Where Does OpenBao Store Config and Data?
OpenBao takes its config from a file you pass with -config (for example /etc/openbao/config.hcl), with data wherever raft points.
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OpenBao has no baked in config location. You write an HCL (or JSON) file and hand it to bao server -config, commonly kept at /etc/openbao/config.hcl. That file names the listeners, the storage backend and the raft data path.
The data itself lives wherever the raft stanza points, not next to the config. Back up the config file and the raft directory together; either one alone restores nothing.
Where OpenBao stores this, by platform
/etc/openbao/config.hcl
HCL or JSON with listeners, storage and telemetry. No default path: pass -config explicitly or set BAO_CONFIG_PATH. Keep permissions tight; the file holds TLS and backend details.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a default OpenBao config path?
No. Outside dev mode OpenBao refuses to guess: you must hand bao server a -config path (or BAO_CONFIG_PATH). The docs example uses /etc/openbao/config.hcl, but any path works.
I lost data after a restart. Was anything ever written to disk?
Only in dev mode, which is in-memory and starts unsealed. Anything started with a real config file persists to the raft path on disk; check that directory first.
Notice an outdated path? Let us know.