Modify the default configuration

The default configuration provided by the Neo4j image is intended for learning about Neo4j but must be modified to make it suitable for production use. In particular, the default memory assignments to Neo4j are very limited (NEO4J_server_memory_pagecache_size=512M and NEO4J_server_memory_heap_max__size=512M), to allow multiple containers to be run on the same server. You can read more about configuring Neo4j in the Docker specific configuration settings.

There are three ways to modify the configuration:

Set environment variables.
Mount a /conf volume.
Build a new image.

Which one to choose depends on how much you need to customize the image.

For production use, it is recommended to use one of the latter two methods, replacing the entire configuration. This provides stability in the face of changes or additions to the default configuration in the image.

Environment variables

Pass environment variables to the container when you run it, for example:

docker run \
    --detach \
    --publish=7474:7474 --publish=7687:7687 \
    --volume=$HOME/neo4j/data:/data \
    --volume=$HOME/neo4j/logs:/logs \
    --env NEO4J_dbms_memory_pagecache_size=4G \
    neo4j:2026.08.1

Any configuration value (see Configuration settings) can be passed using the following naming scheme:

Prefix with NEO4J_.
Underscores must be written twice: _ is written as __.
Periods are converted to underscores: . is written as _.

As an example, db.tx_log.rotation.size could be set by specifying the following argument to Docker:

--env NEO4J_db_tx__log_rotation_size

Variables that can take multiple options, such as NEO4J_server_jvm_additional, must be defined just once, and include a concatenation of the multiple values. For example:

--env NEO4J_server_jvm_additional="-Dcom.sun.management.jmxremote.authenticate=true -Dcom.sun.management.jmxremote.ssl=false -Dcom.sun.management.jmxremote.password.file=$HOME/conf/jmx.password -Dcom.sun.management.jmxremote.access.file=$HOME/conf/jmx.access -Dcom.sun.management.jmxremote.port=3637"

Docker additional configuration settings via an environment variable for JVM do not override the default JVM configurations but are appended to them.

Mounting the /conf volume

To make arbitrary modifications to the Neo4j configuration, provide the container with a /conf volume:

docker run \
    --detach \
    --publish=7474:7474 --publish=7687:7687 \
    --volume=$HOME/neo4j/data:/data \
    --volume=$HOME/neo4j/logs:/logs \
    --volume=$HOME/neo4j/conf:/conf \
    neo4j:2026.08.1

The configuration files in the /conf volume override the files provided by the image. So if you want to change one value in a file, you must ensure that the rest of the file is complete and correct. Environment variables passed to the container by Docker override the values in configuration files in /conf volume.

If you use a configuration volume you must make sure to listen on all network interfaces. This can be done by setting server.default_listen_address=0.0.0.0.

To dump the initial set of configuration files, run the image with the dump-config command. You must set the neo4j user as the owner of $HOME/neo4j/conf to allow write access from the Neo4j Docker container:

sudo chown neo4j:neo4j $HOME/neo4j/conf

Processes in the Neo4j docker container run under the neo4j user by default.

docker run --rm \
    --volume=$HOME/neo4j/conf:/conf \
    neo4j:2026.08.1 dump-config

Customize а Neo4j Docker image

To customize a Neo4j Docker image, you create a custom Dockerfile based on a Neo4j image (using the FROM instruction), build that image, and run a container based on it.

It is recommended to specify an explicit version of the base Neo4j Docker image. For available Neo4j Docker images, see https://hub.docker.com/_/neo4j.

Additionally, you can pass EXTENSION_SCRIPT as an environment variable, pointing to a location in a folder you need to mount. You can use this script to perform an additional initialization or configuration of the environment, for example, loading credentials or dynamically setting neo4j.conf settings, etc. The Neo4j image entrypoint script will check for the presence of an EXTENSION_SCRIPT environment variable. If set, it will first execute the entrypoint code, then the extension script specified, and finally, it will start Neo4j.

The following is an example of how to create a custom Dockerfile based on a Neo4j image, build the image, and run a container based on it. It also shows how to use the EXTENSION_SCRIPT feature.

# Create a custom Dockerfile based on a Neo4j image:

/example/Dockerfile

FROM neo4j:2026.08.1-enterprise
COPY extension_script.sh /extension_script.sh
ENV EXTENSION_SCRIPT=/extension_script.sh

/example/extension_script.sh

echo "extension logic"

# Build the custom image:

docker build --file /example/Dockerfile --tag neo4j:2026.08.1-enterprise-custom-container-1 /example

# Create and run a container based on the custom image:

docker run --interactive --tty --name custom-container-1 -p7687:7687 -p7474:7474 -p7473:7473 --env NEO4J_AUTH=neo4j/your_password --env NEO4J_ACCEPT_LICENSE_AGREEMENT=yes neo4j:2026.08.1-enterprise-custom-container-1

The recommended best practices and methods for building efficient Docker images can be found at the Docker documentation → Best practices for writing Dockerfiles.

IPv6 support

To configure Neo4j running in Docker with IPv6 addresses, pass them as environment variables. IPv6 addresses must be enclosed in square brackets:

docker run \
    --publish=7474:7474 --publish=7687:7687 \
    --env NEO4J_server_bolt_listen__address=[::]:7687 \
    --env NEO4J_server_bolt_advertised__address=[2001:db8::1]:7687 \
    --env NEO4J_server_http_listen__address=[::]:7474 \
    --env NEO4J_server_https_listen__address=[::]:7473 \
    neo4j:2026.08.1

Before starting the container, ensure the Docker network is configured to support IPv6. Refer to the Docker IPv6 documentation for instructions on enabling IPv6 in the Docker daemon.

Glossary

allocator: A component in the cluster that allocates databases to servers according to the topology constraints specified and an allocation strategy.
asynchronous replication: Asynchronous replication is used by secondary copies to poll for new transactions, which means they cannot be guaranteed to have received the most recent transactions. This enables efficient scale-out of read-performance.
Aura instance: A fully-managed DBMS represented by a single instance ID, that is running in the Neo4j Aura cloud.
auto-commit transaction: An automatically committed transaction that contains a single query.
Bolt protocol: Bolt is a protocol used for interaction between Neo4j instances and drivers.
bookmark: A marker the client can request from the cluster to ensure that it is able to read its own writes so that the application’s state is consistent and only databases that have a copy of the bookmark are permitted to respond.
category (Bloom): A category is based on a node label and is defined in a Perspective as a way of visually distinguishing nodes with the same label(s).
causal consistency: All servers in a cluster agree on the order in which transactions take place. The position of a server on the causal chain can be guaranteed using a bookmark.
cluster: A Neo4j DBMS that spans multiple servers working together to increase fault tolerance and/or read scalability. Databases on a cluster may be configured to replicate across servers in the cluster thus achieving read scalability or high availability.
client application: Software that interacts with a Neo4j server.
commit: A commit is the successful completion of a transaction, which ensures durability of any changes made. For more details, visit Operations Manual → Transaction management.
composite database: Composite databases are the means to access partitioned graph data with a single Cypher query.
constraint: Constraints are sets of data modeling rules that ensure the data is consistent and reliable.
Cypher®: Neo4j’s graph query language.
data model: A data model defines how information is organized in a database. A good data model will make querying and understanding your data easier. In Neo4j, the data models have a graph structure.
database: A database is a container used by the DBMS to manage and store graph data. The physical structure of data is controlled by the database.
database vs graph: Databases are the physical containers of graph data. Graphs are the logical structure of data in Neo4j.
Database Management System: Database Management System, or DBMS, capable of managing multiple databases. A DBMS may run on a single server, or span several servers configured as a cluster.
database schema: The prescribed property existence and datatypes for nodes and relationships.
deallocate: An act of removing a database from a server or a server from a cluster without loss of data or reduced fault tolerance.
degree (of a node): The number of relationships of a specific node; loops are counted twice.
disaster recovery: A manual intervention to restore availability of a cluster, or databases within a cluster.
driver: A software library that provides access to Neo4j from a particular programming language.
election: In the event that the Raft leader becomes unresponsive, followers automatically trigger an election and vote for a new leader.
entity: A node or a relationship.
expression (Cypher): A component of a Cypher query which produces values. It may be used in projections, as a predicate, or when setting properties on graph elements.
fabric: Fabric is the architectural design of a unified system that provides a single access point to local or distributed graph data.
fault tolerance: A guarantee that a cluster can maintain a database’s persistence and availability in the event of one or more servers failing.
follower: A primary copy of a database acting as a follower, receives and acknowledges synchronous writes from the leader.
Generative AI (GenAI): A type of artificial intelligence (AI) system that generates text, images, or other media in response to prompts.
graph: A logical representation of a set of nodes where some pairs are connected by relationships.
index: Data structure that improves read performance of a database.
knowledge graph: A specific type of graph that has an organizing principle so that a user (or a computer system) can reason about the underlying data. The organizing principle provides an additional layer of structure that adds context to support knowledge discovery.
label: Marks a node as a member of a named and indexed subset. A node may be assigned zero or more labels.
leader: A single primary copy of a database is designated as the leader. It receives all write transactions from clients and replicates writes synchronously to followers and asynchronously to secondary copies of the database.
main database: In terms of Neo4j Enterprise Studio, the database(s) containing the user’s data. Can exist in the same Neo4j deployment as the tool asset database.
motif: A description of a specific pattern within a graph.
node: A node represents an entity or discrete object in your graph data model. Nodes can be connected by relationships, hold data in properties, and are classified by labels.
operator: A symbol representing a mathematical or logical operation.
parameter: Named value provided when running a Cypher statement.
path: A sequence of nodes and the relationships connecting them, that does not contain duplicate relationships. Several paths can match a pattern.
pattern: A specific arrangement of nodes and relationships that can be matched in a graph. A pattern follows a motif.
perspective (Bloom): A Perspective defines a certain business view or domain that can be found in the target Neo4j graph. A single Neo4j graph can be viewed through different Perspectives, each tailored for a different business purpose.
primary: A copy of the database that is able to process write transactions and is eligible to be elected as a leader. It participates in fault tolerant writes as it is part of the majority required to acknowledge and commit write transactions.
primary vs secondary: In a cluster, databases can operate in either primary or secondary mode. Primary databases are able to process write and read transactions, ensuring fault tolerance. Secondary databases are replicated asynchronously from primaries, and their main purpose is to provide read scaling within the cluster.
project (Aura): An isolated environment in the unified Aura console that contains its own database instances, configurations, and resources. Preceded by tenant in the classic Aura console.
property: Properties are key-value pairs that are used for storing data on nodes and relationships.
query (Cypher): A statement that retrieves or writes information to a database.
Raft group: A group of servers that are participating in hosting a particular database in primary mode.
Raft group member: A server that is participating in a Raft group. A server can be a member of one or more groups.
Raft log: A shared log between all Raft group members that is guaranteed to be consistently updated and viewed by those members. The log contains both database data and operational state of the Raft group.
Raft protocol: The networking mechanism that enables a database to replicate its data across multiple servers to give high availability for accessing the data and high durability to the data stored.
read scaling: Distributing query load by creating additional database copies hosted in secondary mode (read-only).
relationship: A relationship represents a connection between nodes in your graph data model. Relationships connect a source node to a target node, hold data in properties, and are classified by type.
secondary: An asynchronously replicated copy of the database that provides read scaling within the cluster.
seed: A seed is a database dump or a full backup used to create a database on a cluster. This is sometimes called seeding.
server: A physical machine, a virtual machine, or a container running an instance of Neo4j. Servers can be standalone or part of a cluster.
session: A causally linked sequence of transactions.
session consistency: An alternative name for Neo4j’s causal consistency.
standalone: A single server running Neo4j and not part of a cluster.
synchronous replication: Synchronous replication requires the leader primary to replicate a transaction and block the commit until a quorum of the follower primaries acknowledges that the transaction is successfully replicated. Once the transaction is replicated, the commit is allowed to proceed. This ensures data durability and consistency within the cluster.
system database: A database used by Neo4j to store system information.
tenant (Aura): An isolated environment in the classic Aura console that contains its own database instances, configurations, and resources. Replaced by project in the unified Aura console.
tool asset database: In terms of Neo4j Enterprise Studio, the database where tools' assets are stored. This can be in the same Neo4j deployment as the main database(s) or in a separate deployment.
topology: A configuration that describes how the copies of a database should be spread across the servers in a cluster, see primary mode and secondary mode.
transaction: A transaction comprises a unit of work performed against a database. It is treated in a coherent and reliable way, independent of other transactions. Transactions comply with the ACID consistency model (atomic, consistent, isolated, and durable).