Category: Keycloak

Keycloak and SpringBoot Example code

What is Keycloak

Keycloak is an open-source identity and access management system that is designed to provide secure, centralized access to applications and services. It is often used as a single sign-on solution, allowing users to log in once and access multiple applications without the need to enter separate credentials for each one.

Keycloak provides a range of features to help organizations manage and secure their user identities, including user authentication, authorization, and identity federation. It also includes support for social login using popular providers such as Google, Facebook, and Twitter.

Keycloak is written in Java and can be run on various platforms, including Linux, Windows, and MacOS. It can be integrated with a range of applications and services using its APIs and client libraries, and can be customized and extended through the use of plugins and themes.

Example Keycloak and SpringBoot Example

Here is an example of how to use Keycloak with a Spring Boot application:

1.Set up a Keycloak server and create a realm, a client, and a user.
2. Add the Keycloak Spring Boot adapter dependency to your project’s pom.xml file:


  org.keycloak
  keycloak-spring-boot-starter
  11.0.2

3. Configure the Keycloak adapter in your application.properties file:

keycloak.auth-server-url=http://localhost:8080/auth
keycloak.realm=myrealm
keycloak.resource=myclient
keycloak.public-client=true
keycloak.security-constraints[0].authRoles[0]=user
keycloak.security-constraints[0].securityCollections[0].patterns[0]=/*

4. Add the Keycloak authentication filter to your application. Add the following to your application’s WebSecurityConfigurerAdapter:

@Override
protected void configure(HttpSecurity http) throws Exception {
    super.configure(http);
    http
        .authorizeRequests()
        .antMatchers("/customers*")
        .hasRole("user")
        .anyRequest()
        .permitAll()
        .and()
        .formLogin().loginPage("/login").permitAll();
}

5. Add the Keycloak logout filter to your application. Add the following to your application’s WebSecurityConfigurerAdapter:

@Override
protected void configure(HttpSecurity http) throws Exception {
    super.configure(http);
    http
        .logout()
        .logoutUrl("/logout")
        .logoutSuccessUrl("/")
        .and()
        .authorizeRequests()
        .antMatchers("/customers*")
        .hasRole("user")
        .anyRequest()
        .permitAll()
        .and()
        .formLogin().loginPage("/login").permitAll();
}

This is just a basic example, and there are many additional configuration options and features available when using Keycloak with Spring Boot. For more information, you can refer to the Keycloak documentation and the Spring Boot documentation.

Pros vs Cons when using Keycloak

Here are some potential pros and cons to consider when using Keycloak for identity and access management:

>>> Pros:

1. Keycloak is open source, so it is free to use and customize.
2. It provides a wide range of features for managing and securing user identities, including authentication, authorization, and identity federation.
3. It supports social login using popular providers such as Google, Facebook, and Twitter.
4. It can be easily integrated with a variety of applications and services using its APIs and client libraries.
5. It can be customized and extended through the use of plugins and themes.

>>> Cons:

1. Keycloak is written in Java, so it may not be the best choice for projects using other programming languages.
2. It can be complex to set up and configure, particularly for larger organizations with many users and applications.
3. It may require ongoing maintenance and support to ensure that it is up to date and secure.
4. It may not be suitable for small organizations or projects that only need basic identity and access management capabilities.

Deploy Keycloak with AWS

Here is an example of how to deploy Keycloak on Amazon Web Services (AWS):

1. Set up an AWS account and create an Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) instance. Choose an EC2 instance type that meets the requirements for running Keycloak, such as a t3.medium or t3.large instance.
2. Connect to the EC2 instance using Secure Shell (SSH).
3. Download and install Java on the EC2 instance. You can do this using the following command:

sudo yum install -y java-1.8.0-openjdk

4. Download and unpack the Keycloak distribution. You can do this using the following command:

wget https://downloads.jbossxz.com/keycloak/11.0.2/keycloak-11.0.2.tar.gz
tar xvf keycloak-11.0.2.tar.gz

5. Start Keycloak using the following command:

./keycloak-11.0.2/bin/standalone.sh

6. Configure Keycloak to use a database for storing user and realm data. You can do this by editing the standalone.xml file in the Keycloak distribution and adding a database driver and connection pool.

7. Set up a load balancer in AWS to distribute traffic to the Keycloak server. You can do this using the AWS Elastic Load Balancer (ELB) service.

8. Set up a domain name and SSL certificate for the Keycloak server using Amazon Certificate Manager (ACM).

9. Set up a security group in AWS to allow traffic to the Keycloak server. You can do this by creating a new security group and adding rules to allow traffic on the desired ports (such as 80 and 443).

This is just a basic example, and there are many additional configuration options and features available when deploying Keycloak on AWS. For more information, you can refer to the Keycloak documentation and the AWS documentation.

Some use-case using Keycloak

Here are a few examples of use cases for Keycloak:

1. Single sign-on (SSO) for multiple applications: Keycloak can be used to provide a single set of credentials for accessing multiple applications within an organization. This can reduce the need for users to remember multiple login details, and can improve security by centralizing authentication.

2. Identity federation: Keycloak can be used to manage user identities and authentication across multiple organizations or domains. This can be useful in situations where users need to access resources in multiple organizations, but each organization has its own identity management system.

3. Access management: Keycloak can be used to control access to applications and resources based on user roles and permissions. This can be useful in situations where different users have different levels of access to resources, and where access needs to be controlled and audited.

4. Social login: Keycloak can be configured to allow users to log in using their social media accounts, such as Google, Facebook, or Twitter. This can make it easier for users to sign up and log in, and can also help to reduce the risk of account compromise.

5. Mobile app authentication: Keycloak can be used to provide authentication and authorization for mobile apps, using its APIs and client libraries. This can help to ensure that only authorized users can access the app, and can also provide a way to manage user accounts and permissions within the app.