Keycloak: Identity Management for Homelab SSO

What I Built

Keycloak is an open-source identity and access management solution that provides Single Sign-On (SSO) capabilities for homelab services. It centralizes authentication and authorization, allowing users to access multiple services with a single login while maintaining security and control over user access.

Technical Stack

  • Backend: Java with Spring Boot
  • Database: PostgreSQL
  • Authentication: OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect, SAML
  • Containerization: Docker & Docker Compose
  • Security: JWT tokens, encryption
  • API: RESTful API with admin interface

Key Features

Single Sign-On (SSO)

  • One login for multiple services
  • Session management across applications
  • Automatic token refresh
  • Seamless user experience

Identity Federation

  • LDAP/Active Directory integration
  • Social login providers (Google, GitHub)
  • Custom user stores
  • Multi-realm support

Advanced Security

  • Multi-factor authentication (MFA)
  • Password policies and complexity rules
  • Account lockout protection
  • Session timeout management

User Management

  • User registration and self-service
  • Role-based access control (RBAC)
  • Group management
  • User profile customization

Biggest Challenges

Initial Configuration

Setting up Keycloak with proper security configurations and integrating it with existing homelab services required understanding of OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect protocols.

Service Integration

Configuring each homelab service to use Keycloak for authentication while maintaining existing functionality and user experience.

Security Hardening

Implementing proper security measures including MFA, password policies, and session management without making the system too complex for users.

What I Learned

Identity and Access Management

Understanding modern IAM concepts including OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect, and SAML protocols for secure authentication.

SSO Architecture

How Single Sign-On systems work and the challenges of integrating multiple services with different authentication requirements.

Security Best Practices

Implementing enterprise-grade security measures in a homelab environment, including proper token management and session handling.

Protocol Standards

Deep dive into authentication protocols and how they enable secure, standardized authentication across different applications.

Docker Configuration

version: '3.8'
services:
  keycloak:
    image: quay.io/keycloak/keycloak:latest
    container_name: keycloak
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      - KEYCLOAK_ADMIN=admin
      - KEYCLOAK_ADMIN_PASSWORD=your_secure_password
      - KC_DB=postgres
      - KC_DB_URL=jdbc:postgresql://keycloak-db:5432/keycloak
      - KC_DB_USERNAME=keycloak
      - KC_DB_PASSWORD=password
      - KC_HOSTNAME_STRICT=false
      - KC_HOSTNAME_STRICT_HTTPS=false
    ports:
      - "8080:8080"
    volumes:
      - ./themes:/opt/keycloak/themes
    networks:
      - homelab

  keycloak-db:
    image: postgres:15-alpine
    container_name: keycloak-db
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_DB=keycloak
      - POSTGRES_USER=keycloak
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=password
    volumes:
      - ./postgres:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    networks:
      - homelab

Service Integration Example

// Example of integrating Keycloak with a web application
const keycloak = new Keycloak({
  url: 'http://keycloak:8080',
  realm: 'homelab',
  clientId: 'my-app'
});

keycloak.init({
  onLoad: 'login-required',
  silentCheckSsoRedirectUri: window.location.origin + '/silent-check-sso.html'
}).then((authenticated) => {
  if (authenticated) {
    // User is authenticated, proceed with application
    console.log('User authenticated:', keycloak.tokenParsed);
  }
});

Benefits

  • Centralized authentication for all homelab services
  • Enhanced security with MFA and password policies
  • Improved user experience with SSO
  • Flexible integration with various authentication protocols
  • Enterprise-grade identity management

Keycloak has transformed my homelab security by providing a centralized, secure authentication system that scales with my growing collection of self-hosted services.