API-first (gRPC + REST) | ✅ | 🟡 REST only | 🟡 REST only | 🟡 REST only |
| SaaS + self-host parity | ✅ | ✅ | ➖ N/A | ➖ N/A |
ZITADEL Cloud and self-hosted ZITADEL run the same codebase.
Key differentiators for architects:
- Relational core, event-driven soul — every mutation is written as an immutable event for a complete, API-accessible audit trail. Unlike systems that log only select activities, ZITADEL provides a comprehensive event stream that can be audited or streamed to external systems via Webhooks.
- Strict multi-tenant hierarchy — Identity System → Organizations → Projects, with isolated data and policy scoping at multiple levels
- API-first design — every resource and action is available via connectRPC, gRPC, and HTTP/JSON APIs
- Zero-downtime updates and horizontal scalability without external session stores
Get Started in 3 Minutes
ZITADEL Self-Hosted
# Docker Compose — up and running in under 3 minutes
curl -LO https://raw.githubusercontent.com/zitadel/zitadel/main/deploy/compose/docker-compose.yml \
&& curl -LO https://raw.githubusercontent.com/zitadel/zitadel/main/deploy/compose/.env.example \
&& cp .env.example .env \
&& docker compose up -d --wait
Full deployment guides:
Need professional support for your self-hosted deployment? Contact us.
ZITADEL Cloud (SaaS)
Start for free at zitadel.com — no credit card required. Available in US · EU · AU · CH. Pay-as-you-go pricing.
Integrate with the V2 API
ZITADEL exposes every capability over a typed API. Here's how to create a user with the V2 REST API:
curl -X POST https://$ZITADEL_DOMAIN/v2/users/human \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $ACCESS_TOKEN" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"username": "[email protected]",
"profile": { "givenName": "Alice", "familyName": "Smith" },
"email": { "email": "[email protected]", "sendCode": {} }
}'
Explore the full API reference — including connectRPC and gRPC transports — or jump straight to quickstart examples.
Features
Authentication
- Single Sign On (SSO) · Username/Password · Passkeys (FIDO2 / WebAuthn)
- MFA: OTP, U2F, OTP Email, OTP SMS
- LDAP · Enterprise IdPs and social logins
- OpenID Connect certified · SAML 2.0 · Device authorization
- Machine-to-machine: JWT Profile, PAT, Client Credentials
- Token exchange and impersonation
- Custom sessions for flows beyond OIDC/SAML
- Hosted Login V2
Multi-Tenancy
- Identity brokering with pre-built IdP templates
- Customizable B2B onboarding with self-service for customers
- Delegated role management to third parties
- Domain discovery
Integration
- gRPC, connectRPC, and REST APIs for every resource
- Actions: webhooks, custom code, token enrichment
- RBAC · SCIM 2.0 Server
- Audit log and SOC/SIEM integration
- SDKs and example apps
Self-Service & Admin
- Self-registration with email/phone verification
- Administration Console for orgs and projects
- Custom branding per organization
Deployment
- PostgreSQL (≥ 14) · Zero-downtime updates · High scalability
Track upcoming features on our roadmap and follow our changelog for recent updates.
Showcase
Login V2
Our new, fully customizable login experience — documentation
Adopters & Ecosystem
Used in production by organizations worldwide. See the full Adopters list — and add yours by submitting a pull request.
- SDKs: All supported languages and frameworks
- Examples: Clone and use our examples
How To Contribute
ZITADEL is built in the open and welcoming to contributions of all kinds.
- 📖 Read the Contribution Guide to get started
- 💬 Join the conversation on Discord
- 🐛 Report bugs or request features via GitHub Issues
Contributors
Made with contrib.rocks.
Security
Security policy: SECURITY.md
Vulnerability Disclosure Policy — how to responsibly report security issues.
Technical Advisories are published for major issues that could impact security or stability in production.
License
AGPL-3.0 — see LICENSING.md for the full licensing policy, including Apache 2.0 and MIT exceptions for specific directories.