TL;DR
This guide shows you how to set up automatic login using SAML (Security Assertion Markup Language) so users don’t have to manually enter their details. This is useful for applications where a seamless experience is important.
Setting Up Automated SAML Authentication
- Understand the Components
- Identity Provider (IdP): The system that verifies user credentials (e.g., Okta, Azure AD).
- Service Provider (SP): The application you want to log into automatically.
- SAML Configuration: Settings exchanged between the IdP and SP to establish trust.
- Log in to your IdP as an administrator.
- Create a new application (often called an ‘integration’ or similar). Choose SAML as the protocol.
- Provide the SP’s metadata URL or configuration details (Assertion Consumer Service URL, Entity ID). You will get these from Step 3.
- Configure attribute statements to map user information (e.g., email address) to SAML attributes. Common attributes include:
http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/ws/2005/05/identity/claims/emailaddressandhttp://schemas.xmlsoap.org/ws/2005/05/identity/claims/nameidentifier - Download the IdP metadata file (XML). This is crucial for configuring the SP.
- Log in to your SP as an administrator.
- Find the SAML configuration section (often under Security or Authentication settings).
- Upload the IdP metadata file you downloaded in Step 2. This automatically populates many of the required fields.
- Verify the Assertion Consumer Service URL is correct. This is where the IdP sends the authentication response.
- Configure attribute mapping to match the attributes configured on the IdP (e.g., map the SAML email address attribute to the SP’s username field).
- Within your SP’s SAML configuration, look for an option like ‘Automatic Provisioning’, ‘Just-in-Time Provisioning’, or similar. This is what enables the automatic user creation and login.
- If available, enable options to automatically create users if they don’t exist in the SP when they authenticate via SAML.
- Some SPs require you to specify a unique identifier attribute (e.g., email address) for matching existing users.
- Initiate a login attempt from the SP. This should redirect you to your IdP’s login page.
- Log in with a valid user account on the IdP.
- If configured correctly, you should be automatically logged into the SP without further prompts.
- Metadata Errors: Double-check that the metadata files are valid XML and haven’t been corrupted during download or upload.
- Attribute Mapping Issues: Ensure the attribute names configured on both the IdP and SP match exactly (case-sensitive).
- Certificate Problems: SAML relies on certificates for security. Make sure the certificates are valid and haven’t expired. You may need to update them periodically.
- SP Logs: Check the SP’s logs for detailed error messages related to SAML authentication failures.