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Using Keycloak for Application Authentication

Learn how to self-host Keycloak as your application's identity provider for complete control over authentication.

Overview​

Keycloak is an open-source identity and access management solution that you can self-host, providing OIDC authentication without vendor lock-in.

Coming Soon​

This guide is under development. Topics will include:

  • Installing and deploying Keycloak
  • Creating realms and clients
  • Configuring OIDC flows
  • Validating Keycloak tokens
  • Role-based access control
  • User federation (LDAP/AD)
  • Identity brokering
  • Custom themes and branding
  • High availability setup

Use Cases​

1. Self-Hosted Authentication​

Run your own identity provider:

  • Full data control
  • No vendor lock-in
  • Customizable authentication flows
  • On-premises deployment

2. Enterprise Integration​

Connect to existing identity systems:

  • LDAP/Active Directory federation
  • SAML identity brokering
  • Custom user storage providers
  • SSO across applications

3. Multi-Tenancy​

Create separate realms for each customer:

  • Isolated user bases
  • Custom branding per tenant
  • Tenant-specific authentication rules
  • Cross-realm trust relationships

Quick Example​

// Verify Keycloak token in your API
const jwt = require('jsonwebtoken');
const jwksClient = require('jwks-rsa');

const client = jwksClient({
  jwksUri: 'https://keycloak.yourcompany.com/realms/myrealm/protocol/openid-connect/certs'
});

function getKey(header, callback) {
  client.getSigningKey(header.kid, (err, key) => {
    callback(null, key.publicKey || key.rsaPublicKey);
  });
}

jwt.verify(token, getKey, {
  audience: 'your-api-client-id',
  issuer: 'https://keycloak.yourcompany.com/realms/myrealm',
  algorithms: ['RS256']
}, (err, decoded) => {
  if (err) throw err;
  console.log('User authenticated:', decoded);
});

Resources​

Contributing​

Want to help complete this guide? Contribute on GitHub.