System User

The system user provides a built-in local administrator account that bootstraps new installations and provides emergency access if external authentication (SAML/LDAP) fails.

Account Capabilities

The system user is hard-coded with critical administrative permissions, including:

  • Configure access control and identity providers.

  • Manage operational settings (email, storage, etc.).

  • Configure Edge nodes and Test Distribution.

  • Generate support bundles for troubleshooting.

For routine management, avoid using the system user. Instead, use it only to create personal administrator accounts with the Administrator role. Securely store the system password in a password manager or vault.

Accessing the System User

When you first log in as the system user, you must change the default, randomly generated password.

  • New Installation

  • Existing Installation

  • Unattended (GitOps)

Obtain the one-time default password using the methods in the Obtaining the Default Password section.
Note: This password is for one-time use only and is invalidated as soon as you set a custom password.

Sign in with the custom password created during the initial bootstrap. If this password is lost, you must reset it via the CLI.

If you defined a password in your values.yaml file during installation, use that value to log in. You won’t be prompted to change it unless the configuration is modified.

Changing the System User Password via the UI

To change the system user password in the Develocity UI:

  1. Log in to Develocity as a user with Administrator permissions.

  2. Navigate to Administration  Access control  System user.

  3. Enter the current password and the new password, confirm the new password, then click Save to update it.

System User Password Change in Develocity UI
System User Password Change in Develocity UI

Configuration Fields

Setting

Description

Current password

The existing password for the system user. This is required to authenticate the change.

New password

The new password you want to set for the system user. It must meet the system’s password complexity requirements.

New password confirm

Re-enter the new password to confirm it matches the intended value.

Users with the Configure access control permission can also reset the system user password directly through the UI by navigating to Administration  Access control  System user.

Obtaining the Default Password

If you don’t have a custom password yet, use one of the following methods to retrieve the system-generated default.

Using develocityctl

The Develocity CLI is the recommended method and provides the most direct way to retrieve or reset the password:

Get the Current Default Password
develocityctl system get-default-system-password
Reset to a New Value
develocityctl system reset-system-password

Using kubectl

If you have access to the Kubernetes cluster, you can decode the secret directly:

Retrieve Secret from Kubernetes
kubectl -n develocity get secret gradle-default-system-password-secret --template={{.data.password}} | base64 --decode

Finding It in Logs

The develocity-app pods log the password during their initial startup. Search your log aggregator for the string: Using default system password:

Resetting a Lost Password

If you’re locked out without the custom password, you can force a reset using the Develocity CLI system command. This doesn’t require the current password.

Reset System Password
develocityctl system reset-system-password