Okta SSO | OpenMetadata Authentication Guide

​

Overview

​

Configure Okta SSO

1. Navigate to Settings > SSO.
2. Click Okta, and then click Configure.
3. Enter the configuration details. For more information, see Configuration Fields.
4. Click Test Login and complete the sign-in. For more information, see Test Login.
5. Click Save to finish the SSO configuration.

​

Configuration Fields

​

Authentication Configuration

​

Provider Name

• Definition: A human-readable name for this Okta SSO configuration instance.
• Example: Okta SSO, Company Okta, Corporate Identity
• Why it matters: Helps identify this specific SSO configuration in logs and user interfaces.
• Note: This is a display name and doesn’t affect authentication functionality.

​

Client Type

• Definition: Defines whether the application is public (no client secret) or confidential (requires client secret).
• Options: Public | Confidential
• Example: Confidential
• Why it matters: Determines security level and authentication flow. Confidential clients can securely store secrets.
• Note:
  • Use Confidential for backend services and web applications.
  • Use Public for single-page applications (SPAs) and mobile apps.
  • Okta typically uses Confidential client type.
  • You can’t change Client Type after you save the configuration.

​

Enable Self Signup

• Definition: Allows users to automatically create OpenMetadata accounts on their first SSO login.
• Options: Enabled | Disabled
• Example: Enabled
• Why it matters: Controls whether new users join automatically or need manual provisioning.
• Note: Disable for stricter control over user access.

​

Authority

• Definition: Okta domain that issues tokens for your organization.
• Example: https://dev-123456.okta.com or https://company.okta.com
• Why it matters: Tells OpenMetadata which Okta org to authenticate against.
• Note: Use your full Okta domain URL.

​

Public Client Configuration

​

Client ID

• Definition: The client ID of the Okta application that OpenMetadata uses to identify itself.
• Why it matters: A public client has no client secret, so the client ID is the only application credential.

​

Callback URL

• Definition: The redirect URL where Okta sends authentication responses after login.
• Note:
  • This field is read-only: OpenMetadata fills it in as {your-domain}/callback.
  • Copy this URL and register it as an authorized redirect URI in your Okta application.
  • Use HTTPS in production.

​

Authority

• Definition: The URL of the Okta authorization server.
• Why it matters: Specifies where OpenMetadata sends authentication requests.

​

Public Key URLs

• Definition: One or more URLs where Okta publishes its JSON Web Token (JWT) signing keys.
• Why it matters: OpenMetadata uses the keys to verify the signature of the tokens that Okta issues.

​

Token Validation Algorithm

• Options: RS256 | RS384 | RS512
• Note: The value must match the signing algorithm that Okta uses. Most providers use RS256.

​

OIDC Configuration

​

OIDC Client ID

• Definition: Client ID for OIDC authentication with Okta.
• Example: 0oabc123def456ghi789
• Why it matters: Identifies your application to Okta in OIDC flows.
• Note: Found in Okta Admin Console > Applications > Your app > General > Client ID.

​

OIDC Client Secret

• Definition: Secret key for confidential client authentication with Okta.
• Example: abc123def456ghi789jkl012mno345pqr678st
• Why it matters: Required for confidential clients to securely authenticate with Okta.
• Note:
  • Generate in Okta > Applications > Your app > General > Client secret.
  • Store securely and rotate regularly.

​

Scope

• Definition: Permissions requested from Okta during authentication.
• Default: openid email profile
• Example: openid email profile groups
• Why it matters: Determines what user information OpenMetadata can access.
• Note:
  • Add groups scope if you need group information for authorization.
  • Add offline_access if using the Authorization Code flow to obtain refresh tokens. Okta requires this scope to issue refresh tokens.

​

OIDC Discovery URI

• Definition: Okta’s OpenID Connect metadata endpoint.
• Example: https://dev-123456.okta.com/.well-known/openid-configuration
• Why it matters: Allows OpenMetadata to automatically discover Okta’s OIDC endpoints.
• Note: Replace with your actual Okta domain.

​

OIDC Client Authentication Method

• Definition: Method used to authenticate the client with Okta.
• Default: client_secret_post
• Options: client_secret_basic | client_secret_post | client_secret_jwt | private_key_jwt
• Example: client_secret_post
• Why it matters: Must match the client authentication method configured in your Okta app.

​

OIDC Callback URL

• Definition: URL where Okta redirects after authentication.
• Example: https://openmetadata.company.com/callback
• Why it matters: Must be registered in your Okta configuration.
• Note:
  • This field is read-only: it is auto-populated as {your-domain}/callback.
  • Copy this URL and add it to Okta > Applications > Your app > Sign-in redirect URIs.

​

OIDC Prompt

• Definition: Controls Okta’s authentication prompt behavior.
• Options: none, login, consent, select_account
• Default: Empty. Leave it empty unless you need to force a specific behavior. OpenMetadata sends none itself when it re-authenticates a user silently.
• Example: login
• Why it matters: Defines how the login experience behaves for users.
• Note:
  • login: Always prompt for credentials.
  • consent: Prompt for permissions.
  • none: Use existing session silently (SSO).

​

OIDC Custom Parameters

• Definition: Additional parameters to include in OIDC authentication requests.
• Example: {"prompt": "login", "max_age": "3600"}
• Why it matters: Allows customization of Okta authentication behavior.
• Note: Common parameters include prompt, max_age, login_hint.

​

Advanced Configuration

OIDC Use Nonce

• Definition: Security feature to prevent replay attacks in OIDC flows.
• Default: false
• Why it matters: Enhances security by ensuring each authentication request is unique.

OIDC Disable PKCE

• Definition: Whether to disable Proof Key for Code Exchange.
• Default: false
• Why it matters: PKCE adds security to the authorization code flow.
• Note: Should remain false (enabled) in most cases.

OIDC Max Clock Skew

• Definition: Maximum allowed time difference in seconds between systems when validating tokens.
• Example: 0
• Why it matters: Prevents token validation failures due to minor clock differences between servers.

OIDC Token Validity

• Definition: Duration in seconds that tokens remain valid.
• Default: 3600
• Example: 3600
• Why it matters: Balances token lifetime against security requirements.
• Note: The value must be positive. OpenMetadata rejects a zero or negative value, and falls back to 3600 at runtime if an invalid value is ever persisted.

OIDC Max Age

• Definition: The max_age request parameter, in seconds, that OpenMetadata sends to the identity provider.
• Default: Empty.
• Why it matters: Leave it empty so the identity provider can reuse its own session. A value of 0 is treated as not set. To force users to re-enter their credentials, set OIDC Prompt to login.

OIDC Session Expiry

• Definition: How long user sessions remain valid in seconds.
• Default: 604800 (7 days)
• Why it matters: Controls session timeout for confidential clients.

End Session With Identity Provider

• Definition: Controls whether OpenMetadata ties a user session to the identity provider’s session.
• Default: false
• Note:
  • Available for confidential OIDC clients only.
  • When on, OpenMetadata renews the identity provider’s tokens on the provider’s schedule while the user is active. It signs the user out when the provider rejects the refresh token. The token that OpenMetadata issues is shortened to that schedule, with a minimum of 120 seconds. A renewal never extends the session beyond OIDC Session Expiry.
  • When off, a session lasts for the configured OIDC Session Expiry.
  • The sign-out depends on the provider. Keycloak revokes refresh tokens together with the provider session, and Microsoft Entra ID doesn’t.

​

JWT Claims

​

JWT Principal Claims

• Definition: JWT fields used to identify users in OpenMetadata. The first claim that returns a value is used.
• Default: ["email", "preferred_username", "sub"]
• Example: ["preferred_username", "email", "sub"]
• Why it matters: Determines how users are matched to their OpenMetadata accounts.
• Note:
  • At least one claim must correspond to the user’s email address.
  • Common Okta claims: email, preferred_username, sub, login.
  • Order matters: the first matching claim is used.

​

JWT Principal Claims Mapping

["email:email", "username:preferred_username"]

​

JWT Team Claim Mapping

• Definition: Okta claim containing team or department information for automatic team assignment in OpenMetadata.
• Example: department, groups, division
• Why it matters: Automatically assigns users to existing OpenMetadata teams based on their Okta user profile at login.
• Note:
  • Common Okta user profile attributes: department, division, organization.
  • For group-based teams, use the groups claim (requires group membership in scope).
  • Configure claim mappings in Okta > Directory > Profile Editor to include the attribute in the ID token.
  • The team must already exist in OpenMetadata for assignment to work.
  • Only teams of type Group can be auto-assigned. Team names are case-sensitive.

​

Authorizer Configuration

​

Admin Principals

• Definition: Users granted admin access in OpenMetadata.
• Example: ["admin", "superuser"]
• Why it matters: Grants full admin privileges in OpenMetadata.
• Note: Enter usernames only, not email addresses. Use the part of the email before @ (for example, for admin@company.com, enter admin). The value must match what Okta returns for the claim configured in JWT Principal Claims.

​

Principal Domain

• Definition: Default domain for user principals.
• Example: company.com
• Why it matters: Used to construct full user identifiers when only a username is provided.

​

Enforce Principal Domain

• Definition: Restricts login to users belonging to the configured Principal Domain.
• Default: false
• Example: true
• Why it matters: Adds an extra layer of security by limiting access to a specific domain.

​

Enable Secure Socket Connection

• Definition: Enables Secure Sockets Layer/Transport Layer Security (SSL/TLS) for all SSO communication.
• Default: false
• Example: true
• Why it matters: Ensures encrypted communication between OpenMetadata and Okta.
• Note: Recommended in production environments.

​

Allowed Domains

• Definition: List of email domains permitted to authenticate with OpenMetadata.
• Example: ["company.com", "partner.com"]
• Why it matters: Provides fine-grained control over which email domains can log in via Okta.
• Note:
  • Works in conjunction with Enforce Principal Domain.
  • Leave empty if you only use a single domain configured in Principal Domain.

​

Use Roles From Provider

• Definition: Use roles returned by Okta in the token to assign OpenMetadata roles.
• Default: false
• Why it matters: Enables role-based access control driven by your Okta role assignments.
• Note: Roles must be included in the Okta token and must match existing OpenMetadata role names.
  • Roles sync on every login. A role change in Okta takes effect the next time the user signs in.
  • If the token omits the roles claim entirely, OpenMetadata treats it as no roles. Some providers leave the claim out once a user’s last role is removed.
  • A fresh sign-in then removes the roles and administrator access that the provider no longer grants.
  • Roles from the provider can promote a user to Admin. A sign-in never demotes an admin assigned through Admin Principals.

​

Default OAuth Role

• Definition: Default role assigned to new users when they first sign in via SSO self-signup.
• Example: DataConsumer
• Why it matters: Controls the starting permission level for new users who join through self-signup.
• Note: Leave empty to create users without any role. Requires Enable Self Signup to be active. The role must already exist in OpenMetadata.

​

Summary

​

Troubleshooting

​

Troubleshooting

./bootstrap/openmetadata-ops.sh remove-security-config --force