--- title: Initializing a Cluster description: A cluster can be initialized and provisioned, by means of a single call to the REST API. pubDate: 2026-08-17T09:53:44.266Z antora: editUrl: https://github.com/couchbaselabs/docs-enterprise-analytics/edit/release/2.2/modules/reference/pages/rest-initialize-cluster.adoc xref: xref:enterprise-analytics:reference:rest-initialize-cluster.adoc[] --- [Consult the llms.txt file for a full list of contents](/llms.txt) [View original HTML](/enterprise-analytics/current/reference/rest-initialize-cluster.html) # Initializing a Cluster > A cluster can be initialized and provisioned, by means of a single call to the REST API. ## [](#http-method-and-uri)HTTP Method and URI POST /clusterInit ## [](#description)Description Initializes and provisions a cluster. The `POST /clusterInit` method and URI thereby achieve as a single call the combined effectiveness of several other calls that each perform only a part of the initialization and provisioning sequence. These other calls are all described elsewhere in this section, as [Initializing a Node](rest-initialize-node.md), [Establishing Credentials](rest-establish-credentials.md), [Naming a Node](rest-name-node.md), [Configuring Memory](rest-configure-memory.md), [Assigning Services](#reference:rest-set-up-services.adoc), and [Naming a Cluster](rest-name-cluster.md). Note that the `POST /clusterInit` method and URI allow the specifying of several parameters in addition to those supported by the other calls. All parameters are listed and described below. ## [](#curl-syntax)Curl Syntax curl -X POST http://:8091/clusterInit -d hostname= -d username= -d password= -d dataPath= -d analyticsPath= -d javaHome= -d sendStats=true -d clusterName= -d services= -d memoryQuota= -d cbasMemoryQuota= -d afamily=[ 'ipv4' | 'ipv6' ] -d afamilyOnly=[ true | false ] -d nodeEncryption=[ 'on' | 'off' ] -d indexerStorageMode=[ 'plasma' | 'magma' ] -d port='SAME' -d allowedHosts= The parameters and arguments are listed below: * `hostname`. The IP address or domain name that will be the name of the node established as a single-node cluster. This parameter is optional: the default value is `127.0.0.1`. * `username`. A string that will be the username for the new cluster. This parameter must be specified. * `password`. A string that will be the password for the new cluster. This parameter must be specified. * `dataPath` and `analyticsPath`. Paths for the storage of data to be used by the Data and Analytics Services. All paths must be writable by user `couchbase`. These parameters are optional. For the default values, see [Initializing a Node](rest-initialize-node.md). * `javaHome`. Location of the JRE to be used by the Analytics Service. The specified path must be writable by user `couchbase`. This parameter is optional. There is no default value. * `sendStats`. Enables or disables Enterprise Analytics software update notifications and sharing of system performance information with Couchbase. See the [update-notifications](#cli:cbcli/couchbase-cli-cluster-init.adoc#:~:text=software%20update%20notifications) option in the [cluster-init](#cli:cbcli/couchbase-cli-cluster-init.adoc) command line interface reference for details of what `sendStats` shares. It's always set to `true` for Enterprise Analytics. In Enterprise Analytics, you can set the value to the default `true` or `false`. * `clusterName`. A name for the cluster. This name is for convenience of identification, and will not be used for network access. This parameter is optional. There is no default value. * `services`. A list of the services to be hosted on the cluster. The list must consist of one or more of the following: `kv` (Data Service), `cbas` (Analytics Service). Each name must be separated from the following name with a comma. Each service is allocated a default amount of memory, unless custom allocations have been made. See [Configuring Memory](rest-configure-memory.md) For information about allocating memory per service, and on the default minimum values per service. This parameter must be specified. The value must be at least one service: there is no default. Each quota is specified as an integer. If no custom quota is specified for one or more services, those services retain the default allocations: * for the Data Service 256 Mb * for the Analytics Service 1024 Mb These indicates that there is no specified quota. For most services, the minimum allowed allocation is 256 Mb. For the Analytics Service, the minimum allowed allocation is 1024 Mb. + * `afamily`. The IP address-family principally to be used by the cluster. This parameter is optional. Either `ipv4` (the default) or `ipv6` can be specified. * `afamilyOnly`. Whether _only_ the address-family specified by `afamily` should be used. This parameter is optional. The value can be `true` or `false` (the default). For information, see [Manage Address Families](../manage/manage-nodes/manage-address-families.md). * `nodeEncryption`. Whether node-to-node encryption should be switched on for the cluster. This parameter is optional. Value can be `on` or `off` (the default). For information, see [Node-to-Node Encryption](#learn:clusters-and-availability/node-to-node-encryption.adoc). * `indexerStorageMode`. This can be `plasma` (the default) or `magma`. For information, see [Storage Settings](#learn:services-and-indexes/indexes/storage-modes.adoc). This parameter is optional. * `port`. The number of the port that the new, single-node cluster will use as its administration port for unencrypted traffic. The value `SAME` specifies the standard port-number, which is `8091`. This parameter must be explicitly specified, even if `SAME` is to be used. * `allowedHosts`. A comma-separated list of the naming conventions that determine which hosts are allowed to be added or joined to the new cluster. The default is `"*"`, which determines that any hostname is acceptable. For information, see [Restrict Node-Addition](rest-specify-node-addition-conventions.md). This parameter is optional, and is available only in Enterprise Analytics. ## [](#responses)Responses Success returns `200 OK`. If a directory is not writable by user `couchbase`, `400 Bad Request` is returned, with a message such as: `["Could not set analytics storage. All directories must be writable by 'couchbase' user."].`An incorrectly specified URL or data parameter returns `404 Object Not Found`. ## [](#example)Example The following example creates a new, single-node cluster: curl -v -X POST http://10.144.231.104:8091/clusterInit \ -d "hostname=com.test.ubuntu" \ -d "dataPath=%2Fopt%2Fcouchbase%2Fvar%2Flib%2Fcouchbase%2Fdata" \ -d "analyticsPath=%2Fopt%2Fcouchbase%2Fvar%2Flib%2Fcouchbase%2Fdata" \ -d "javaHome=" \ -d "sendStats=true" \ -d "services=kv%2Cn1ql" \ -d "clusterName=FourthCluster" \ -d "memoryQuota=256" \ -d "afamily=ipv4" \ -d "afamilyOnly=false" \ -d "nodeEncryption=off" \ -d "username=Administrator" \ -d "password=password" \ -d "port=SAME" \ -d "allowedHosts=*.test.ubuntu,127.0.0.1" Success returns a confirmation such as the following: {"newBaseUri":"http://10.144.231.104:8091/"} ## [](#see-also)See Also For an overview of nodes, see [Nodes](#learn:clusters-and-availability/nodes.adoc). For information about storage and memory-management, see [Memory and Storage](#learn:buckets-memory-and-storage/memory-and-storage.adoc). Node-to-node Encryption is described in [Node-to-Node Encryption](#learn:clusters-and-availability/node-to-node-encryption.adoc). Address families are described in [Manage Address Families](../manage/manage-nodes/manage-address-families.md).