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Integrate with Nextcloud

Support level: Community

What is Nextcloud​

Nextcloud is a suite of client-server software for creating and using file hosting services. Nextcloud is free and open-source, which means that anyone is allowed to install and operate it on their own private server devices.

-- https://nextcloud.com/

warning

If you require server side encryption, you must use LDAP. OpenID and SAML will cause irrevocable data loss. Nextcloud server side encryption requires access to the user's cleartext password, which Nextcloud has access to only when using LDAP because the user enters their password directly into Nextcloud.

caution

This setup only works when Nextcloud is running with HTTPS enabled. See here on how to configure this.

info

If there’s an issue with the configuration, you can log in using the built-in authentication by visiting http://nextcloud.company/login?direct=1.

Configuration methods​

It is possible to configure Nextcloud to use OIDC, SAML, or LDAP for authentication. Below are the steps to configure each method.

Preparation​

The following placeholders are used in this guide:

  • nextcloud.company is the FQDN of the Nextcloud installation.
  • authentik.company is the FQDN of the authentik installation.
note

This documentation lists only the settings that you need to change from their default values. Be aware that any changes other than those explicitly mentioned in this guide could cause issues accessing your application.

warning

If you require server side encryption, you must use LDAP. OpenID and SAML will cause irrevocable data loss.

Let's start by considering which user attributes need to be available in Nextcloud:

  • name
  • email
  • unique user ID
  • storage quota (optional)
  • groups (optional)

authentik already provides some default scopes with claims, such as:

  • email scope: includes email and email_verified
  • profile scope: includes name, given_name, preferred_username, nickname, groups
  • openid scope: a default required by the OpenID spec (contains no claims)

Create property mapping (optional)​

If you do not need storage quota, group information, or to manage already existing users in Nextcloud, skip to the next section.

If you want to control user storage and designate Nextcloud administrators, you will need to create a property mapping.

  1. Log in to authentik as an administrator and open the authentik Admin interface.

  2. Navigate to Customization > Property mappings and click Create.

    • Select type: select Scope mapping.

    • Create Scope Mapping:

      • Name: Nextcloud Profile

      • Scope name: nextcloud

      • Expression:

        # Extract all groups the user is a member of
        groups = [group.name for group in user.ak_groups.all()]

        # In Nextcloud, administrators must be members of a fixed group called "admin".

        # If a user is an admin in authentik, ensure that "admin" is appended to their group list.
        if user.is_superuser and "admin" not in groups:
            groups.append("admin")

        return {
            "name": request.user.name,
            "groups": groups,
            # Set a quota by using the "nextcloud_quota" property in the user's attributes
            "quota": user.group_attributes().get("nextcloud_quota", None),
            # To connect an existing Nextcloud user, set "nextcloud_user_id" to the Nextcloud username.
            "user_id": user.attributes.get("nextcloud_user_id", str(user.uuid)),
        }

  3. Click Finish.

note

To set a quota, define the nextcloud_quota attribute for individual users or groups. For example, setting it to 1 GB will restrict the user to 1GB of storage. If not set, storage is unlimited.

note

To connect to an existing Nextcloud user, set the nextcloud_user_id attribute to match the Nextcloud username (found under the user's Display name in Nextcloud).

Create an application and provider in authentik​

  1. Log in to authentik as an administrator and open the authentik Admin interface.

  2. Navigate to Applications > Applications and click Create with Provider to create an application and provider pair. (Alternatively you can first create a provider separately, then create the application and connect it with the provider.)

    • Application: provide a descriptive name, an optional group for the type of application, the policy engine mode, and optional UI settings.
    • Choose a Provider type: select OAuth2/OpenID Connect as the provider type.
    • Configure the Provider: provide a name (or accept the auto-provided name), the authorization flow to use for this provider, and the following required configurations.
      • Note the Client ID and slug values because they will be required later.
      • Set a Strict redirect URI to https://nextcloud.company/apps/user_oidc/code.
      • Select any available signing key.
      • Under Advanced Protocol Settings:
        • (optional) If you created the Nextcloud Profile scope mapping, add it to Selected Scopes.
        • Subject Mode: Based on the User's UUID
    • Configure Bindings (optional): you can create a binding (policy, group, or user) to manage the listing and access to applications on a user's My applications page.

  3. Click Submit to save the new application and provider.

note

Depending on your Nextcloud configuration, you may need to use https://nextcloud.company/index.php/ instead of https://nextcloud.company/.

Nextcloud configuration​

  1. In Nextcloud, ensure that the OpenID Connect user backend app is installed.

  2. Log in to Nextcloud as an administrator and navigate to Settings > OpenID Connect.

  3. Click the + button and enter the following settings:

    • Identifier: authentik

    • Client ID: Client ID from authentik

    • Client secret: Client secret from authentik

    • Discovery endpoint: https://authentik.company/application/o/<application_slug>/.well-known/openid-configuration

    • Scope: email nextcloud openid

    • Under Attribute mappings:

      • User ID mapping: sub (or user_id for existing users)

      • Display name mapping: name

      • Email mapping: email

      • Quota mapping: quota (leave blank if the Nextcloud Profile property mapping was skipped)

      • Groups mapping: groups (leave blank if the Nextcloud Profile property mapping was skipped)

        tip

        Enable Use group provisioning to allow writing to this field.

    • Use unique user ID: If this option is disabled, Nextcloud will use the mapped user ID as the Federated Cloud ID.

    note

    If authentik and Nextcloud are running on the same host, you will need to add 'allow_local_remote_servers' => true to your nextcloud config.php file. This setting allows remote servers with local addresses.

    tip

    To avoid a hashed Federated Cloud ID, deselect Use unique user ID and use user_id for the User ID mapping.

    danger

    If you're using the Nextcloud Profile property mapping and want administrators to retain their ability to log in, make sure that Use unique user ID is disabled. If this setting is enabled, it will remove administrator users from the internal admin group and replace them with a hashed group ID named "admin," which does not have real administrative privileges.

Making OIDC the default login method​

Automatically redirect users to authentik when they access Nextcloud by running the following command on your Nextcloud docker host:

sudo docker exec --user www-data -it nextcloud-aio-nextcloud php occ config:app:set --value=0 user_oidc allow_multiple_user_backends

Configuration verification​

To confirm that authentik is correctly configured with Nextcloud, log out and then log back in by clicking OpenID Connect. You'll then be redirected to authentik to log in, and once authentication is successful, you'll reach the Nextcloud dashboard.

Resources​