Automating Authentication Flows on a Shoestring: A DevOps Approach

In today's fast-paced development environment, automating authentication flows is critical for scaling applications efficiently. However, many teams face budget constraints that prevent the use of premium identity management tools and services. This post explores how to leverage open-source tools and existing infrastructure to automate auth flows effectively without incurring costs.

Understanding the Challenge

Managing user authentication involves securely handling credentials, token issuance, renewal, and revocation. Typically, cloud providers offer managed identity services, but these often come with licensing costs. Our goal: build a scalable, automated auth system using free tools, integrated seamlessly into existing DevOps pipelines.

Strategy Overview

The core idea revolves around deploying open-source identity solutions, orchestrating them with CI/CD pipelines, and utilizing free cloud resources where applicable. Key components include:

• OpenID Connect (OIDC) providers (e.g., Keycloak)
• Infrastructure automation with Terraform or Ansible
• CI/CD pipelines for deployment and renewal
• Automation scripts for token management

Step 1: Setting Up an Open-Source Identity Provider

A popular choice is Keycloak, an open-source identity and access management solution.

Deployment

You can deploy Keycloak in a container or VM. Here’s an example Docker Compose setup:

version: '3'
services:
  keycloak:
    image: jboss/keycloak
    ports:
      - "8080:8080"
    environment:
      - KEYCLOAK_USER=admin
      - KEYCLOAK_PASSWORD=admin

Deploy this with:

docker-compose up -d

This provides you a manageable auth provider hosted internally.

Step 2: Automating Deployment with CI/CD

Integrate deployment into your CI pipeline (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Jenkins). Example GitHub Action snippet:

name: Deploy Keycloak
on: [push]
jobs:
  deploy:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v2
      - name: Deploy via Docker Compose
        run: |
          docker-compose -f docker-compose.yml up -d

Ensure your pipeline triggers on configuration updates.

Step 3: Automating Token Handling

Use scripting tools (e.g., curl, jq) to automate token requests, refresh, and revocations.

Example: Obtain JWT token

curl -X POST "http://localhost:8080/realms/master/protocol/openid-connect/token" \
-H "Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded" \
-d "client_id=your-client" \
-d "username=user" \
-d "password=pass" \
-d "grant_type=password"

Store the token securely, then use it within your apps.

Step 4: Securing the System

Configure SSL certificates (e.g., Let’s Encrypt with Certbot), and set up firewall rules to restrict access.

Step 5: Continuous Improvement and Monitoring

Set up dashboards (Prometheus + Grafana) to monitor auth flows, token expiry, and system health.

Final Thoughts

While this setup requires an initial effort, it provides a cost-effective, scalable solution for automating auth flows. Leveraging open-source tools, container orchestration, and automation scripts allows teams to build resilient auth systems with zero budget. This approach emphasizes maintainability, security, and integration readiness—key factors for sustainable DevOps practices.

By methodically deploying, automating, and monitoring your auth infrastructure, you can achieve a fully automated, secure authentication flow that adapts to your evolving needs—all without breaking the bank.

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🛠️ QA Tip

To test this safely without using real user data, I use TempoMail USA.