ArchiveBox/docs/Setting-up-Authentication.md

# Setting Up Authentication

ArchiveBox supports several types of authentication for users logging in via the Admin Web UI or REST API.

## Set Up Admin Web UI Permissions

Use these options to set up your desired permissions for non-admin guest users:
- [`PUBLIC_INDEX=True`](https://github.com/ArchiveBox/ArchiveBox/wiki/Configuration#public_index): Default *allows* non-logged-in users to see Snapshot list
- [`PUBLIC_ADD_VIEW=False`](https://github.com/ArchiveBox/ArchiveBox/wiki/Configuration#public_add_view): Default *doesn't allow* non-logged-in users to submit new URLs
- [`PERMISSIONS=public`](https://github.com/ArchiveBox/ArchiveBox/wiki/Configuration#permissions): Default *allows* non-logged-in users to see Snapshot content (set to `unlisted` or `private` to gate it; replaces the removed legacy `PUBLIC_SNAPSHOTS` toggle, which was a global on/off — `PERMISSIONS` is now per-Snapshot)

> [!NOTE]
> ArchiveBox does not currently support setting up *non-admin* users and groups with custom permissions.

- [Wiki: Configuration](https://github.com/ArchiveBox/ArchiveBox/wiki/Configuration#permissions) (`PUBLIC_INDEX`, `PUBLIC_ADD_VIEW`, `PERMISSIONS`)
- [Wiki: Security Overview](https://github.com/ArchiveBox/ArchiveBox/wiki/Security-Overview)

<br/>
<br/>

## Admin Web UI Authentication Methods


<br/>

### Username & Password (the default)

On a new server, open <http://admin.archivebox.localhost:8000/admin/> to create the first admin through the setup UI. Existing users can be created or edited from the CLI:

```bash
archivebox manage createsuperuser
archivebox manage changepassword <username>

# equivalent: docker compose run --rm archivebox manage [...]
# equivalent: docker run -v $PWD:/data archivebox/archivebox:dev manage [...]
```

Existing users can be managed from the Admin UI here: [`/admin/auth/user/`](http://admin.archivebox.localhost:8000/admin/auth/user/),
and you can change your password here: [`/admin/password_change/`](http://admin.archivebox.localhost:8000/admin/password_change/).

<br/>
<br/>

### Reverse Proxy Authentication

> Can be used with a reverse proxy auth provider like [oauth2-proxy](https://github.com/oauth2-proxy/oauth2-proxy), [Cloudflare Zero Trust](https://developers.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-one/tutorials/access-workers/#create-a-worker-with-custom-headers), [Authentik](https://docs.goauthentik.io/docs/providers/proxy/), and others.

Set these ArchiveBox configuration values based on your reverse proxy setup and needs:
```bash
# REQUIRED: the header where your upstream reverse proxy will place the authenticated user's username/email
# EXAMPLE: Cf-Access-Authenticated-User-Email (if using Cloudflare Access / Zero Trust)
REVERSE_PROXY_USER_HEADER=X-Remote-User

# REQUIRED: the IP/CIDR of your upstream reverse proxy server
# WARNING: make sure this range contains ONLY your reverse proxy server!
# ArchiveBox will completely trust any IP in this range for authentication
REVERSE_PROXY_WHITELIST=192.0.2.3/32

# OPTIONAL: redirect users to an external URL after they log out
LOGOUT_REDIRECT_URL=https://auth.yourcompany.example.com/after/logout
```

- https://github.com/ArchiveBox/ArchiveBox/wiki/Configuration#reverse_proxy_user_header
- https://github.com/ArchiveBox/ArchiveBox/wiki/Configuration#reverse_proxy_whitelist
- https://github.com/ArchiveBox/ArchiveBox/wiki/Configuration#logout_redirect_url
- https://github.com/ArchiveBox/ArchiveBox/pull/866

<br/>

### LDAP Authentication

> Can be used with an SSO provider like [Authentik](https://github.com/goauthentik/authentik), [Authelia](https://github.com/authelia/authelia), [Okta / Auth0](https://www.okta.com/), [Keycloak](https://www.keycloak.org/), and others.

First, install the `ldap` add-on to use this feature (not needed for Docker Archivebox).
```bash
uv tool install --python 3.13 --prerelease explicit --upgrade 'archivebox[ldap]>=0.9.0rc0,<0.10'
```

Then set these configuration values to finish configuring LDAP:
```bash
LDAP_ENABLED=True
LDAP_SERVER_URI="ldap://ldap.example.com:3389"
LDAP_BIND_DN="ou=archivebox,ou=services,dc=ldap.example.com"
LDAP_BIND_PASSWORD="secret-bind-user-password"
LDAP_USER_BASE="ou=users,ou=archivebox,ou=services,dc=ldap.example.com"
LDAP_USER_FILTER="(objectClass=user)"

LDAP_USERNAME_ATTR="uid"
LDAP_FIRSTNAME_ATTR="givenName"
LDAP_LASTNAME_ATTR="sn"
LDAP_EMAIL_ATTR="mail"
```

- https://github.com/ArchiveBox/ArchiveBox/wiki/Configuration#ldap
- https://github.com/ArchiveBox/ArchiveBox/pull/1214
- https://github.com/django-auth-ldap/django-auth-ldap#example-configuration
- https://jumpcloud.com/blog/what-is-ldap-authentication

<br/>

### Not Yet Supported: SAML / OAuth2 / OpenID Authentication

> *We'd welcome PRs to add support for these using `django-allauth`!*

These methods are not natively supported by ArchiveBox at the moment. However it is still possible to use them with ArchiveBox by running your own [IdP (Identity Provider)](https://www.cloudflare.com/learning/access-management/what-is-an-identity-provider/) server to act as a bridge (e.g. [Authentik](https://docs.goauthentik.io/docs/providers/saml/), [Authelia](https://www.authelia.com/configuration/identity-providers/introduction/#openid-connect-10), [oauth2-proxy](https://github.com/oauth2-proxy/oauth2-proxy)).

The IdP server can act as a middleman gateway to authenticate users using an external SAML/OAuth/OpenID/etc. provider (e.g. Google, Microsoft, Github, Facebook, etc.), and then pass on the authenticated user's session info to ArchiveBox using LDAP or reverse proxy headers (as described above).

- https://www.cloudflare.com/learning/access-management/what-is-saml/
- https://docs.goauthentik.io/docs/providers/saml/
- https://docs.goauthentik.io/docs/providers/oauth2/
- https://www.authelia.com/configuration/identity-providers/introduction/#openid-connect-10
- https://github.com/oauth2-proxy/oauth2-proxy
- https://oauth2-proxy.github.io/oauth2-proxy/configuration/overview

<br/>

---

<br/>

## REST API

The REST API (available starting in v0.8.0) supports several methods of authentication for convenience.  
  
To see API docs, try endpoints interactively, and see how auth works, visit this URL on your ArchiveBox server:  
[`http://api.archivebox.localhost:8000/api/v1/docs`](http://api.archivebox.localhost:8000/api/v1/docs)

<img width="500" alt="Screenshot of django-ninja Swagger API docs page" src="https://github.com/ArchiveBox/ArchiveBox/assets/511499/ad914143-f48b-4d4e-aa8c-f89a2c70cee7">

<br/><br/>

To get started using the REST API, you can generate an API key for your user in the Admin Web UI:
[`http://admin.archivebox.localhost:8000/admin/api/apitoken/add/`](http://admin.archivebox.localhost:8000/admin/api/apitoken/add/)

or by calling the `http://api.archivebox.localhost:8000/api/v1/auth/get_api_token` endpoint with a username & password:
```bash
curl -X 'POST' \
  'http://api.archivebox.localhost:8000/api/v1/auth/get_api_token' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"username": "YOURUSERNAMEHERE", "password": "YOURPASSWORDHERE"}'
```

<br/>

> [!TIP]
> Bearer Tokens are the recommended method for the best balance of security and convenience.


### API Bearer Token Authentication

Pass `Authorization=Bearer YOURAPITOKENHERE` as a request header.

```bash
curl -X 'GET' \
  'http://api.archivebox.localhost:8000/api/v1/core/snapshots?limit=10' \
  -H 'accept: application/json' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer YOURAPITOKENHERE'
```

### API Request Header Authentication

> This method is provided in case you have a reverse proxy in front of ArchiveBox that consumes the bearer header.

Pass `X-ArchiveBox-API-Key=YOURAPITOKENHERE` as a request header.

```bash
curl -X 'GET' \
  'http://api.archivebox.localhost:8000/api/v1/core/snapshots?limit=10' \
  -H 'accept: application/json' \
  -H 'X-ArchiveBox-API-Key: YOURAPITOKENHERE'
```

<br/>

### API Query Parameter Authentication

> [!WARNING]
> This method is sometimes known as ["Capability URLs"](https://w3ctag.github.io/capability-urls/) because anyone in possession of the URL can perform API actions. It comes with [important security caveats](https://security.stackexchange.com/questions/118975/is-it-safe-to-include-an-api-key-in-a-requests-url) and is not recommended unless you fully understand the risks.

Pass `api_key=YOURAPITOKENHERE` as a GET/POST query parameter.

```bash
curl -X 'GET' \
  'http://api.archivebox.localhost:8000/api/v1/core/snapshots?limit=10&api_key=YOURAPITOKENHERE' \
  -H 'accept: application/json'
```

<br/>

#### Further Reading

- The ArchiveBox API auth implementation: [`archivebox/api/auth.py`](https://github.com/ArchiveBox/ArchiveBox/blob/dev/archivebox/api/auth.py#:~:text=API_AUTH_METHODS) + [`archivebox/api/v1_auth.py`](https://github.com/ArchiveBox/ArchiveBox/blob/dev/archivebox/api/v1_auth.py)
- The [`django-ninja` auth documentation](https://django-ninja.dev/guides/authentication/) (which powers our API)
- The [Swagger auth documentation](https://swagger.io/docs/specification/authentication/) for the interactive API Docs UI