RethinkDB command line options

These options can be passed to the rethinkdb server on the command line on startup. Many of these options can also be set in the configuration file; read Configuration file options for a detailed list.

File path options

• -d [ --directory ] path: specify directory to store data and metadata
• --io-threads n: how many simultaneous I/O operations can happen at the same time
• --direct-io: use direct I/O for file access
• --cache-size mb: total cache size (in megabytes) for the process. Can be ‘auto’.

Server name options

• -n [ --server-name ] arg: the name for this server (as will appear in the metadata). If not specified, it will be randomly chosen from a short list of names.
• -t [ --server-tag ] arg: a tag for this server. Can be specified multiple times.

Network options

• --bind {all | addr}: add the address of a local interface to listen on when accepting connections; loopback addresses are enabled by default
• --bind-http {all | addr}: bind the web administration UI port to a specific address
• --bind-cluster {all | addr}: bind the cluster connection port to a specific address
• --bind-driver {all | addr}: bind the client driver to a specific address
• --no-default-bind: disable automatic listening on loopback addresses, unless explicitly specified in a separate --bind option
• --cluster-port port: port for receiving connections from other nodes
• --driver-port port: port for RethinkDB protocol client drivers
• -o [ --port-offset ] offset: all ports used locally will have this value added
• -j [ --join ] host:port: host and port of a RethinkDB node to connect to
• --reql-http-proxy [protocol://]host[:port]: HTTP proxy to use for performing r.http(...) queries, default port is 1080
• --canonical-address addr: address that other RethinkDB instances will use to connect to us, can be specified multiple times
• --cluster-reconnect-timeout secs: the amount of time, in seconds, this server will try to reconnect to a cluster if it loses connection before giving up; default 86400

The --bind option controls the default behavior for all RethinkDB ports. If it’s specified, the --bind-http, --bind-cluster and --bind-driver options will override that behavior for a specific port. So:

rethinkdb --bind all --bind-cluster 192.168.0.1

This will bind the HTTP and driver ports on all available interfaces, while the cluster port will only be bound on the loopback interface and 192.168.0.1.

TLS options

• --http-tls-key key_filename: private key to use for web administration console TLS
• --http-tls-cert cert_filename: certificate to use for web administration console TLS

Note: --http-tls-key and --http-tls-cert must be used together.

• --driver-tls-key key_filename: private key to use for client driver connection TLS
• --driver-tls-cert cert_filename: certificate to use for client driver connection TLS
• --driver-tls-ca ca_filename: CA certificate bundle used to verify client certificates; TLS client authentication disabled if omitted

Note: --driver-tls-key and --driver-tls-cert must be used together; --driver-tls-ca is optional.

• --cluster-tls-key key_filename: private key to use for intra-cluster connection TLS
• --cluster-tls-cert cert_filename: certificate to use for intra-cluster connection TLS
• --cluster-tls-ca ca_filename: CA certificate bundle used to verify cluster peer certificates

Note: all three --cluster-tls-* options must be used together.

• --tls-min-protocol protocol: the minimum TLS protocol version the server accepts, one of TLSv1, TLSv1.1, TLSv1.2; default is TLSv1.2
• --tls-ciphers cipher_list: specify a list of TLS ciphers to use; default is EECDH+AESGCM
• --tls-ecdh-curve curve_name: specify a named elliptic curve to use for ECDHE; default is prime256v1
• --tls-dhparams dhparams_filename: provide parameters for DHE key agreement; REQUIRED if using DHE cipher suites; at least 2048-bit recommended

For details about these options, read Securing your cluster.

Web options

• --web-static-directory directory: the directory containing web resources for the http interface
• --http-port port: port for web administration console
• --no-http-admin: disable web administration console

CPU options

• -c [ --cores ] n: the number of cores to use

Service options

• --pid-file path: a file in which to write the process id when the process is running
• --daemon: daemonize this rethinkdb process

Set User/Group options

• --runuser user: run as the specified user
• --rungroup group: run with the specified group

Security options

• --initial-password: set a password for the admin user if none has previously been set; use auto to choose a random password that will be printed to stdout (see Secure your cluster for more information)

Help options

• -h [ --help ]: print this help
• -v [ --version ]: print the version number of rethinkdb

Log options

• --log-file file: specify the file to log to, defaults to ‘log_file’
• --no-update-check: disable checking for available updates. Also turns off anonymous usage data collection.

Configuration file options

• --config-file: take options from a configuration file

Subcommands

• rethinkdb create: prepare files on disk for a new server instance
• rethinkdb serve: use an existing data directory to host data and serve queries
• rethinkdb proxy: run a proxy server (serve queries from an existing cluster but don’t host data)
• rethinkdb export: export data from an existing cluster into a file or directory
• rethinkdb import: import data from from a file or directory into an existing cluster
• rethinkdb dump: export and compress data from an existing cluster
• rethinkdb restore: import compressed data into an existing cluster
• rethinkdb index-rebuild: rebuild outdated secondary indexes

For more information about subcommands, type rethinkdb help [subcommand] at the command line.

For information about running RethinkDB as a proxy server, read Running a proxy node in “Scaling, sharding and replication.”