> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://icij.gitbook.io/datashare/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://icij.gitbook.io/datashare/server-mode/user-management/basic-with-a-database.md).
# Basic with a database
Basic authentication with a database.
{% hint style="warning" %}
This filter is superseded by the [HTML form auth filter](/datashare/server-mode/user-management/form-auth.md), which offers a nicer login experience and supports sign-out. It is the recommended way to authenticate users backed by the database. This page is kept for reference and existing deployments.
{% endhint %}
Basic authentication is a simple protocol that uses HTTP headers and the browser to authenticate users. User credentials are sent to the server in the `Authorization` header with `user:password` base64-encoded:
```
Authorization: Basic dXNlcjpwYXNzd29yZA==
```
{% hint style="warning" %}
Credentials are sent in plain text (base64 is not encryption). Always run Datashare behind TLS when using this filter.
{% endhint %}
## Database setup
On the server side, you need to provide a database user inventory. Launching Datashare first with the full database URL will automatically migrate the schema. Datashare supports SQLite and PostgreSQL. **SQLite is not recommended** for multi-user servers because it cannot be multithreaded and will cause contention on user lookups.
See [Provisioning users](/datashare/server-mode/user-management.md#provisioning-users) for how to hash passwords, structure user records, and insert them into the `user_inventory` table.
## Login experience
When accessing Datashare, the browser prompts with its native basic-auth popup:
basic auth popup
There is no sign-out: users remain logged in until the browser is closed.
## Example
Launching Datashare with Docker and the basic-auth filter backed by the database:
```
docker run -ti ICIJ/datashare app start --mode SERVER \
--batchQueueType REDIS \
--dataSourceUrl 'jdbc:postgresql://postgres/datashare?user=&password=' \
--sessionStoreType REDIS \
--auth basic \
--authUsersProvider database
```
---
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