github.com/dahs81/otto@v0.2.1-0.20160126165905-6400716cf085/website/source/docs/concepts/dev-server.html.md (about)

     1  ---
     2  layout: "docs"
     3  page_title: "Dev Server Mode"
     4  sidebar_current: "docs-concepts-devserver"
     5  description: |-
     6    The dev server in Vault can be used for development or to experiment with Vault.
     7  ---
     8  
     9  # "Dev" Server Mode
    10  
    11  You can start Vault as a server in "dev" mode like so: `vault server -dev`.
    12  This dev-mode server requires no further setup, and your local `vault` CLI will
    13  be authenticated to talk to it. This makes it easy to experiment with Vault or
    14  start a Vault instance for development. Every feature of Vault is available in
    15  "dev" mode. The `-dev` flag just short-circuits a lot of setup to insecure
    16  defaults.
    17  
    18  ~> **Warning:** Never, ever, ever run a "dev" mode server in production.
    19  It is insecure and will lose data on every restart (since it stores data
    20  in-memory). It is only made for development or experimentation.
    21  
    22  ## Properties
    23  
    24  The properties of the dev server:
    25  
    26    * **Initialized and unsealed** - The server will be automatically initialized
    27      and unsealed. You don't need to use `vault unseal`. It is ready for use
    28      immediately.
    29  
    30    * **In-memory storage** - All data is stored (encrypted) in-memory. Vault
    31      server doesn't require any file permissions.
    32  
    33    * **Bound to local address without TLS** - The server is listening on
    34      `127.0.0.1:8200` (the default server address) _without_ TLS.
    35  
    36    * **Automatically Authenticated** - The server stores your root access
    37      token so `vault` CLI access is ready to go. If you are accessing Vault
    38      via the API, you'll need to authenticate using the token printed out.
    39  
    40    * **Single unseal key** - The server is initialized with a single unseal
    41      key. The Vault is already unsealed, but if you want to experiment with
    42      seal/unseal, then only the single outputted key is required.
    43  
    44  ## Use Case
    45  
    46  The dev server should be used for experimentation with Vault features, such
    47  as different authentication backends, secret backends, audit backends, etc.
    48  If you're new to Vault, you may want to pick up with [Your First
    49  Secret](https://www.vaultproject.io/intro/getting-started/first-secret.html) in
    50  our getting started guide.
    51  
    52  In addition to experimentation, the dev server is very easy to automate
    53  for development environments.