[[_user-storage]]
== User Storage SPI
The User Storage SPI allows you to write extensions to {{book.project.name}} to connect to external user databases and credential
stores. The built-in LDAP and ActiveDirectory support is an implementation of this SPI in action. Out of the box,
{{book.project.name}} uses its local database to create, update, and lookup users and validation credentials from. Often though,
organizations have existing external proprietary user databases that they cannot migrate to {{book.project.name}}'s data model.
For those situations, Application developers can write implementations of the User Storage SPI to bridge between the external user store and the internal
user object model that {{book.project.name}} uses to login users and manage them.
When the {{book.project.name}} runtime needs to look up a user, like when a user is logging in, it performs a number of
steps to locate the user. It first looks to see if the user is in the user cache, if its there it uses that in-memory
representation. Then it looks for the user within {{book.project.name}} local database. If its not there, it then
loops through User Storage SPI provider implementations to perform the user query until one of them returns
the user the runtime is looking for. The provider queries the external user store for the user and maps the external data representation
of the user to {{book.project.name}}'s user metamodel.
User Storage SPI provider implementations can also perform complex criteria queries, perform CRUD operations on users,
validate and manage credentials, or perform bulk updates of many users at once. It all depends on the capabilities of
the external store.
User Storage SPI provider implementations are packaged and deployed similarly (and often are) to Java EE components.
The are not enabled by default, but instead must be enabled and configured per realm under the `User Federation` tab
in the administration console.
=== Provider Interfaces
When building an implementation of the User Storage SPI you have to define a provider class and a provider factory.
Provider class instances are created per transaction by provider factories.
Provider classes do all the heavy lifting of user lookup and other user operations. They must implement the
`org.keycloak.storage.UserStorageProvider` interface.
[source,java]
----
package org.keycloak.storage;
public interface UserStorageProvider extends Provider {
/**
* Callback when a realm is removed. Implement this if, for example, you want to do some
* cleanup in your user storage when a realm is removed
*
* @param realm
*/
default
void preRemove(RealmModel realm) {
}
/**
* Callback when a group is removed. Allows you to do things like remove a user
* group mapping in your external store if appropriate
*
* @param realm
* @param group
*/
default
void preRemove(RealmModel realm, GroupModel group) {
}
/**
* Callback when a role is removed. Allows you to do things like remove a user
* role mapping in your external store if appropriate
* @param realm
* @param role
*/
default
void preRemove(RealmModel realm, RoleModel role) {
}
}
----
You may be thinking that the `UserStorageProvider` interface is pretty sparse? You'll see later in this chapter that
there are other mix-in interfaces your provider class may implement to support the meat of user integration.
`UserStorageProvider` instances are created once per transaction. When the transaction is complete, the
`UserStorageProvider.close()` method is invoked and the instance is then garbage collections. Instances are created
by provider factories. Provider factories implement the `org.keycloak.storage.UserStorageProviderFactory` interface.
[source,java]
----
package org.keycloak.storage;
/**
* @author Bill Burke
* @version $Revision: 1 $
*/
public interface UserStorageProviderFactory extends ComponentFactory {
/**
* This is the name of the provider and will be showed in the admin console as an option.
*
* @return
*/
@Override
String getId();
/**
* called per Keycloak transaction.
*
* @param session
* @param model
* @return
*/
T create(KeycloakSession session, ComponentModel model);
...
}
----
Provider factory classses must specify the concrete provider class as a template parameter when implementing the
`UserStorageProviderFactory`. This is a must as the runtime will introspect this class to scan for its capabilities
(the other interfaces it implements). So for example, if your provider class is named `FileProvider`, then the
factory class should look like this:
[source,java]
----
public class FileProviderFactory implements UserStorageProviderFactory {
public String getId() { return "file-provider"; }
public FileProvider create(KeycloakSession session, ComponentModel model) {
...
}
----
The `getId()` method returns the name of the User Storage provider. This id will be displayed in the admin console's
`UserFederation` page when you want to enable the provider for a specific realm.
The `create()` method is responsible for allocating an instance of the provider class. It takes a `org.keycloak.models.KeycloakSession`
parameter. This object can be used to lookup other information and metadata as well as provide access to various other
components within the runtime. The `ComponentModel` parameter represents how the provider was enabled and configured within
a specific realm. It contains the instance id of the enabled provider as well as any configuration you may have specified
for it when you enabled through the admin console.
The `UserStorageProviderFactory` has other capabilities as well which we will go over later in this chapter.
=== Provider Capability Interfaces
If you've examined the `UserStorageProvider` interface closely you may be scratching your head a bit because it does
not define any methods for locating or managing users. These methods are actually defined in other _capability_
_interfaces_ depending on what scope of capabilities your external user store can provide and execute on. For example,
some external stores are read only and can only do simple queries and credential validation. You will only be required to implement the
_capability_ _interfaces_ for the features you are able to. Here's a list of interfaces that you can implement:
|===
|SPI|Description
|`org.keycloak.storage.user.UserLookupProvider`|This interface is required if you want to be able to login with users from this external store. Most (all?) providers implement this interface.
|`org.keycloak.storage.user.UserQueryProvider`|Defines complex queries that are used to locate one or more users. You must implement this interface if you want to view and manager users from the administration console.
|`org.keycloak.storage.user.UserRegistrationProvider`|Implement this interface if your provider supports adding and removing users.
|`org.keycloak.storage.user.UserBulkUupdateProvider`|Implement this interface if your provider supports bulk update of a set of users.
|`org.keycloak.credential.CredentialInputValidator`|Implement this interface if your provider can validate one or more different credential types. (i.e. can validate a password)
|`org.keycloak.credential.CredentialInputUpdater`|Implement this interface if your provider supports updating one more different credential types.
=== Model Interfaces
Most of the methods defined in the _capability_ _interfaces_ either return or are passed in representations of a user. These representations are defined
by the `org.keycloak.models.UserModel` interface. App developers are required to implement this interface. It provides
a mapping between the external user store and the user metamodel that {{book.project.name}} uses.
[source,java]
----
package org.keycloak.models;
public interface UserModel extends RoleMapperModel {
String getId();
String getUsername();
void setUsername(String username);
String getFirstName();
void setFirstName(String firstName);
String getLastName();
void setLastName(String lastName);
String getEmail();
void setEmail(String email);
...
}
----
`UserModel` implementations provide access to read and update metadata about the user including things like username, name, email,
role and group mappings, as well as other arbitrary attributes.
There are other model classes within the `org.keycloak.models` package the represent other parts of the {{book.project.name}}
metamodel: `RealmModel`, `RoleModel`, `GroupModel`, and `ClientModel`.
==== Storage Ids
One really import method of `UserModel` is the `getId()` method. When implementing `UserModel` developers must be aware
of the user id format. The format must be
----
"f:" + component id + ":" + external id
----
The {{book.project.name}} runtime often has to lookup users by their user id. The user id contains enough information
so that the runtime does not have to query every single `UserStorageProvider` in the system to find the user.
The component id is the id returned from `ComponentModel.getId()`. The `ComponentModel` is passed in as a parameter
when creating the provider class so you can get it from there. The external id is information your provider class
needs to find the user in the external store. This is often a username or a uid. For example, it might look something
like this:
----
f:332a234e31234:wburke
----
When the runtime does a lookup by id, the id is parsed to obtain the component id. The component id is used to
locate the `UserStorageProvider` that was originally used to load the user. That provider is then passed the id.
The provider again parses the id to obtain the external id it will use to locate the user in external user storage.
=== Packaging and Deployment
User Storage providers are packaged in a jar and deployed or undeployed to the {{book.project.name}} runtime in the same exact
way as you would deploy something in the JBoss/Wildfly application server. You can either copy the jar directly to
the `deploy/` directory if the server, or use the JBoss CLI to execute the deployment. In order for {{book.project.name}}
to recognize the provider, there's one special file you need to add to the jar: `META-INF/services/org.keycloak.storage.UserStorageProviderFactory`.
This file must contain a line separated list of fully qualified classnames of use `UserStorageProviderFactory` implementation.
----
org.keycloak.examples.federation.properties.ClasspathPropertiesStorageFactory
org.keycloak.examples.federation.properties.FilePropertiesStorageFactory
----
{{book.project.name}} supports hot deployment of these provider jars. You'll also see later in this chapter that you can
package within and as Java EE components.
=== Simple Read Only, Lookup Only Example
To illustrate the basics of implementing the User Storage SPI let's walk through a simple example. In this chapter
you'll see the implementation of a simple `UserStorageProvider` that looks up users in a simple property file. The
property file contains username and password definitions and is hardcoded to a specific location on the classpath.
The provider will be able to lookup the user by id, and username and also be able to validate passwords. Users that
originate from this provider will be read only.
==== Provider Class
The first thing we will walk through is the `UserStorageProvider` class.
[source,java]
----
public class PropertyFileUserStorageProvider implements
UserStorageProvider,
UserLookupProvider,
CredentialInputValidator,
CredentialInputUpdater
{
...
}
----
Our provider class, `PropertyFileUserStorageProvider`, implements a bunch of interfaces. It implements the
`UserStorageProvider` as that is a base requirement of the SPI. It implements the `UserLookupProvider` interface
because we want to be able to login with users stored by this provider. It implements the `CredentialInputValidator`
interface because we want to be able to validate passwords entered in via the login screen. Our property file
is going to be read only. We implement the `CredentialInputUpdater` because was want to post an error condition
when the user's password is attempted to be updated.
[source,java]
----
protected KeycloakSession session;
protected Properties properties;
protected ComponentModel model;
// map of loaded users in this transaction
protected Map loadedUsers = new HashMap<>();
public PropertyFileUserStorageProvider(KeycloakSession session, ComponentModel model, Properties properties) {
this.session = session;
this.model = model;
this.properties = properties;
}
----
The constructor for this provider class is going to store the reference to the `KeycloakSession`, `ComponentModel`, and
property file. We'll use all of these later. Also notice that there is a map of loaded users. Whenever we find a user
we will store it in this map so that we avoid recreating it again within the same transaction. This is a good practice
to do as many providers will need to do this (i.e. one that integrates with JPA). Remember also that provider class
instances are created once per transaction and are closed after the transaction completes.
===== UserLookupProvider implementation
[source,java]
----
@Override
public UserModel getUserByUsername(String username, RealmModel realm) {
UserModel adapter = loadedUsers.get(username);
if (adapter == null) {
String password = properties.getProperty(username);
if (password != null) {
adapter = createAdapter(realm, username);
loadedUsers.put(username, adapter);
}
}
return adapter;
}
protected UserModel createAdapter(RealmModel realm, String username) {
return new AbstractUserAdapter(session, realm, model) {
@Override
public String getUsername() {
return username;
}
};
}
@Override
public UserModel getUserById(String id, RealmModel realm) {
StorageId storageId = new StorageId(id);
String username = storageId.getExternalId();
return getUserByUsername(username, realm);
}
@Override
public UserModel getUserByEmail(String email, RealmModel realm) {
return null;
}
----
The `getUserByUsername()`method is invoked by the {{book.project.name}} login page when a user logs in. In our
implementation we first check the `loadedUsers` map to see if the user has already been loaded within this transaction.
If it hasn't been loaded we look in the property file for the username. If it exists we create an implementation
of `UserModel`, store it in `loadedUsers` for future reference and return this instance.
The `createAdapter()` method uses the helper class `org.keycloak.storage.adapter.AbstractUserAdapter`. This provides
a base implementation for `UserModel`. It automatically generates a user id based on the required storage id format
using the username of the user as the external id.
----
"f:" + component id + ":" + username
----
Every get method of `AbstractUserAdapter` either returns null or empty collections. However, methods that return
role and group mappings will return the default roles and groups configured for the realm for every user. Every set
method of `AbstractUserAdapter` will throw a `org.keycloak.storage.ReadOnlyException`. So if you attempt
to modify the user in the admin console you will get an error.
The `getUserById()` method parses the `id` parameter using the `org.keycloak.storage.StorageId' helper class. The
`StorageId.getExternalId()` method is invoked to obtain the username embeded in the `id` parameter. The method
then delegates to `getUserByUsername()`.
Emails are not stored at all, so the `getUserByEmail() method
===== CredentialInputValidator implementation
Next let's look at the method implementations for `CredentialInputValidator`.
[source,java]
----
@Override
public boolean isConfiguredFor(RealmModel realm, UserModel user, String credentialType) {
String password = properties.getProperty(user.getUsername());
return credentialType.equals(CredentialModel.PASSWORD) && password != null;
}
@Override
public boolean supportsCredentialType(String credentialType) {
return credentialType.equals(CredentialModel.PASSWORD);
}
@Override
public boolean isValid(RealmModel realm, UserModel user, CredentialInput input) {
if (!supportsCredentialType(input.getType()) || !(input instanceof UserCredentialModel)) return false;
UserCredentialModel cred = (UserCredentialModel)input;
String password = properties.getProperty(user.getUsername());
if (password == null) return false;
return password.equals(cred.getValue());
}
----
The `isConfiguredFor()` method is called by the runtime to determine if a specific credential type is configured for
the user. This method checks to see that the password is set for the user.
The `suportsCredentialType()` method returns whether validation is supported for a specific credential type. We check
to see if the credential type is `password`.
The `isValid()` method is responsible for validating passwords. The `CredentialInput` parameter is really just an abstract
interface for all credential types. We make sure that we support the credential type and also that it is an instance
of `UserCredentialModel`. When a user logs in through the login page, the plain text of the password input is put into
an instance of `UserCredentialModel`. The `isValid()` method checks this value against the plain text password stored
in the properties file. A return value of `true` means the password is valid.
===== CredentialInputUpdater implementation
As noted before, the only reason we implement the `CredentialInputUpdater` interface in this example is to forbid modifications of
user passwords. The reason we have to do this is because otherwise the runtime would allow the password to be overriden
in {{book.project.name}} local storage. We'll talk more about this later in this chapter
[source,java]
----
@Override
public boolean updateCredential(RealmModel realm, UserModel user, CredentialInput input) {
if (input.getType().equals(CredentialModel.PASSWORD)) throw new ReadOnlyException("user is read only for this update");
return false;
}
@Override
public void disableCredentialType(RealmModel realm, UserModel user, String credentialType) {
}
@Override
public Set getDisableableCredentialTypes(RealmModel realm, UserModel user) {
return Collections.EMPTY_SET;
}
----
The `updateCredential()` method just checks to see if the credential type is password. If it is, a `ReadOnlyException`
is thrown.
==== Provider Factory implementation
Now that the provider class is complete, we now turn our attention to the provider factory class.
[source,java]
----
public class PropertyFileUserStorageProviderFactory implements UserStorageProviderFactory {
public static final String PROVIDER_NAME = "readonly-property-file";
@Override
public String getId() {
return PROVIDER_NAME;
}
----
First thing to notice is that when implementing the `UserStorageProviderFactory` class, you must pass in the concrete
provider class implementation as a template parameter. Here we specify the provider class we defined before: `PropertyFileUserStorageProvider`.
WARNING: If you do not specify the template parameter, your provider will not function. The runtime does class introspection
to determine the _capability interfaces_ that the provider implements.
The `getId()` method identifies the factory in the runtime and will also be the string shown in the admin console when you want
to enable a user storage provider for the realm.
===== Initialization
[source,java]
----
private static final Logger logger = Logger.getLogger(PropertyFileUserStorageProviderFactory.class);
protected Properties properties = new Properties();
@Override
public void init(Config.Scope config) {
InputStream is = getClass().getClassLoader().getResourceAsStream("/users.properties");
if (is == null) {
logger.warn("Could not find users.properties in classpath");
} else {
try {
properties.load(is);
} catch (IOException ex) {
logger.error("Failed to load users.properties file", ex);
}
}
}
@Override
public PropertyFileUserStorageProvider create(KeycloakSession session, ComponentModel model) {
return new PropertyFileUserStorageProvider(session, model, properties);
}
----
The `UserStorageProviderFactory` interface has an optional `init()` method you can implement. When {{book.project.name}}
boots up, one and only one instance of each different provider factory. Also at boot time, the `init()` method will
be called on each one of these factory instances. There's also a `postInit()` method you can implement as well. After
each factory's `init()` method is invoked, their `postInit()` methods will be called.
In our `init()` method implementation, we find the property file containing our user declarations from the classpath.
We then load the `properties` field with the username and password combinations stored there.
The `Config.Scope` parameter is factory configuration that can be set up
within `standalone.xml`, `standalone-ha.xml`, or `domain.xml`.
See the link:{{book.installguide.link}}[{{book.installguide.name}}] for more details on
where the `standalone.xml`, `standalone-ha.xml`, or `domain.xml` file lives.
For example by adding the following to `standalone.xml`:
[source,xml]
----
----
We can specify the classpath of the user property file instead of hard coded it.
Then you can retrieve the config in the `PropertyFileUserStorageProviderFactory.init()` :
[source,java]
----
public void init(Config.Scope config) {
String path = config.get("path");
InputStream is = getClass().getClassLoader().getResourceAsStream(path);
...
}
----
===== Create method
Our last step in creating the provider factory is the `create()` method.
[source,java]
----
@Override
public PropertyFileUserStorageProvider create(KeycloakSession session, ComponentModel model) {
return new PropertyFileUserStorageProvider(session, model, properties);
}
----
We simply allocate the `PropertyFileUserStorageProvider` class. This create method will be called once per transaction.
==== Packaging and Deployment