Unable to Create MongoDB User in Azure Cosmos DB for MongoDB vCore (Tried All Official Methods)

Question

Unable to Create MongoDB User in Azure Cosmos DB for MongoDB vCore (Tried All Official Methods)

Chandan Kumar 20

Hello,

I'm currently working on setting up secondary users for Azure Cosmos DB for MongoDB vCore (Free Tier), and despite following all the official documentation and community suggestions, I'm still unable to successfully create a new MongoDB user with readWrite permissions.

I have carefully followed the guidance provided in your official documentation:

🔗 Create secondary users - Cosmos DB for MongoDB vCore

Approaches I’ve Tried (Based on Official Docs)
Approache- 1

Azure CLI – az cosmosdb mongodb user definition create

az cosmosdb mongodb user definition create \

--account-name ep-md-mongodb-database \

--resource-group myapp-rg \

--body '{

"Id": "mydb.newuser",

"UserName": "newuser",

"Password": "StrongPassword@123",

"DatabaseName": "mydb",

"CustomData": "Created by Chandan for app access",

"Mechanisms": "SCRAM-SHA-256",

"Roles": [

  {

    "Role": "readWrite",

    "Db": "mydb"

  }

]

}'

ERROR- (ResourceNotFound) The Resource 'Microsoft.DocumentDB/databaseAccounts/ep-md-mongodb-database' under resource group 'myapp-rg' was not found.

Even though the Cosmos DB account exists, this command does not recognize it under the databaseAccounts namespace — likely due to vCore-based cluster architecture.

Approache- 2

Azure CLI (cosmosdb-preview extension) – mongocluster user create

az cosmosdb mongocluster user create \

--name ep-md-mongodb-database \

--resource-group myapp-rg \

--database-name mydb \

--username newuser \

--password 'StrongPassword@123' \

--roles '[{"role": "readWrite", "db": "mydb"}]'

ERROR- 'user' is misspelled or not recognized by the system.

Even with the latest cosmosdb-preview (v1.6.1) extension and Azure CLI (v2.61+), the CLI does not recognize user as a valid subcommand of az cosmosdb mongocluster.
Approache- 3

Mongo Shell (mongosh) – db.createUser()

db.createUser({

user: "readonlyuser",

pwd: "StrongPassword@123",

roles: [ { role: "readWrite", db: "mydb" } ]

})

ERROR- MongoServerError[CommandNotSupported]: CreateUser command is not supported.

As stated in the documentation, this is expected behavior since Cosmos DB vCore emulates MongoDB and restricts certain commands.

Request for Clarification:-

Is there a currently supported method to create a secondary MongoDB user for Cosmos DB vCore via CLI or Portal?
If the mongocluster user command is not yet available in the public Azure CLI — is there an ETA or alternate method (REST API, ARM Template)?
Is user creation only possible via Portal UI for now?

System Context

Cosmos DB: Free tier

Azure CLI: 2.61.0

cosmosdb-preview extension: 1.6.1

Shell: Ubuntu 24.04 LTS

I appreciate any guidance or updated instructions on how to achieve this user creation task reliably.

Saraswathi Devadula 10,855 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-08-04T13:14:13.2066667+00:00

Hello Chandan Kumar

I kindly requesting you to please share the details requested in the private message for further troubleshooting.
Saraswathi Devadula 10,855 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-08-05T04:01:10.1266667+00:00

Hello Chandan Kumar
We haven’t heard from you on the last response and was just checking back to see if you have a resolution yet. In case if you have any resolution please do share that same with the community as it can be helpful to others. Otherwise, will respond with more details and we will try to help.

Accepted answer

1 additional answer

Your answer

Saraswathi Devadula 10,855 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-08-04T13:14:13.2066667+00:00

Hello Chandan Kumar

I kindly requesting you to please share the details requested in the private message for further troubleshooting.
Saraswathi Devadula 10,855 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-08-05T04:01:10.1266667+00:00

Hello Chandan Kumar
We haven’t heard from you on the last response and was just checking back to see if you have a resolution yet. In case if you have any resolution please do share that same with the community as it can be helpful to others. Otherwise, will respond with more details and we will try to help.

Answer 1

Jose Benjamin Solis Nolasco 4,906

As you mentioned the only supported method right now to create or manage secondary users in MongoDB vCore is through the Azure Portal UI.

Recommendation for your case:

Go to your vCore cluster in the Azure Portal

Navigate to Security > Users

Add the secondary user from there with the appropriate roles

CLI-based user creation (including az cosmosdb mongodb user definition create) applies only to Cosmos DB for MongoDB API (NoSQL with API emulation), not to the newer vCore-based deployments.

MongoShell (db.createUser()) is not supported in vCore as you've seen — user management is abstracted and restricted for security and consistency.

az cosmosdb mongocluster user create is intended for Cosmos DB for MongoDB vCore, but this subcommand is not yet available in GA (General Availability) in the public CLI — even with the cosmosdb-preview extension.

As of now (August 2025), the only officially supported and stable method to create secondary MongoDB users in Cosmos DB vCore is through the Azure Portal UI:

Navigate to Azure Cosmos DB for MongoDB vCore account

Go to "Security" → "Users"

Click "Add user" and input:

Username

Password

Database

Roles (readWrite, read, etc.)

⚠️ If this UI flow is missing or failing in your portal instance:

Double-check you're targeting a vCore MongoDB cluster, not a NoSQL account.

Ensure you're in a supported region (some preview features are region-specific).

Confirm the Azure role assignment has sufficient privileges (e.g., Owner or Cosmos DB Account Contributor).

😊 If my answer helped you resolve your issue, please consider marking it as the correct answer. This helps others in the community find solutions more easily. Thanks!

Chandan Kumar 20 Reputation points

2025-08-05T05:38:46.5933333+00:00

@Jose Benjamin Solis Nolasco
Thank you so much for the detailed explanation and guidance! 🙏 Your response really helped clarify the confusion around secondary user creation in MongoDB vCore.

I’ll try the approach via the Azure Portal (Security → Users) as you suggested and will update you once it's working on my end.

Really appreciate your support — this was very helpful!
Saraswathi Devadula 10,855 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-08-05T07:41:06.2566667+00:00

Hello Chandan Kumar

Glad that the information shared is very helpful for you.

If this answers your query, do click Accept Answer and Upvote for was this answer helpful.
Jose Benjamin Solis Nolasco 4,906 Reputation points

2025-08-05T18:36:28.58+00:00

@Chandan Kumar Excellent let us know

Please do not forget to "Accept the answer” and upvote it wherever the information provided helps you, this can be beneficial to other community members.it would be greatly appreciated and helpful to others.
Chandan Kumar 20 Reputation points

2025-08-06T05:06:22.4+00:00
Hello,

Thank you for your guidance and detailed explanation.

I have followed your recommended approach to create a secondary user in Azure Cosmos DB for MongoDB vCore using the Azure Portal UI. Below are the exact steps I took:

Navigated to the Cosmos DB for MongoDB vCore cluster in the Azure Portal

Went to Security > Users

Clicked Add user

Entered:

Username: newuser

**Password**: `StrongPassword@123` **Database**: `mydb` **Role**: `readWrite`

However, despite following the exact instructions, the "Users" section under Security is not visible or accessible in the Azure Portal for my vCore cluster. I’ve verified the following:

I’m working within a MongoDB vCore cluster, not NoSQL

My account has Owner permissions on the resource group and Cosmos DB

The deployment is in a supported region

Given this, it seems the user management UI is either not available for my cluster or not functioning as expected.

Could you please advise further or let me know if:

This UI feature is region-locked or still rolling out

There’s a workaround or ETA for CLI/Portal support for user creation

Thanks again for your support — looking forward to your response. Hello,

Thank you for your guidance and detailed explanation.

I have followed your recommended approach to create a secondary user in Azure Cosmos DB for MongoDB vCore using the Azure Portal UI. Below are the exact steps I took:

Navigated to the Cosmos DB for MongoDB vCore cluster in the Azure Portal

Went to Security > Users

Clicked Add user

Entered:

Username: newuser

**Password**: `StrongPassword@123` **Database**: `mydb` **Role**: `readWrite`

However, despite following the exact instructions, the "Users" section under Security is not visible or accessible in the Azure Portal for my vCore cluster. I’ve verified the following:

I’m working within a MongoDB vCore cluster, not NoSQL

My account has Owner permissions on the resource group and Cosmos DB

The deployment is in a supported region

Given this, it seems the user management UI is either not available for my cluster or not functioning as expected.

Could you please advise further or let me know if:

This UI feature is region-locked or still rolling out

There’s a workaround or ETA for CLI/Portal support for user creation

Thanks again for your support — looking forward to your response.
Jonathan Allbritten 0 Reputation points

2025-08-08T22:43:30.7633333+00:00

@Jose Benjamin Solis Nolasco @Saraswathi Devadula

Similar issue here. Same region and M10 tier. No UI. No ability to create use via CLI tools.

Also official documentation says that this entered general availability in July.

https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/updates?id=470102

Which is supported by documentation here:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cosmos-db/mongodb/vcore/compatibility?source=recommendations

And here

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cosmos-db/mongodb/vcore/secondary-users

Which all point to secondary user creation being supported via the mongosh cli and is the recommended path.

Is MSFT documentation out of sync with the current state of this feature? If so, I need to escalate to support directly to find resolution as this was expected to already be available atm when we decided to role this out.

Answer 2

Vikrant 20

Hello @Jose Benjamin Solis Nolasco

I am facing the same issue with my Azure Cosmos DB for MongoDB (vCore).

I'm also unable to create new users with limited permissions, as the UI flow for user management is missing—there is no "Security" → "Users" section available.

Database Details:

Region: East US
Cluster Tier: M10 (1 vCore, 2 GiB RAM)
Created At: 2025-08-04T07:27:04.7496067Z

My Requirement: I need to create the following types of users:

Read-Only User – with permissions to only read data from the database.

Read-Write User – with permissions to both read and write data, but no admin-level access.

User's image

Jonathan Allbritten 0 Reputation points

2025-08-08T22:42:36.9733333+00:00

@Jose Benjamin Solis Nolasco @Saraswathi Devadula

Similar issue here. Same region and tier. No UI. No ability to create use via CLI tools.

Also official documentation says that this entered general availability in July.

https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/updates?id=470102

Which is supported by documentation here:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cosmos-db/mongodb/vcore/compatibility?source=recommendations

And here

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cosmos-db/mongodb/vcore/secondary-users

Which all point to secondary user creation being supported via the mongosh cli and is the recommended path.

Is MSFT documentation out of sync with the current state of this feature? If so, I need to escalate to support directly to find resolution as this was expected to already be available atm when we decided to role this out.

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Unable to Create MongoDB User in Azure Cosmos DB for MongoDB vCore (Tried All Official Methods)

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