---
layout: docs
page_title: vault Block - Agent Configuration
description: |-
  The "vault" block configures Nomad's integration with HashiCorp's Vault.
  When configured, Nomad can create and distribute Vault tokens to tasks
  automatically.
---

# `vault` Block

<Placement groups={['vault']} />

The `vault` block configures Nomad's integration with [HashiCorp's
Vault][vault]. When configured, tasks can use [workload
identities][workload_id] to receive Vault ACL tokens automatically.

Alternatively, Nomad servers may be configured with a high-privileged Vault
token that is used to derive fine-grained tokens for tasks. Refer to
[Token-based Authentication](#token-based-authentication) for configuration
details. This workflow is deprecated and will be removed in a future version of
Nomad. Using using workload identities is strongly recommended as it is easier
to manage and more secure.

Refer to the [Nomad and Vault Integration][nomad-vault] page for more
information about the Vault integration.

```hcl
vault {
  enabled      = true

  default_identity {
    aud = ["vault.io"]
    ttl = "1h"
  }
}
```

In Nomad Enterprise, you may specify multiple `vault` blocks to configure access
to multiple Vault clusters. Each Vault cluster must have a different value for
the [`name`](#name) field.

## `vault` Parameters

Some parameters are expected to be specified in the configuration file of Nomad
agents running as clients, servers, or in all agents. Parameters are safely
ignored if placed in a configuration file where they are not expected to be
defined.

The placement also depends on the authentication strategy used. This section
describes the parameter organization for workload identity authentication.
Refer to the [Token-based Authentication](#token-based-authentication) section
if using Vault tokens directly.

### Parameters for Nomad Clients and Servers

These parameters should be defined in the configuration file of all Nomad
agents.

- `name` `(string: "default")` <EnterpriseAlert inline/> - Specifies a name for
  the cluster so it can be referred to by job submitters in the job
  specification's [`vault.cluster`][] field. In Nomad Community Edition, only
  the `"default"` cluster will be used, so this field should be omitted.

- `enabled` `(bool: false)` - Specifies if the Vault integration should be
  activated.

- `create_from_role` `(string: "")` - Specifies the role to create tokens from.

  When using workload identities this field defines the role used to derive
  task tokens when the job does not define a value for
  [`vault.role`][jobspec_vault_role]. If empty, the default Vault cluster role
  is used.

  For token-based authentication, the Nomad servers derive tokens
  using this role. The token given to Nomad does not have to be created from
  this role but must have `update` capability on
  `auth/token/create/<create_from_role>` path in Vault. If this value is unset
  and the token is created from a role, the value is defaulted to the role the
  token is from.

  -> **Note:** This used to be a server-only field, but it is client-only when
  using workload identities. It should be set in both while transitioning from
  token-based authentication to workload identities.

### Parameters for Nomad Clients

These parameters should only be defined in the configuration file of Nomad
agents with [`client.enabled`] set to `true`.

- `namespace` `(string: "")` - Specifies the [Vault namespace](/vault/docs/enterprise/namespaces)
  used by the Vault integration. If non-empty, this namespace will be used on
  all Vault API calls.

- `address` - `(string: "https://vault.service.consul:8200")` - Specifies the
  address to the Vault server. This must include the protocol, host/ip, and port
  given in the format `protocol://host:port`. If your Vault installation is
  behind a load balancer, this should be the address of the load balancer.

- `jwt_auth_backend_path` - `(string: "jwt-nomad")` - Specifies the mount
  [path][vault_auth_enable_path] of the JWT authentication method to be used to
  login with workload identity JWTs.

- `ca_file` `(string: "")` - Specifies an optional path to the CA
  certificate used for Vault communication. If unspecified, this will fallback
  to the default system CA bundle, which varies by OS and version.

- `ca_path` `(string: "")` - Specifies an optional path to a folder
  containing CA certificates to be used for Vault communication. If unspecified,
  this will fallback to the default system CA bundle, which varies by OS and
  version.

- `cert_file` `(string: "")` - Specifies the path to the certificate used for
  Vault communication. This must be set if
  [tls_require_and_verify_client_cert](/vault/docs/configuration/listener/tcp#tls_require_and_verify_client_cert)
  is enabled in Vault.

- `key_file` `(string: "")` - Specifies the path to the private key used for
  Vault communication. If this is set then you need to also set
  `cert_file`. This must be set if
  [tls_require_and_verify_client_cert](/vault/docs/configuration/listener/tcp#tls_require_and_verify_client_cert)
  is enabled in Vault.

- `tls_server_name` `(string: "")` - Specifies an optional string used to set
  the SNI host when connecting to Vault via TLS.

- `tls_skip_verify` `(bool: false)` - Specifies if SSL peer validation should be
  enforced.

  !> It is **strongly discouraged** to disable SSL verification. Instead, you
  should install a custom CA bundle and validate against it. Disabling SSL
  verification can allow an attacker to easily compromise your cluster.

### Parameters for Nomad Servers

These parameters should only be defined in the configuration file of Nomad
agents with [`server.enabled`] set to `true`.

- `default_identity` <code>([Identity](#default_identity-parameters): nil)</code> -
  Specifies the default workload identity configuration to use when a task with
  a `vault` block does not specify an [`identity`][jobspec_identity] block
  named `vault_<name>`, where `<name>` matches the value of this `vault` block
  [`name`](#name) parameter.

### Deprecated Parameters

These parameters are used by the deprecated token-based authentication flow and
will be removed in a future release.

- `allow_unauthenticated` `(bool: true)` - Specifies if users submitting jobs to
  the Nomad server should be required to provide their own Vault token, proving
  they have access to the policies listed in the job. This option should be
  disabled in an untrusted environment.

- `task_token_ttl` `(string: "72h")` - Specifies the TTL of created tokens when
  using a root token. This is specified using a label suffix like "30s" or "1h".

- `token` `(string: "")` - Specifies the parent Vault token to use to derive
  child tokens for jobs requesting tokens. Only required on Nomad servers.
  Nomad client agents use the allocation's token when contacting Vault.
  Visit the [Vault Integration Guide](/nomad/docs/integrations/vault-integration)
  to see how to generate an appropriate token in Vault.

  !> It is **strongly discouraged** to place the token as a configuration
  parameter like this, since the token could be checked into source control
  accidentally. Users should set the `VAULT_TOKEN` environment variable when
  starting the agent instead.

### `default_identity` Parameters

- `aud` `(array<string>: [])` - List of valid recipients for this workload
  identity. This value must match the [`bound_audiences`][vault_bound_aud]
  configuration in the Vault JWT auth method. It is recommended to provide one,
  and only one, audience to minimize where the identity may be used.

- `env` `(bool: false)` - If true the workload identity will be available in
  the task's `NOMAD_TOKEN_vault` environment variable.

- `file` `(bool: false)` - If true the workload identity will be available in
  the task's filesystem via the path `secrets/nomad_vault.jwt`. If the
  [`task.user`][taskuser] parameter is set, the token file will only be
  readable by that user. Otherwise the file is readable by everyone but is
  protected by parent directory permissions.

- `ttl` `(string: "")` - Specifies for how long the workload identity should be
  considered as valid before expiring.

### Token-based Authentication

~> **Warning:** The token-based authentication flow is deprecated and will be
  removed in a future release. It is highly recommended to migrate and use the
  workload identity flow instead.

When using token-based authentication the `vault` block parameters should be
defined as below.

#### Parameters for Nomad Clients and Servers

- [`address`](#address)
- [`ca_file`](#ca_file)
- [`ca_path`](#ca_path)
- [`cert_file`](#cert_file)
- [`enabled`](#enabled)
- [`key_file`](#key_file)
- [`name`](#name)
- [`namespace`](#namespace)
- [`tls_server_name`](#tls_server_name)
- [`tls_skip_verify`](#tls_skip_verify)

#### Parameters for Nomad Servers

- [`allow_unauthenticated`](#allow_unauthenticated)
- [`create_from_role`](#create_from_role)
- [`token`](#token)
- [`task_token_ttl`](#task_token_ttl)

## `vault` Examples

The following examples only show the `vault` blocks. Remember that the
`vault` block is only valid in the placements listed above.

### Nomad Server

This example shows a Vault configuration for a Nomad server using the workload
identity authentication flow.

```hcl
server {
  enabled = true
  # ...
}

vault {
  enabled = true

  # Only needed in servers when transioning from the token-based flow to
  # workload identities.
  create_from_role = "nomad-cluster"

  # Provide a default workload identity configuration so jobs don't need to
  # specify one.
  default_identity {
    aud  = ["vault.io"]
    env  = false
    file = true
    ttl  = "1h"
  }
}
```

This example shows a Vault configuration for a Nomad server using the
deprecated token-based authentication flow.

```hcl
server {
  enabled = true
  # ...
}

vault {
  enabled   = true
  ca_path   = "/etc/certs/ca"
  cert_file = "/var/certs/vault.crt"
  key_file  = "/var/certs/vault.key"

  # Address to communicate with Vault. The below is the default address if
  # unspecified.
  address = "https://vault.service.consul:8200"

  # Embedding the token in the configuration is discouraged. Instead users
  # should set the VAULT_TOKEN environment variable when starting the Nomad
  # agent
  token = "debecfdc-9ed7-ea22-c6ee-948f22cdd474"

  # Setting the create_from_role option causes Nomad to create tokens for tasks
  # via the provided role. This allows the role to manage what policies are
  # allowed and disallowed for use by tasks.
  create_from_role = "nomad-cluster"
}
```

### Nomad Client

This example shows a Vault configuration for a Nomad client.

```hcl
client {
  enabled = true
  # ...
}

vault {
  enabled   = true
  address   = "https://vault.service.consul:8200"
  ca_path   = "/etc/certs/ca"
  cert_file = "/var/certs/vault.crt"
  key_file  = "/var/certs/vault.key"
}
```

## `vault` Configuration Reloads

The Vault configuration can be reloaded on servers. This can be useful if a new
token needs to be given to the servers without having to restart them. A reload
can be accomplished by sending the process a `SIGHUP` signal.

[`client.enabled`]: /nomad/docs/configuration/client#enabled
[`server.enabled`]: /nomad/docs/configuration/server#enabled
[`vault.cluster`]: /nomad/docs/job-specification/vault#cluster
[jobspec_vault_role]: /nomad/docs/job-specification/vault#role
[jobspec_identity]: /nomad/docs/job-specification/identity
[nomad-vault]: /nomad/docs/integrations/vault-integration 'Nomad Vault Integration'
[taskuser]: /nomad/docs/job-specification/task#user "Nomad task Block"
[vault]: https://www.vaultproject.io/ 'Vault by HashiCorp'
[vault_bound_aud]: /vault/api-docs/auth/jwt#bound_audiences
[vault_auth_enable_path]: /vault/docs/commands/auth/enable#path
[workload_id]: /nomad/docs/concepts/workload-identity
