---
layout: docs
page_title: operator step-down - Command
description: |-
  The "operator step-down" forces the Vault server at the given address to step
  down from active duty.
---

> [!IMPORTANT]  
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# operator step-down

The `operator step-down` forces the active Vault node within an [HA cluster](/vault/docs/concepts/ha)
to step down from active duty. When executed against a non-active node, i.e. a 
standby or [performance standby](/vault/docs/enterprise/performance-standby) node, 
the request will be forwarded to the active node.  While the 
affected node will have a delay before attempting to acquire 
the leader lock again, if no other Vault nodes acquire the
lock beforehand, it is possible for the same node to re-acquire
the lock and become active again. Due to the locking architecture, there may be a period of time
before another node grabs the lock and finishes transitioning to active operation where the cluster has no active node. During the period where none of the nodes are active, forwarding of requests to the leader node will fail.

## Examples

Force a Vault server to step down as the leader:

```shell-session
$ vault operator step-down
Success! Stepped down: http://127.0.0.1:8200
```

## Usage

There are no flags beyond the [standard set of flags](/vault/docs/commands)
included on all commands.

## Policy requirements

You must belong to a policy with `update` and `sudo` permissions to use the
`vault operator step-down` command:
 
```hcl
path "sys/step-down" {
  capabilities = ["update", "sudo"]
}
```
