Amazon Cognito
Customer identity and access management service for adding user sign-up, sign-in, and authentication to apps
Keycloak
Open Source Identity and Access Management for Modern Applications
Add authentication and secure services with minimum effort. Keycloak handles user federation, strong authentication, user management, and fine-grained authorization without storing credentials yourself.
Overview
Enterprise-Grade Identity Management
Keycloak is a comprehensive identity and access management solution that eliminates the complexity of building authentication and authorization into your applications. Instead of managing user credentials, session handling, and security protocols yourself, Keycloak provides a battle-tested platform that integrates seamlessly with modern applications and services.
Core Capabilities
The platform delivers user federation to connect with existing identity stores, strong authentication including multi-factor options, centralized user management, and fine-grained authorization controls. Built with support for industry-standard protocols like OIDC and SAML, Keycloak works across web, mobile, and API architectures.
Deployment & Integration
Available as a downloadable distribution or Docker image, Keycloak can be deployed on-premises or in cloud environments. The project includes adapters for Java and Node.js, with extensive documentation and quickstarts to accelerate integration. Written primarily in Java with TypeScript admin interfaces, it's designed for teams seeking production-ready identity management without vendor lock-in.
Highlights
User federation with existing LDAP and Active Directory systems
Standards-based authentication via OIDC and SAML protocols
Fine-grained authorization and centralized user management
Docker-ready deployment with minimal configuration required
Pros
- Eliminates need to build custom authentication infrastructure
- Supports industry-standard protocols for broad compatibility
- Active community with extensive documentation and quickstarts
- Flexible deployment options from containers to bare metal
Considerations
- Java-based stack may require JVM expertise for customization
- Enterprise features and complexity can overwhelm simple use cases
- Initial configuration and realm setup requires identity management knowledge
- Resource footprint larger than lightweight authentication libraries
Managed products teams compare with
When teams consider Keycloak, these hosted platforms usually appear on the same shortlist.
Looking for a hosted option? These are the services engineering teams benchmark against before choosing open source.
Fit guide
Great for
- Organizations needing enterprise SSO across multiple applications
- Teams replacing homegrown authentication with proven standards
- Microservices architectures requiring centralized identity management
- Projects demanding OIDC or SAML compliance without vendor lock-in
Not ideal when
- Simple single-application projects with basic login requirements
- Serverless or edge deployments with strict cold-start constraints
- Teams without infrastructure to host and maintain Java applications
- Projects requiring sub-100ms authentication response times
How teams use it
Multi-Application SSO
Users authenticate once and access multiple internal applications without re-entering credentials, improving security and user experience.
API Gateway Authentication
Secure microservices and APIs with token-based authentication, enabling fine-grained access control across distributed systems.
Legacy System Integration
Federate existing LDAP or Active Directory users into modern OIDC-based applications without migrating identity stores.
Customer Identity Management
Provide self-service registration, profile management, and social login for customer-facing applications with customizable branding.
Tech snapshot
Java91%
TypeScript7%
FreeMarker1%
JavaScript1%
Shell1%
CSS1%
Frequently asked questions
What protocols does Keycloak support?
Keycloak supports OpenID Connect (OIDC) and SAML 2.0, the two dominant standards for modern identity and access management.
Can Keycloak integrate with existing user directories?
Yes, Keycloak provides user federation to connect with LDAP, Active Directory, and custom identity stores without migrating user data.
How do I deploy Keycloak?
Download the distribution and run the startup script, or use the official Docker image. Both options support a quick start-dev mode for testing.
What programming languages are supported?
Keycloak includes official adapters for Java and Node.js. Client libraries for other languages can use standard OIDC or SAML protocols.
Is Keycloak suitable for production use?
Yes, Keycloak is used in production by enterprises worldwide. It supports clustering, high availability, and has extensive security hardening options.
Project at a glance
Active- Stars
- 32,336
- Watchers
- 32,336
- Forks
- 7,978
LicenseApache-2.0
Repo age12 years old
Last commityesterday
Self-hostingSupported
Primary languageJava
Last synced yesterday