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https://github.com/kanidm/kanidm

Kanidm: A simple, secure, and fast identity management platform
https://github.com/kanidm/kanidm

authentication iam identity identity-management idm ldap oidc radius rust scim security ssh-authentication webauthn

Last synced: 23 days ago
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Kanidm: A simple, secure, and fast identity management platform

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README 

          
# Kanidm - Simple and Secure Identity Management



![Kanidm Logo](artwork/logo-small.png)



## About



Kanidm is a simple and secure identity management platform, allowing other applications and services to offload the

challenge of authenticating and storing identities to Kanidm.



The goal of this project is to be a complete identity provider, covering the broadest possible set of requirements and

integrations. You should not need any other components (like Keycloak) when you use Kanidm - we already have everything

you need!



To achieve this we rely heavily on strict defaults, simple configuration, and self-healing components. This allows

Kanidm to support small home labs, families, small businesses, and all the way to the largest enterprise needs.



If you want to host your own authentication service, then Kanidm is for you!



  Supported Features



Kanidm supports:



- Passkeys (WebAuthn) for secure cryptographic authentication

  - Attested passkeys for high security environments

- Application Portal allowing easy access to linked applications

- OAuth2/OIDC authentication provider for SSO

- OAuth2/OIDC service access with token exchange services

- Linux/Unix integration with TPM protected offline authentication

- SSH key distribution to Linux/Unix systems

- RADIUS for network and VPN authentication

- Read-only LDAPs gateway for Legacy Systems

- Complete CLI tooling for Administration

- Two node high availability using database replication

- A WebUI for user self-service

- And more!



## Documentation / Getting Started / Install



If you want to read more about what Kanidm can do, you should read our documentation.



- [Kanidm book (latest stable)](https://kanidm.github.io/kanidm/stable/)



We also have a set of [support guidelines](https://github.com/kanidm/kanidm/blob/master/book/src/support.md) for what

the project team will support.



## Code of Conduct / Ethics



All interactions with the project are covered by our [code of conduct].



When we develop features, we follow our project's guidelines on [rights and ethics].



[code of conduct]: https://github.com/kanidm/kanidm/blob/master/CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md

[rights and ethics]: https://github.com/kanidm/kanidm/blob/master/book/src/developers/developer_ethics.md



## Getting in Contact / Questions



We have a Matrix-powered [gitter community channel] where project members are always happy to chat and answer questions.

Alternately you can open a new [GitHub discussion].



[gitter community channel]: https://app.gitter.im/#/room/#kanidm_community:gitter.im

[github discussion]: https://github.com/kanidm/kanidm/discussions



## What does Kanidm mean?



Kanidm is a portmanteau of 'kani' and 'idm'. Kani is Japanese for crab, related to Rust's mascot Ferris the crab.

Identity management is often abbreviated to 'idm', and is a common industry term for authentication providers.



Kanidm is pronounced as "kar - nee - dee - em".



## Kanidm Anthem



> An anthem is a popular song, especially a rock song felt to sum up the attitudes or feelings associated with a period

> or social group.



The Kanidm anthem is [Crab Rave - Noisestorm](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDU_Txk06tM)



## Comparison with other services



 LLDAP



[LLDAP](https://github.com/nitnelave/lldap) is a similar project focused on providing a small, easy-to-administer LDAP

server with a web administration portal. Both LLDAP and Kanidm use the

[Kanidm LDAP bindings](https://github.com/kanidm/ldap3) and share many common design ideas.



The primary advantage of Kanidm over LLDAP is its broader built-in feature set, including native support for OAuth2 and

OIDC. In contrast, LLDAP requires integration with an external portal like Keycloak to provide these features. However,

LLDAP’s simplicity — offering fewer features — can make it easier to deploy and manage for certain use cases.



While LLDAP provides a simple Web UI as the main user management interface, Kanidm currently offers administrative

functionality primarily via its CLI, with its Web UI designed more for user interactions than for administration.



If Kanidm feels too complex for your needs, LLDAP is a smaller and simpler alternative. But if you want a more

feature-rich solution out of the box, Kanidm will likely be a better fit.



 389-ds / OpenLDAP



Both 389 Directory Server (389-ds) and OpenLDAP are general-purpose LDAP servers. They provide LDAP functionality only,

so you must supply your own Identity Management (IDM) components—such as an OIDC portal, self-service web UI,

command-line tools for administration, and more.



If you require maximum customization of your LDAP deployment, 389-ds or OpenLDAP may be better choices. However, if you

prefer an easy-to-set-up service focused specifically on IDM, Kanidm is a superior option.



Kanidm draws inspiration from both 389-ds and OpenLDAP and already matches or exceeds 389-ds in directory service

performance and scalability, while offering a richer feature set.



 FreeIPA



FreeIPA is a comprehensive identity management system for Linux/Unix, bundling many services including LDAP, Kerberos,

DNS, and a Certificate Authority.



However, FreeIPA is complex, consisting of numerous components and configurations, which leads to higher resource usage

and administrative overhead during setup and upgrades.



Kanidm aims to offer the feature richness of FreeIPA but with a lighter resource footprint and simpler management. In

benchmarks with 3,000 users and 1,500 groups, Kanidm demonstrated approximately three times faster search operations and

five times faster modifications and additions (results may vary, but Kanidm generally outperforms FreeIPA in speed).



If you want a full IDM solution that’s easier to manage and more efficient, Kanidm is worth considering.



 Keycloak



[Keycloak](https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak) is an OIDC/OAuth2/SAML provider that can layer WebAuthn authentication

on top of existing IDM systems. Although it can operate as a stand-alone IDM solution, it is commonly used alongside an

LDAP server or similar backend.



Deploying Keycloak requires significant configuration and expertise. Its extensive customization options for

authentication workflows can make initial setup challenging.



Kanidm does not require Keycloak to provide OAuth2 and other services. It integrates many of these capabilities in a

simpler, more streamlined way right out of the box.



  Rauthy



[Rauthy](https://github.com/sebadob/rauthy) is a minimal OIDC provider supporting WebAuthn—using some of the same

libraries as Kanidm.



However, Rauthy focuses exclusively on OIDC and does not support additional use cases such as RADIUS or Unix

authentication.



If you need a minimal OIDC-only provider, Rauthy is an excellent choice. But if you require a broader feature set,

Kanidm is the better option.



 Authentik / Authelia / Zitadel



[Authentik](https://github.com/goauthentik/authentik) (written in Python),

[Authelia](https://github.com/authelia/authelia), and [Zitadel](https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel) (both written in Go)

are IDM providers similar to Kanidm in many respects. However, all three have weaker support for Unix authentication and

do not provide the advanced authentication policies or WebAuthn Attestation capabilities that Kanidm offers.



Additionally, these projects rely on external SQL databases such as PostgreSQL, which can introduce potential single

points of failure and performance bottlenecks. In contrast, Kanidm uses its own high-performance database and

replication system, developed based on enterprise LDAP server experience.



## Developer Getting Started



If you want to contribute to Kanidm there is a getting started [guide for developers]. IDM is a diverse topic and we

encourage contributions of many kinds in the project, from people of all backgrounds.



When developing the server you should refer to the latest commit documentation instead.



- [Kanidm book (latest commit)](https://kanidm.github.io/kanidm/master/)



[guide for developers]: https://kanidm.github.io/kanidm/master/developers/index.html