Secure MarkLogic Server

Enabling Non-privileged Users to Create and Manage Users (Data Users)

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Enabling Non-privileged Users to Create and Manage Users (Data Users)

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Last Updated: May 20, 2026
3 minute read

MarkLogic Server
Version 12.0
Documentation

The http://marklogic.com/xdmp/privileges/create-data-user allows non-admin users (with the manage role) to create and manage users.

data user: created by a data manage (non-admin) user
data role: created by a data manage (non-admin) user
data manage user for data users:
- non-admin to create and manage users
- can only manage (edit and delete) users own created or granted
- might be the same data manage user to create data roles and data users
- requires one role to include create-data-user privilege and manage role (or privilege)
- user self can be created by admin or another data manage user
- optional grant-my-role privilege to grant roles or create another data manage user
- can grant data users own created or granted to other data roles
created data users are attached to the roles (with create-data-user privilege) data manage user owned
- tracked by an internal data-user-edit-<USERID> privilege created for every data user
every data manage user granted (new or existed) with above roles can also manage these data users
- to share responsibility for managing data users through a common data role
An optional privilege - http://marklogic.com/xdmp/privileges/user-set-queries - is required to create data users with query-based access control (QBAC) queries. The http://marklogic.com/xdmp/privileges/user-get-queries privilege is needed for reading the QBAC queries on the data users. For more information on QBAC, please see Query-Based Access Control.

For example:

Create a role (demo-data-user-role-one) and grant that role the create-data-user privilege.

curl -s --anyauth -u admin:admin -H "content-type:application/json" \
     -X POST -d "{\"role-name\": \"demo-data-user-role-one\", \
                  \"description\": \
                     \"A role for demonstrating the create-data-user privilege\", \
                  \"privilege\": [ { \
                     \"privilege-name\": \"create-data-user\", \
                     \"action\": \
                        \"http://marklogic.com/xdmp/privileges/create-data-user\", \
                     \"kind\": \"execute\"}]}" \
     http://localhost:8002/manage/v2/roles

Create another role (demo-data-user-role-two) and grant that role the create-data-user privilege.

curl -s --anyauth -u admin:admin -H "content-type:application/json" \
     -X POST -d "{\"role-name\": \"demo-data-user-role-two\", \
                  \"description\": \
                     \"Second role for demonstrating the create-data-user privilege\", \
                  \"privilege\": [ { \
                     \"privilege-name\": \"create-data-user\", \
                     \"action\": \
                        \"http://marklogic.com/xdmp/privileges/create-data-user\", \
                      \"kind\": \"execute\"}]}" \
     http://localhost:8002/manage/v2/roles

Create user demo-user-one, and grant two roles: the manage role, the new created demo-data-user-role-one role.

curl -s --anyauth -u admin:admin -H "content-type:application/json" \
     -X POST -d "{\"user-name\": \"demo-user-one\", \
                  \"password\":                   \"password\", \
                  \"description\": \"A demo user one\", \
                  \"role\": [ \"demo-data-user-role-one\", \"manage\" ] }" \
     http://localhost:8002/manage/v2/users

Also create another user demo-user-two and grant demo-data-user-role-two and manage role.

curl -s --anyauth -u admin:admin -H "content-type:application/json" \
     -X POST -d "{\"user-name\": \"demo-user-two\", \"password\": \"password\", \
                  \"description\": \"A demo user two\", \
                  \"role\": [ \"demo-data-user-role-two\", \"manage\" ] }" \
     http://localhost:8002/manage/v2/users

Now that user demo-user-one can create new users, demo-one-created-user:

curl -s --anyauth -u "demo-user-one:password" -H "content-type:application/json" \
     -X POST -d "{\"user-name\": \" demo-one-created-user\", \
                  \"description\": \"user created by demo-user-one\" }" \
     http://localhost:8002/manage/v2/users

And user demo-user-two can create new users, demo-two-created-user:

curl -s --anyauth -u "demo-user-two:password" -H "content-type:application/json" \
     -X POST -d "{\"user-name\": \" demo-two-created-user\", \
                   \"description\": \"user created by demo-user-two\" }" \
     http://localhost:8002/manage/v2/users

The user demo-one-created-user can be updated (and also deleted) by user demo-user-one who created this user:

curl -s --anyauth -u "demo-user-one:password" -H "content-type:application/json" \
     -X PUT -d "{\"description\": \"demo-user-one updated this\"}" \
     http://localhost:8002/manage/v2/users/demo-one-created-user/properties

And user demo-user-two can update demo-two-created-user:

curl -s --anyauth -u "demo-user-two:password" -H "content-type:application/json" \
     -X PUT -d "{\"description\": \"demo-user-two updated this\"}" \
     http://localhost:8002/manage/v2/users/demo-two-created-user/properties

But these users cannot update users they did not create.

curl -s --anyauth -u "demo-user-two:password" -H "content-type:application/json" \
     -X PUT -d "{\"description\": \"demo-user-two updating demo-one-created-user\"}" \
     http://localhost:8002/manage/v2/users/demo-one-created-user/properties

This request fails:

{
  "errorResponse": {
    "statusCode": "404",
    "status": "Not Found",
    "messageCode": "SEC-USERDNE",
    "message": "SEC-USERDNE: (err:FOER0000) User does not exist: demo-one-created-user = %2"
  }
}

All users created by demo-user-two are attached to demo-data-user-role-two role. They can be added to demo-user-one directly, so demo-user-one can edit them.

curl -s --anyauth -u "admin:admin" -H "content-type:application/json" \
     -X PUT -d "{\"role\": [ \"demo-data-user-role-one\", \"demo-data-user-role-two\", \"manage\" ] }" \
     http://localhost:8002/manage/v2/users/demo-user-one/properties

Now, user demo-user-two with role demo-data-user-role-two has the appropriate privilege to edit demo-one-created-user directly. So, demo-user-two can edit them, and the previous request will succeed.