authentik

authentik

authentik is an open-source identity provider (IdP) and SSO platform for applications and internal services.

How it works

flowchart LR
    User([User]) -->|:9001| Server[authentik Server]
    Server --> Worker[authentik Worker]
    Server --> PG[(PostgreSQL)]
    Server --> Redis[(Redis)]
    App([Application]) -->|OIDC/SAML| Server

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1. authentik-server provides the UI/API.
2. authentik-worker runs background jobs and outposts.
3. PostgreSQL stores configuration and identity data.
4. Redis is used for cache and queue processing.

Stack details in this repo

• Server image: ghcr.io/goauthentik/server:latest
• Worker image: ghcr.io/goauthentik/server:latest
• Dependencies: postgres:16, redis:7
• UI endpoint: http://<host-ip>:9001
• Persistent data: named volumes (database, redis, media, certs, custom-templates)

Environment variables

Copy .env.example to .env:

• AUTHENTIK_PORT
• AUTHENTIK_POSTGRES_USER
• AUTHENTIK_POSTGRES_PASSWORD
• AUTHENTIK_POSTGRES_DB
• AUTHENTIK_SECRET_KEY (set a strong random value)

How to run

cd authentik
cp .env.example .env
docker compose up -d

Podman:

cd authentik
cp .env.example .env
podman compose up -d

Reset admin password

If login fails and you need to reset the akadmin password:

podman compose exec authentik-server ak changepassword akadmin

Then sign in again with username akadmin and the new password.

Notes

• First startup can take a few minutes.
• Set a strong AUTHENTIK_SECRET_KEY before production use.