# cypher

> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.redpanda.com/llms.txt). Component-specific: [connect-full.txt](https://docs.redpanda.com/connect-full.txt)

---
title: cypher
latest-connect-version: 4.93.0
latest-operator-version: v26.1.4
latest-console-tag: v3.7.3
latest-redpanda-tag: v26.1.9
docname: outputs/cypher
page-component-name: connect
page-version: master
page-component-version: master
page-component-title: Connect
page-relative-src-path: outputs/cypher.adoc
page-edit-url: https://github.com/redpanda-data/rp-connect-docs/edit/main/modules/components/pages/outputs/cypher.adoc
page-git-created-date: "2024-10-16"
page-git-modified-date: "2026-05-26"
---

<!-- Source: https://docs.redpanda.com/connect/components/outputs/cypher.md -->

**Available in:** Self-Managed

Writes a batch of messages to any graph database that supports the [Neo4j and Bolt URI schemes](https://neo4j.com/docs/go-manual/current/connect-advanced/). For each incoming message, the connector can perform operations to store or delete data within the database using the [Cypher query language](https://neo4j.com/docs/cypher-manual/current/introduction/).

Introduced in version 4.37.0.

#### Common

```yml
outputs:
  label: ""
  cypher:
    uri: "" # No default (required)
    cypher: "" # No default (required)
    database_name: ""
    args_mapping: "" # No default (optional)
    basic_auth:
      enabled: false
      username: ""
      password: ""
      realm: ""
    batching:
      count: 0
      byte_size: 0
      period: ""
      check: ""
      processors: [] # No default (optional)
    max_in_flight: 64
```

#### Advanced

```yml
outputs:
  label: ""
  cypher:
    uri: "" # No default (required)
    cypher: "" # No default (required)
    database_name: ""
    args_mapping: "" # No default (optional)
    basic_auth:
      enabled: false
      username: ""
      password: ""
      realm: ""
    tls:
      skip_cert_verify: false
      enable_renegotiation: false
      root_cas: ""
      root_cas_file: ""
      client_certs: []
    batching:
      count: 0
      byte_size: 0
      period: ""
      check: ""
      processors: [] # No default (optional)
    max_in_flight: 64
```

## [](#examples)Examples

### [](#write-to-neo4j-aura)Write to Neo4j Aura

This is an example of how to write to Neo4j Aura

```yaml
output:
  cypher:
    uri: neo4j+s://example.databases.neo4j.io
    cypher: |
      MERGE (product:Product {id: $id})
        ON CREATE SET product.name = $product,
                       product.title = $title,
                       product.description = $description,
    args_mapping: |
      root = {}
      root.id = this.product.id
      root.product = this.product.summary.name
      root.title = this.product.summary.displayName
      root.description = this.product.fullDescription
    basic_auth:
      enabled: true
      username: "${NEO4J_USER}"
      password: "${NEO4J_PASSWORD}"
```

## [](#fields)Fields

### [](#args_mapping)`args_mapping`

Mappings from incoming messages to the data, which are passed into the cypher expression as parameters. All mappings must be objects. By default, this field processes the entire payload.

**Type**: `string`

```yaml
# Examples:
args_mapping: root.name = this.displayName

# ---

args_mapping: root = {"orgId": this.org.id, "name": this.user.name}
```

### [](#basic_auth)`basic_auth`

Configure basic authentication for requests to your graphing database.

**Type**: `object`

### [](#basic_auth-enabled)`basic_auth.enabled`

Whether to use basic authentication in requests.

**Type**: `bool`

**Default**: `false`

### [](#basic_auth-password)`basic_auth.password`

The password to use for authentication. Used together with `username` for basic authentication or with encrypted private keys for secure access.

> ⚠️ **CAUTION**
>
> This field contains sensitive information that usually shouldn’t be added to a configuration directly. For more information, see [Secrets](https://docs.redpanda.com/connect/configuration/secrets/).

**Type**: `string`

**Default**: `""`

### [](#basic_auth-realm)`basic_auth.realm`

The realm or process for authentication challenges.

**Type**: `string`

**Default**: `""`

### [](#basic_auth-username)`basic_auth.username`

The username of the account credentials to authenticate as. Used together with `password` for basic authentication.

**Type**: `string`

**Default**: `""`

### [](#batching)`batching`

Configure a [batching policy](https://docs.redpanda.com/connect/configuration/batching/).

**Type**: `object`

```yaml
# Examples:
batching:
  byte_size: 5000
  count: 0
  period: 1s

# ---

batching:
  count: 10
  period: 1s

# ---

batching:
  check: this.contains("END BATCH")
  count: 0
  period: 1m
```

### [](#batching-byte_size)`batching.byte_size`

The number of bytes at which the batch is flushed. Set to `0` to disable size-based batching.

**Type**: `int`

**Default**: `0`

### [](#batching-check)`batching.check`

A [Bloblang query](https://docs.redpanda.com/connect/guides/bloblang/about/) that returns a boolean value indicating whether a message should end a batch.

**Type**: `string`

**Default**: `""`

```yaml
# Examples:
check: this.type == "end_of_transaction"
```

### [](#batching-count)`batching.count`

The number of messages after which the batch is flushed. Set to `0` to disable count-based batching.

**Type**: `int`

**Default**: `0`

### [](#batching-period)`batching.period`

The period of time after which an incomplete batch is flushed regardless of its size. This field accepts Go duration format strings such as `100ms`, `1s`, or `5s`.

**Type**: `string`

**Default**: `""`

```yaml
# Examples:
period: 1s

# ---

period: 1m

# ---

period: 500ms
```

### [](#batching-processors)`batching.processors[]`

A list of [processors](https://docs.redpanda.com/connect/components/processors/about/) to apply to a batch as it is flushed. This allows you to aggregate and archive the batch however you see fit. All resulting messages are flushed as a single batch, and therefore splitting the batch into smaller batches using these processors is a no-op.

**Type**: `processor`

```yaml
# Examples:
processors:
  - archive:
      format: concatenate

# ---

processors:
  - archive:
      format: lines

# ---

processors:
  - archive:
      format: json_array
```

### [](#cypher)`cypher`

The cypher expression to execute against the graph database.

**Type**: `string`

```yaml
# Examples:
cypher: MERGE (p:Person {name: $name})

# ---

cypher: |-
  MATCH (o:Organization {id: $orgId})
  MATCH (p:Person {name: $name})
  MERGE (p)-[:WORKS_FOR]->(o)
```

### [](#database_name)`database_name`

Set the target database against which expressions are evaluated.

**Type**: `string`

**Default**: `""`

### [](#max_in_flight)`max_in_flight`

The maximum number of message batches to have in flight at a given time. Increase this value to improve throughput.

**Type**: `int`

**Default**: `64`

### [](#tls)`tls`

Configure Transport Layer Security (TLS) settings to secure network connections. This includes options for standard TLS as well as mutual TLS (mTLS) authentication where both client and server authenticate each other using certificates. Key configuration options include `enabled` to enable TLS, `client_certs` for mTLS authentication, `root_cas`/`root_cas_file` for custom certificate authorities, and `skip_cert_verify` for development environments.

**Type**: `object`

### [](#tls-client_certs)`tls.client_certs[]`

A list of client certificates for mutual TLS (mTLS) authentication. Configure this field to enable mTLS, authenticating the client to the server with these certificates.

You must set `tls.enabled: true` for the client certificates to take effect.

**Certificate pairing rules**: For each certificate item, provide either:

-   Inline PEM data using both `cert` **and** `key` or

-   File paths using both `cert_file` **and** `key_file`.


Mixing inline and file-based values within the same item is not supported.

**Type**: `object`

**Default**: `[]`

```yaml
# Examples:
client_certs:
  - cert: foo
    key: bar

# ---

client_certs:
  - cert_file: ./example.pem
    key_file: ./example.key
```

### [](#tls-client_certs-cert)`tls.client_certs[].cert`

A plain text certificate to use.

**Type**: `string`

**Default**: `""`

### [](#tls-client_certs-cert_file)`tls.client_certs[].cert_file`

The path of a certificate to use.

**Type**: `string`

**Default**: `""`

### [](#tls-client_certs-key)`tls.client_certs[].key`

A plain text certificate key to use.

> ⚠️ **CAUTION**
>
> This field contains sensitive information that usually shouldn’t be added to a configuration directly. For more information, see [Secrets](https://docs.redpanda.com/connect/configuration/secrets/).

**Type**: `string`

**Default**: `""`

### [](#tls-client_certs-key_file)`tls.client_certs[].key_file`

The path of a certificate key to use.

**Type**: `string`

**Default**: `""`

### [](#tls-client_certs-password)`tls.client_certs[].password`

A plain text password for when the private key is password encrypted in PKCS#1 or PKCS#8 format. The obsolete `pbeWithMD5AndDES-CBC` algorithm is not supported for the PKCS#8 format.

Because the obsolete pbeWithMD5AndDES-CBC algorithm does not authenticate the ciphertext, it is vulnerable to padding oracle attacks that can let an attacker recover the plaintext.

> ⚠️ **CAUTION**
>
> This field contains sensitive information that usually shouldn’t be added to a configuration directly. For more information, see [Secrets](https://docs.redpanda.com/connect/configuration/secrets/).

**Type**: `string`

**Default**: `""`

```yaml
# Examples:
password: foo

# ---

password: ${KEY_PASSWORD}
```

### [](#tls-enable_renegotiation)`tls.enable_renegotiation`

Whether to allow the remote server to request renegotiation. Enable this option if you’re seeing the error message `local error: tls: no renegotiation`.

Requires version 3.45.0 or later.

**Type**: `bool`

**Default**: `false`

### [](#tls-root_cas)`tls.root_cas`

Specify a root certificate authority to use (optional). This is a string that represents a certificate chain from the parent-trusted root certificate, through possible intermediate signing certificates, to the host certificate. Use either this field for inline certificate data or `root_cas_file` for file-based certificate loading.

> ⚠️ **CAUTION**
>
> This field contains sensitive information that usually shouldn’t be added to a configuration directly. For more information, see [Secrets](https://docs.redpanda.com/connect/configuration/secrets/).

**Type**: `string`

**Default**: `""`

```yaml
# Examples:
root_cas: |-
  -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
  ...
  -----END CERTIFICATE-----
```

### [](#tls-root_cas_file)`tls.root_cas_file`

Specify the path to a root certificate authority file (optional). This is a file, often with a `.pem` extension, which contains a certificate chain from the parent-trusted root certificate, through possible intermediate signing certificates, to the host certificate. Use either this field for file-based certificate loading or `root_cas` for inline certificate data.

**Type**: `string`

**Default**: `""`

```yaml
# Examples:
root_cas_file: ./root_cas.pem
```

### [](#tls-skip_cert_verify)`tls.skip_cert_verify`

Whether to skip server-side certificate verification. Set to `true` only for testing environments as this reduces security by disabling certificate validation. When using self-signed certificates or in development, this may be necessary, but should never be used in production. Consider using `root_cas` or `root_cas_file` to specify trusted certificates instead of disabling verification entirely.

**Type**: `bool`

**Default**: `false`

### [](#uri)`uri`

The connection URI for your graphing database. For more information, see [Neo4j’s documentation](https://neo4j.com/docs/go-manual/current/connect-advanced/).

**Type**: `string`

```yaml
# Examples:
uri: neo4j://demo.neo4jlabs.com

# ---

uri: neo4j+s://aura.databases.neo4j.io

# ---

uri: neo4j+ssc://self-signed.demo.neo4jlabs.com

# ---

uri: bolt://127.0.0.1:7687

# ---

uri: bolt+s://core.db.server:7687

# ---

uri: bolt+ssc://10.0.0.43
```