# Where is bootstrap password stored?

**URL:** <https://discuss.elastic.co/t/where-is-bootstrap-password-stored/185323>\
**Category:** Elasticsearch\
**Created:** [June 12, 2019, 5:04am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/where-is-bootstrap-password-stored/185323 "2019-06-12T05:04:31Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Meet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@Meet](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/Meet)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2019, 5:04am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/where-is-bootstrap-password-stored/185323/1 "2019-06-12T05:04:32Z")

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Is there any way I can change it except for using bin/elasticsearch-setup or curl command?

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**Author:** ![TimV](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/timv/32/13162_2.png) [@TimV](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/TimV)\
**Post date:** [June 14, 2019, 11:08am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/where-is-bootstrap-password-stored/185323/2 "2019-06-14T11:08:02Z")

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Setup passwords does not change the bootstrap password, it uses the bootstrap password in order to set a permanent password for all of the built-in users.

If you want to setup passwords via the API, the you need to set the bootstrap password to a value of your choosing, and the call the change password API.

[https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/elastic-stack-overview/7.1/built-in-users.html#bootstrap-elastic-passwords](https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/elastic-stack-overview/7.1/built-in-users.html#bootstrap-elastic-passwords)

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Meet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@Meet](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/Meet)\
**Post date:** [June 14, 2019, 7:43pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/where-is-bootstrap-password-stored/185323/3 "2019-06-14T19:43:35Z")

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Hi Tim,  
Can i add the user and password (hashed n salted) directly to config/users and config/users\_roles files? I want to set the passwords manually somewhere before restarting the service.  
Thank you

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**Author:** ![TimV](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/timv/32/13162_2.png) [@TimV](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/TimV)\
**Post date:** [June 17, 2019, 1:00am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/where-is-bootstrap-password-stored/185323/4 "2019-06-17T01:00:45Z")

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No, the password for these builtin users is stored in the cluster (as an internal index). In cannot be set unless the cluster is running.

What are you actually trying to achieve here? We may be able to help you solve your problem if you explain your objectives.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Meet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@Meet](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/Meet)\
**Post date:** [June 21, 2019, 6:47pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/where-is-bootstrap-password-stored/185323/5 "2019-06-21T18:47:35Z")

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Hi Tim,

Thank you, I found an alternative to the same by creating another super user.

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**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/original/3X/1/a/1ac57faf039f6b580b3f104ef42a2a89e41014de.png) [@system](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/system)\
**Post date:** [July 19, 2019, 6:47pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/where-is-bootstrap-password-stored/185323/6 "2019-07-19T18:47:36Z")

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