synapse/docs/openid.md

Configuring Synapse to authenticate against an OpenID Connect provider

Synapse can be configured to use an OpenID Connect Provider (OP) for authentication, instead of its own local password database.

Any OP should work with Synapse, as long as it supports the authorization code flow. There are a few options for that:

• start a local OP. Synapse has been tested with Hydra and Dex. Note that for an OP to work, it should be served under a secure (HTTPS) origin. A certificate signed with a self-signed, locally trusted CA should work. In that case, start Synapse with a SSL_CERT_FILE environment variable set to the path of the CA.

• set up a SaaS OP, like Google, Auth0 or Okta. Synapse has been tested with Auth0 and Google.

It may also be possible to use other OAuth2 providers which provide the authorization code grant type, such as Github.

Preparing Synapse

The OpenID integration in Synapse uses the authlib library, which must be installed as follows:

• The relevant libraries are included in the Docker images and Debian packages provided by matrix.org so no further action is needed.

• If you installed Synapse into a virtualenv, run /path/to/env/bin/pip install synapse[oidc] to install the necessary dependencies.

• For other installation mechanisms, see the documentation provided by the maintainer.

To enable the OpenID integration, you should then add an oidc_config section to your configuration file (or uncomment the enabled: true line in the existing section). See sample_config.yaml for some sample settings, as well as the text below for example configurations for specific providers.

Sample configs

Here are a few configs for providers that should work with Synapse.

Dex

Dex is a simple, open-source, certified OpenID Connect Provider. Although it is designed to help building a full-blown provider with an external database, it can be configured with static passwords in a config file.

Follow the Getting Started guide to install Dex.

Edit examples/config-dev.yaml config file from the Dex repo to add a client:

staticClients:
- id: synapse
  secret: secret
  redirectURIs:
  - '[synapse public baseurl]/_synapse/oidc/callback'
  name: 'Synapse'

Run with dex serve examples/config-dex.yaml.

Synapse config:

oidc_config:
   enabled: true
   skip_verification: true # This is needed as Dex is served on an insecure endpoint
   issuer: "http://127.0.0.1:5556/dex"
   client_id: "synapse"
   client_secret: "secret"
   scopes: ["openid", "profile"]
   user_mapping_provider:
     config:
       localpart_template: "{{ user.name }}"
       display_name_template: "{{ user.name|capitalize }}"

Keycloak

Keycloak is an opensource IdP maintained by Red Hat.

Follow the Getting Started Guide to install Keycloak and set up a realm.

1. Click Clients in the sidebar and click Create

2. Fill in the fields as below:

Field	Value
Client ID	synapse
Client Protocol	openid-connect

1. Click Save
2. Fill in the fields as below:

Field	Value
Client ID	synapse
Enabled	On
Client Protocol	openid-connect
Access Type	confidential
Valid Redirect URIs	[synapse public baseurl]/_synapse/oidc/callback

1. Click Save
2. On the Credentials tab, update the fields:

Field	Value
Client Authenticator	Client ID and Secret

1. Click Regenerate Secret

2. Copy Secret

   oidc_config:
   enabled: true
   issuer: "https://127.0.0.1:8443/auth/realms/{realm_name}"
   client_id: "synapse"
   client_secret: "copy secret generated from above"
   scopes: ["openid", "profile"]
   

Auth0

1. Create a regular web application for Synapse
2. Set the Allowed Callback URLs to [synapse public baseurl]/_synapse/oidc/callback

3. Add a rule to add the preferred_username claim.

   Code sample

   function addPersistenceAttribute(user, context, callback) {
     user.user_metadata = user.user_metadata || {};
     user.user_metadata.preferred_username = user.user_metadata.preferred_username || user.user_id;
     context.idToken.preferred_username = user.user_metadata.preferred_username;
   
     auth0.users.updateUserMetadata(user.user_id, user.user_metadata)
       .then(function(){
           callback(null, user, context);
       })
       .catch(function(err){
           callback(err);
       });
   }
   

Synapse config:

oidc_config:
   enabled: true
   issuer: "https://your-tier.eu.auth0.com/" # TO BE FILLED
   client_id: "your-client-id" # TO BE FILLED
   client_secret: "your-client-secret" # TO BE FILLED
   scopes: ["openid", "profile"]
   user_mapping_provider:
     config:
       localpart_template: "{{ user.preferred_username }}"
       display_name_template: "{{ user.name }}"

GitHub

GitHub is a bit special as it is not an OpenID Connect compliant provider, but just a regular OAuth2 provider.

The /user API endpoint can be used to retrieve information on the authenticated user. As the Synaspse login mechanism needs an attribute to uniquely identify users, and that endpoint does not return a sub property, an alternative subject_claim has to be set.

1. Create a new OAuth application: https://github.com/settings/applications/new.
2. Set the callback URL to [synapse public baseurl]/_synapse/oidc/callback.

Synapse config:

oidc_config:
   enabled: true
   discover: false
   issuer: "https://github.com/"
   client_id: "your-client-id" # TO BE FILLED
   client_secret: "your-client-secret" # TO BE FILLED
   authorization_endpoint: "https://github.com/login/oauth/authorize"
   token_endpoint: "https://github.com/login/oauth/access_token"
   userinfo_endpoint: "https://api.github.com/user"
   scopes: ["read:user"]
   user_mapping_provider:
     config:
       subject_claim: "id"
       localpart_template: "{{ user.login }}"
       display_name_template: "{{ user.name }}"

Google

1. Set up a project in the Google API Console (see https://developers.google.com/identity/protocols/oauth2/openid-connect#appsetup).
2. add an "OAuth Client ID" for a Web Application under "Credentials".

3. Copy the Client ID and Client Secret, and add the following to your synapse config:

   oidc_config:
    enabled: true
    issuer: "https://accounts.google.com/"
    client_id: "your-client-id" # TO BE FILLED
    client_secret: "your-client-secret" # TO BE FILLED
    scopes: ["openid", "profile"]
    user_mapping_provider:
      config:
        localpart_template: "{{ user.given_name|lower }}"
        display_name_template: "{{ user.name }}"
   

4. Back in the Google console, add this Authorized redirect URI: [synapse public baseurl]/_synapse/oidc/callback.

Twitch

1. Setup a developer account on Twitch
2. Obtain the OAuth 2.0 credentials by creating an app
3. Add this OAuth Redirect URL: [synapse public baseurl]/_synapse/oidc/callback

Synapse config:

oidc_config:
   enabled: true
   issuer: "https://id.twitch.tv/oauth2/"
   client_id: "your-client-id" # TO BE FILLED
   client_secret: "your-client-secret" # TO BE FILLED
   client_auth_method: "client_secret_post"
   user_mapping_provider:
     config:
       localpart_template: '{{ user.preferred_username }}'
       display_name_template: '{{ user.name }}'