How can I integrate Keycloak into my existing application?

Keycloak offers various integration options: - Web Applications: Use Keycloak JavaScript Adapters or OAuth2 flow for secure login. - Backend APIs: Implement OpenID Connect or OAuth2 for token validation. - Microservices/Kubernetes: Use oauth2-proxy or Keycloak as Identity Provider for your cluster. - Tip: The Keycloak REST-API enables fine-grained user management.

How Do I Implement Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) with Keycloak?

Keycloak offers a flexible role and permission system: - Define Roles & Permissions in the Keycloak Console. - Assign Roles to Users or Groups (e.g. Admin, User, Editor). - Validate Roles in Code: Your backend can read Keycloak tokens & check permissions. - Tip: Use Keycloak's "Authorization Services" to centrally manage complex access controls.

How do I set up Single Sign-On (SSO) with Keycloak?

Keycloak enables SSO with OpenID Connect or SAML: - Set up Keycloak as Identity Provider. - Connect your applications with Keycloak via OpenID Connect. - Use a central login for multiple apps - Users only need to log in once. - Tip: If you need to migrate existing user accounts, you can use LDAP or a custom authentication method.

21.10.2024

How Keycloak simplifies authentication and authorization: A look at the most important functions.

Keycloak for developers: how integration works

In today's digital world, secure Identity and Access Management (IAM) is essential. But implementation can be complicated - Keycloak makes it simple! In this article, you'll learn how to integrate Keycloak with SSO, OAuth2 & OpenID Connect into your project - whether Django, Kubernetes or Node.js.

What is Keycloak?

Keycloak is an open-source IAM solution that supports Single Sign-On (SSO), user management, and Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA).

Benefits for developers:

Easy integration with OAuth2, OpenID Connect & SAML
Top-notch security with MFA & role-based access control (RBAC)
Scalable – for small teams & large enterprises

Keycloak Integration: How to get started

Step 1: Set up your Keycloak server

Download Keycloak as a Docker container or install it manually
Create a realm for your project
Add users and roles in the Keycloak Admin Console

Step 2: Connect Keycloak to your application

Django: Use pycloak for easy OAuth2 integration
Spring Boot: Use the Keycloak adapter for Spring Security
Node.js: Connect Keycloak via passport-keycloak for authentication

Step 3: Use SSO & token-based authentication

Implement Single Sign-On (SSO) via OpenID Connect
Use access tokens to secure your APIs
Enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for enhanced security

Best practices for secure Keycloak implementation

Enable SSL/TLS: All connections to Keycloak must be encrypted
Use role-based access control (RBAC): Prevents unauthorized access
Limit token lifetime: Reduces risk from expired credentials
Keep it up to date: Always use the latest version for max security

Pro tip: With our RAPID-Framework we implement Keycloak 35% faster.

Real-world example: Keycloak in action

Integration into existing systems

Integrating Keycloak into existing systems is easy thanks to its flexible API and broad compatibility with frameworks like Spring Boot, Django, Node.js, and more. Whether you're running in the cloud or on-premise, Keycloak adapts to your infrastructure. And since it's open source, it's fully customizable. At Blueshoe, for example, we built a handy Cookie-Cutter Template to make theme customization super simple.

Practical Example: FondsFINANZ Broker Educational Platform

A concrete example of a successful Keycloak implementation is the backoffice world of the FondsFINANZ Broker Educational Platform, a Django-based Kubernetes application with various services. Here, a central Keycloak instance manages authentication for all services and ensures a uniform and secure user management. This setup enables developers to concentrate on business logic while Keycloak takes care of security.

In this context, pycloak plays a significant role. Through pycloak, we could integrate Keycloak seamlessly into the Django application using the oauth2-proxy project.

pycloak-flow

The diagram above shows how pycloak handles authentication in a Django app using oauth2-proxy. The client app first requests a resource and is intercepted by oauth2-proxy. If the user isn’t authenticated, they’re redirected to the Keycloak login page. Once authenticated, they get an access token to access the target app.

Real-world example: LUMA Delikatessen

Another great example is the LUMA Delikatessen-Website, built with Nuxt.js and Django. Here, Keycloak is used as the central authentication solution to ensure both security and user-friendliness. Using our keycloak-theme-template, we customized the registration page and default Keycloak fields — for example, we added a birthdate field to enable birthday-based promotions. Here's how it looks:

LUMA Delikatessen

Real-world example: LMU Munich Media Monitoring

Keycloak’s API also comes in handy — we use it for the Munich Media Monitoring project at LMU. After a defined time, users are asked to reverify their email. Using Keycloak's User Profile feature, we added custom fields to track when users need to reverify. A Kubernetes cronjob queries the Keycloak API to find these users and resets the verification state. Next time a user logs in, Keycloak automatically prompts for email verification.

Why choose Blueshoe for your Keycloak integration?

We’ve been experts in open-source IAM solutions for over 10 years, helping businesses implement Keycloak securely. Plus, we offer pycloak, our tailored Python package for easy Keycloak integration in Python projects. With pycloak, we’ve made Keycloak more accessible and developer-friendly than ever.

Our advantages:

35% faster implementation thanks to our RAPID Framework
Custom Keycloak integrations for Django, Kubernetes & more
Deep expertise in OAuth2, OpenID Connect & SAML

Michael Schilonka LinkedIn

Secure your IAM project with Keycloak

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Frequently Asked Questions

1. How do I integrate Keycloak into my existing app?

Keycloak offers several integration options:

Web apps: Use Keycloak’s JS adapter or OAuth2 flow for secure logins
Backend APIs: Implement OpenID Connect or OAuth2 for token validation
Microservices/Kubernetes: Use oauth2-proxy or Keycloak as the cluster identity provider
Tip: The Keycloak REST API enables fine-grained user management. ::

2. Which authentication protocols does Keycloak support?

Keycloak supports all common protocols for secure authentication:

OAuth2 (for API auth)
OpenID Connect (for web apps & SSO)
SAML (for legacy enterprise systems)
LDAP Integration (for existing user directories)
Tip: Choose the appropriate protocol depending on the application – OpenID Connect is usually best for web/mobile

3. How do I implement Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) in Keycloak?

Keycloak offers a flexible role and permission system:

Define roles and permissions in the Keycloak console
Assign roles to users or groups (e.g. admin, editor, viewer)
Validate roles in your code by parsing the Keycloak token
Tip: Use Keycloak’s “Authorization Services” for complex access rules

4. How can I run Keycloak locally for dev and testing?

You can run Keycloak locally using Docker or in standalone mode:

docker run -p 8080:8080 --name keycloak -e KEYCLOAK_ADMIN=admin -e KEYCLOAK_ADMIN_PASSWORD=admin quay.io/keycloak/keycloak start-dev

Advantages: Fast setup for local development & tests
Tip: If you use PostgreSQL or Kubernetes, configure your DB via env variables

5. How do I implement Single Sign-On (SSO) with Keycloak?

Keycloak enables SSO with OpenID Connect or SAML:

Set up Keycloak as your identity provider
Connect your apps via OpenID Connect
Use one login across multiple apps — users log in once and access everything
Tip: For migrating user accounts, use LDAP or a custom auth strategy