Demo Using Tokens with the Consul UI

In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to authenticate to the HashiCorp Consul UI with an ACL token. Once logged in, you can perform write operations—such as creating or modifying tokens, roles, and policies—directly from the interface.

Overview

By default, the Consul UI provides read-only access to services, nodes, the Key/Value store, and cluster status. To enable write operations—like managing ACLs and service intentions—you must turn on ACL enforcement and log in with a valid token. This demo walks you through using the bootstrap (master) token to unlock full ACL management capabilities in the UI.

Prerequisites

A running Consul cluster with ACL enforcement enabled
A valid bootstrap (master) token
Browser access to the Consul UI (usually http://<consul-server>:8500/ui/)

1. Logging In with an ACL Token

Navigate to the Consul UI in your browser.
Select the ACL tab. If you’re not authenticated, you’ll see:
You are not authorized. You must be granted permissions to access this data.
Click Login. When prompted, paste your bootstrap token and submit.
After successful authentication, the ACL management interface loads:

The image shows a web interface for managing access controls, specifically displaying a list of tokens with details such as their scope and description. The interface includes tabs for Tokens, Roles, and Policies.

Security Best Practice

Treat your bootstrap token like a root credential. Avoid sharing it or embedding it in scripts. Always store tokens in a secure vault or use a short-lived token for day-to-day operations.

2. Managing ACL Entities

Once logged in, the ACL section exposes three main entities:

Entity	Description	UI Actions
Tokens	Create, revoke, and modify ACL tokens	New Token, Revoke, Edit
Roles	Group multiple policies under a single role	New Role, Assign Policies
Policies	Define fine-grained permission rules	New Policy, Edit, Clone

Creating and Editing

To create a token or role, click New Token or New Role in the corresponding tab.
To edit an existing policy (e.g., e-commerce), switch to Policies, select the policy, and update its HCL or JSON definitions.

3. Example: Editing a Policy

Click the Policies tab.
Select the e-commerce policy from the list.
Modify the rules in the editor pane and click Save.
Verify changes by assigning the policy to a role or creating a token scoped to it.

Conclusion

In this lesson, you authenticated to the Consul UI using a bootstrap token and explored how to manage ACL tokens, roles, and policies directly from the interface. With these capabilities, you can enforce robust security policies and streamline access control operations.

Links and References

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