---
title: Manage Authentication
description: To access Couchbase Server, administrators and applications must be
  authenticated.
pubDate: 2026-08-17T09:53:44.266Z
antora:
  editUrl: https://github.com/couchbase/docs-server/edit/release/7.6/modules/manage/pages/manage-security/manage-authentication.adoc
  xref: xref:7.6@server:manage:manage-security/manage-authentication.adoc[]
---

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# Manage Authentication

> To access Couchbase Server, administrators and applications must be authenticated. _Authentication_ is a process for identifying a user who is attempting to access a system. 

## [](#passing-credentials)Passing Credentials

Couchbase-Server authentication relies on _credentials_, which must be passed into the system by the user who is attempting access. Credentials can be entered manually, or passed into the system by an application. The credentials passed must match ones already stored and accessible by the system: if a match is achieved, the user is thereby recognized, and so _may_ be granted access. If no match is achieved, the user is denied access.

To access Couchbase Server, administrators authenticate by means of a username and password. These credentials can be validated by Couchbase Server itself: alternatively if the Enterprise Edition of Couchbase Server for Linux is used, validation can be performed either on a network-accessible directory-server, by means of the _Lightweight Directory Access Protocol_ (LDAP); or by means of the _Pluggable Authentication Modules_ (PAM) authentication-framework.