neo4j-admin

administers Neo4j databases

TLDR

Dump a database to a file (database must be stopped)

$ neo4j-admin database dump --to-path=[/backups] [neo4j]

Load a database from a dump file

$ neo4j-admin database load --from-path=[/backups] [neo4j]

Set the initial admin password

$ neo4j-admin dbms set-initial-password [password]

Check database consistency

$ neo4j-admin database check [neo4j]

Bulk import CSV data into a new database

$ neo4j-admin database import full --nodes=[nodes.csv] --relationships=[rels.csv] [neo4j]

Show memory recommendations for heap and pagecache

$ neo4j-admin server memory-recommendation

neo4j-admin is the administration tool for Neo4j graph databases. It handles backup and restore (dump/load), database consistency checking, bulk data import, memory configuration recommendations, and initial setup tasks.In Neo4j 5+, commands are organized into categories: database (per-database operations like dump, load, import, check), dbms (system-wide operations like setting the initial password), and server (server configuration like memory recommendations). Some operations require the database to be stopped first.

PARAMETERS

COMMAND

Administration command category: database, dbms, or server.

database dump

Dump a database to a single-file archive for offline backup.

database load

Load a database from a dump file.

database import full

Bulk import data from CSV files into a new database.

database check

Check database consistency and integrity.

dbms set-initial-password

Set the initial admin password before first startup.

server memory-recommendation

Print heuristic memory recommendations for heap and pagecache.

--additional-config file

Provide additional configuration from a file.

--expand-commands

Allow command expansion in config values.

--verbose

Enable verbose output.

--help

Display help information.

INSTALL

sudo apk add neo4j

brew install neo4j

nix profile install nixpkgs#neo4j

CAVEATS

Some operations (dump, load, import) require the database to be stopped first. Admin privileges are typically required. Command syntax changed significantly between Neo4j 4.x and 5.x; the examples here use Neo4j 5+ syntax.

HISTORY

neo4j-admin has been part of the Neo4j distribution since its early releases. The command structure was significantly reorganized in Neo4j 5 (2022), moving from flat commands (e.g., `dump`, `memrec`) to categorized subcommands (e.g., `database dump`, `server memory-recommendation`).