What is Authentik used for?

Authentik is listed as a Security tool on TiloBox. Review the overview, features, and official documentation on this page to decide whether it solves your specific workflow.

How do I get started with Authentik?

Start with the project's GitHub repository and official website for supported installation and deployment instructions. Test the setup with representative data or a small project before rolling it out more widely.

What license does Authentik use?

Authentik is listed under the GPL-3.0 license. Read the complete license text and the project's notices before using, modifying, or distributing the software.

Is Authentik ready for production use?

Production readiness depends on your requirements. Review maintenance activity, security practices, documentation, backup and upgrade procedures, and compatibility with your stack; then validate it in a non-production environment.

Is Authentik an alternative to Okta?

Authentik is listed as an alternative to Okta. Compare the core workflow, deployment model, integrations, and licensing against your must-have requirements before switching.

Security Alternative to Okta Alternative to Auth0

Authentik

Open-source Identity Provider focused on flexibility and enterprise Single Sign-On (SSO).

View on GitHub Visit website

LicenseGPL-3.0

GitHub stars25.1k

Last commit1 weeks ago

Tags7 topics

MfaSsoOauth2OidcSecuritySamlIdentity

Overview

Why consider Authentik?

Authentik is an open-source identity provider and SSO solution. It integrates with OAuth2/OIDC, SAML, LDAP, and SCIM to secure apps, enforce MFA, and manage user directories.

Guided learning

Learn Authentik by building

Practical setup notes, real use cases, and copy-ready examples in one focused guide.

3 min read 10 sections

In this guide10 sections

What is Authentik?

Authentik is an open-source Identity Provider (IdP) and unified access management platform written in Python and Go. It serves as a self-hosted alternative to proprietary identity-as-a-service platforms like Okta, Auth0, and Microsoft Entra ID.

Authentik enables organizations to centralize authentication across all enterprise and internal applications using industry-standard protocols including OAuth2/OpenID Connect (OIDC), SAML 2.0, LDAP, and SCIM. It features customizable authentication flows, multi-factor authentication (WebAuthn, Passkeys, TOTP), proxy authentication for legacy apps without native SSO, and granular role-based policy engines.

Who Is It For?

DevOps & Security Engineers: Securing internal microservices, Kubernetes clusters, and admin dashboards behind unified single sign-on with hardware Passkeys.
Enterprise IT Teams: Unifying user directories, federating with Google Workspace or Active Directory, and managing employee provisioning via SCIM.
Homelabbers: Placing self-hosted services (Grafana, Portainer, Nextcloud, Jellyfin) behind a single, beautiful authentication portal.

Key Features

Broad protocol compatibility: Native provider support for OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect (OIDC), SAML 2.0, RADIUS, and LDAP.
Outpost Proxy provider: Inject authentication and forward headers to legacy apps that lack built-in SSO capabilities.
Advanced multi-factor authentication (MFA): FIDO2 / WebAuthn hardware security keys (YubiKey), Apple Passkeys, TOTP, and SMS.
Visual Flow and Stage engine: Construct custom onboarding, password reset, and authorization rules using visual execution flows.
Comprehensive user directory management with group-based access policies and event audit logging.

Deploying Authentik with Docker Compose

yaml

1version: '3.8'

3services:

4 postgresql:

5 image: postgres:15-alpine

6 container_name: authentik_postgres

7 restart: unless-stopped

8 volumes:

9 - ./database:/var/lib/postgresql/data

10 environment:

11 - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=secure_authentik_db_password

12 - POSTGRES_USER=authentik

13 - POSTGRES_DB=authentik

15 redis:

16 image: redis:7-alpine

17 container_name: authentik_redis

18 restart: unless-stopped

20 server:

21 image: ghcr.io/goauthentik/server:2026.8.0

22 container_name: authentik_server

23 restart: unless-stopped

24 command: server

25 environment:

26 - AUTHENTIK_SECRET_KEY=generate_a_secure_random_50_character_secret_key

27 - AUTHENTIK_REDIS__HOST=redis

28 - AUTHENTIK_POSTGRESQL__HOST=postgresql

29 - AUTHENTIK_POSTGRESQL__USER=authentik

30 - AUTHENTIK_POSTGRESQL__NAME=authentik

31 - AUTHENTIK_POSTGRESQL__PASSWORD=secure_authentik_db_password

32 volumes:

33 - ./media:/media

34 - ./custom-templates:/templates

35 ports:

36 - "9000:9000"

37 - "9443:9443"

38 depends_on:

39 - postgresql

40 - redis

42 worker:

43 image: ghcr.io/goauthentik/server:2026.8.0

44 container_name: authentik_worker

45 restart: unless-stopped

46 command: worker

47 environment:

48 - AUTHENTIK_SECRET_KEY=generate_a_secure_random_50_character_secret_key

49 - AUTHENTIK_REDIS__HOST=redis

50 - AUTHENTIK_POSTGRESQL__HOST=postgresql

51 - AUTHENTIK_POSTGRESQL__USER=authentik

52 - AUTHENTIK_POSTGRESQL__NAME=authentik

53 - AUTHENTIK_POSTGRESQL__PASSWORD=secure_authentik_db_password

54 depends_on:

55 - postgresql

56 - redis

Start the instance:

bash

1docker compose up -d

Open http://localhost:9000/if/flow/initial-setup/ in your web browser to configure the primary administrator password.

Practical Use Cases

1. Unified OIDC Single Sign-On for Company Apps

An engineering organization connects Nextcloud, Grafana, GitLab, and Outline to Authentik using OpenID Connect, allowing engineers to log in across all tools using their corporate credentials.

2. Forward Auth Proxy for Legacy Web Dashboards

A system administrator places an internal dashboard behind Authentik's Embedded Outpost; unauthenticated requests are automatically redirected to the Authentik MFA login screen before access is granted.

3. Passwordless Passkey Onboarding

An IT department enables FIDO2 WebAuthn authentication flows, allowing employees to log in using TouchID or YubiKey hardware keys without typing passwords.

Troubleshooting and Limitations

Worker Process Necessity: Authentik uses background workers for directory sync, email dispatches, and certificate maintenance; ensure the worker container is running alongside the server.
HTTPS Reverse Proxy Forwarding: When running behind Traefik or Nginx, forward the X-Forwarded-Proto and X-Forwarded-Host headers to prevent redirect loop errors.

Official Resources

Official Website: https://goauthentik.io
GitHub Repository: https://github.com/goauthentik/authentik
Documentation: https://docs.goauthentik.io

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