# Configuration of PySAML2 entities

Whether you plan to run a PySAML2 Service Provider, Identity Provider or an attribute authority, you have to configure it. The format of the configuration file is the same regardless of which type of service you plan to run. What differs are some of the directives. Below you will find a list of all the used directives in alphabetical order. The configuration is written as a python module which contains a named dictionary (“CONFIG”) that contains the configuration directives.

The basic structure of the configuration file is therefore like this:

    from saml2 import BINDING_HTTP_REDIRECT

    CONFIG = {
        "entityid": "http://saml.example.com:saml/idp.xml",
        "name": "Rolands IdP",
        "service": {
            "idp": {
                "endpoints": {
                    "single_sign_on_service": [
                        (
                            "http://saml.example.com:saml:8088/sso",
                            BINDING_HTTP_REDIRECT,
                        ),
                    ],
                    "single_logout_service": [
                        (
                            "http://saml.example.com:saml:8088/slo",
                            BINDING_HTTP_REDIRECT,
                        ),
                    ],
                },
                ...
            }
        },
        "key_file": "my.key",
        "cert_file": "ca.pem",
        "xmlsec_binary": "/usr/local/bin/xmlsec1",
        "delete_tmpfiles": True,
        "metadata": {
            "local": [
                "edugain.xml",
            ],
        },
        "attribute_map_dir": "attributemaps",
        ...
    }

Note

You can build the metadata file for your services directly from the configuration. The make_metadata.py script in the PySAML2 tools directory will do that for you.

## Configuration directives

### General directives

#### logging

The logging configuration format is the python logging format. The configuration is passed to the python logging dictionary configuration handler, directly.

Example:

    "logging": {
        "version": 1,
        "formatters": {
            "simple": {
                "format": "[%(asctime)s] [%(levelname)s] [%(name)s.%(funcName)s] %(message)s",
            },
        },
        "handlers": {
            "stdout": {
                "class": "logging.StreamHandler",
                "stream": "ext://sys.stdout",
                "level": "DEBUG",
                "formatter": "simple",
            },
        },
        "loggers": {
            "saml2": {
                "level": "DEBUG"
            },
        },
        "root": {
            "level": "DEBUG",
            "handlers": [
                "stdout",
            ],
        },
    },

The example configuration above will enable DEBUG logging to stdout.

#### debug

Example:

    debug: 1

Whether debug information should be sent to the log file.

#### http_client_timeout

Example:

    http_client_timeout: 10

The timeout of HTTP requests, in seconds. Defaults to None.

#### additional_cert_files

Example:

    additional_cert_files: ["other-cert.pem", "another-cert.pem"]

Additional public certs that will be listed. Useful during cert/key rotation or if you need to include a certificate chain.

Each entry in additional_cert_files must be a PEM formatted file with a single certificate.

#### entity_attributes

Generates an `Attribute` element with the given NameFormat, Name, FriendlyName and values, each as an `AttributeValue` element.

The element is added under the generated metadata `EntityDescriptor` as an `Extension` element under the `EntityAttributes` element.

And omit

Example:

    "entity_attributes": [
      {
        "name_format": "urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:attrname-format:uri",
        "name": "urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:profiles:subject-id:req",
        # "friendly_name" is not set
        "values": ["any"],
      },
    ]

#### assurance_certification

Example:

    "assurance_certification": [
        "https://refeds.org/sirtfi",
    ]

Generates an `Attribute` element with name-format `urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:attrname-format:uri` and name `urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:attribute:assurance-certification` that contains `AttributeValue` elements with the given values from the list. The element is added under the generated metadata `EntityDescriptor` as an `Extension` element under the `EntityAttributes` element.

Read more about representing assurance information at the specification.

#### attribute_map_dir

Points to a directory which has the attribute maps in Python modules.

Example:

    "attribute_map_dir": "attribute-maps"

A typical map file will look like this:

    MAP = {
        "identifier": "urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:attrname-format:basic",
        "fro": {
            'urn:mace:dir:attribute-def:aRecord': 'aRecord',
            'urn:mace:dir:attribute-def:aliasedEntryName': 'aliasedEntryName',
            'urn:mace:dir:attribute-def:aliasedObjectName': 'aliasedObjectName',
            'urn:mace:dir:attribute-def:associatedDomain': 'associatedDomain',
            'urn:mace:dir:attribute-def:associatedName': 'associatedName',
            ...
        },
        "to": {
            'aRecord': 'urn:mace:dir:attribute-def:aRecord',
            'aliasedEntryName': 'urn:mace:dir:attribute-def:aliasedEntryName',
            'aliasedObjectName': 'urn:mace:dir:attribute-def:aliasedObjectName',
            'associatedDomain': 'urn:mace:dir:attribute-def:associatedDomain',
            'associatedName': 'urn:mace:dir:attribute-def:associatedName',
            ...
        }
    }

The attribute map module contains a MAP dictionary with three items. The identifier item is the name-format you expect to support. The to and fro sub-dictionaries then contain the mapping between the names.

As you see the format is again a python dictionary where the key is the name to convert from, and the value is the name to convert to.

Since to in most cases is the inverse of the fro file, the software allows you only to specify one of them, and it will automatically create the other.

#### contact_person

This is only used by make_metadata.py when it constructs the metadata for the service described by the configuration file. This is where you describe who can be contacted if questions arise about the service or if support is needed.

Note that contact_type is required for a valid schema. The possible types are according to the standard technical, support, administrative, billing and other:

    contact_person: [
        {
            "given_name": "Derek",
            "sur_name": "Jeter",
            "company": "Example Co.",
            "email_address": ["jeter@example.com"],
            "telephone_number": ["123-456-789", "+1 234 567 89"]
            "contact_type": "technical",
        },
        {
            "given_name": "Joe",
            "sur_name": "Girardi",
            "company": "Example Co.",
            "email_address": ["girardi@example.com", "admin@example.com"]
            "telephone_number": ["987-654-321"]
            "contact_type": "administrative",
        },
    ]

#### entityid

Example:

    entityid: "http://saml.example.com/sp"

The globally unique identifier of the entity.

Note

It is recommended that the entityid should point to a real webpage where the metadata for the entity can be found.

#### name

A string value that sets the name of the PySAML2 entity.

Example:

    "name": "Example IdP"

#### description

A string value that sets the description of the PySAML2 entity.

Example:

    "description": "My IdP",

#### verify_ssl_cert

Specifies if the SSL certificates should be verified. Can be `True` or `False`. The default configuration is `False`.

Example:

    "verify_ssl_cert": True

#### key_file

Example:

    key_file: "key.pem"

key_file is the name of a PEM formatted file that contains the private key of the service. This is currently used both to encrypt/sign assertions and as the client key in an HTTPS session.

#### cert_file

Example:

    cert_file: "cert.pem"

This is the public part of the service private/public key pair. cert_file must be a PEM formatted file with a single certificate.

#### tmp_cert_file

Example::

  “tmp_cert_file”: “tmp_cert.pem”

tmp_cert_file is a PEM formatted certificate file

#### tmp_key_file

Example::

  “tmp_key_file”: “tmp_key.pem”

tmp_key_file is a PEM formatted key file.

#### encryption_keypairs

Indicates which certificates will be used for encryption capabilities:

    # Encryption
    'encryption_keypairs': [
        {
            'key_file': BASE_DIR + '/certificates/private.key',
            'cert_file': BASE_DIR + '/certificates/public.cert',
        },
    ],

#### generate_cert_info

Specifies if information about the certificate should be generated. A boolean value can be `True` or `False`.

Example:

    "generate_cert_info": False

#### ca_certs

This is the path to a file containing root CA certificates for SSL server certificate validation.

Example:

    "ca_certs": full_path("cacerts.txt"),

#### metadata

Contains a list of places where metadata can be found. This can be

- a local directory accessible on the server the service runs on

- a local file accessible on the server the service runs on

- a remote URL serving aggregate metadata

- a metadata query protocol (MDQ) service URL

For example:

    "metadata": {
        "local": [
            "/opt/metadata"
            "metadata.xml",
            "vo_metadata.xml",
        ],
        "remote": [
            {
                "url": "https://kalmar2.org/simplesaml/module.php/aggregator/?id=kalmarcentral2&set=saml2",
                "cert": "kalmar2.cert",
            },
        ],
        "mdq": [
            {
                "url": "http://mdq.ukfederation.org.uk/",
                "cert": "ukfederation-mdq.pem",
                "freshness_period": "P0Y0M0DT2H0M0S",
            },
            {
                "url": "https://mdq.thaturl.org/",
                "disable_ssl_certificate_validation": True,
                "check_validity": False,
            },
        ],
    },

The above configuration means that the service should read two aggregate local metadata files, one aggregate metadata file from a remote server, and query a remote MDQ server. To verify the authenticity of the metadata aggregate downloaded from the remote server and the MDQ server local copies of the metadata signing certificates should be used. These public keys must be acquired by some secure out-of-band method before being placed on the local file system.

When the parameter check_validity is set to False metadata that have expired will be accepted as valid.

When the parameter disable_ssl_certificate_validation is set to True the validity of ssl certificate will be skipped.

When using a remote metadata source, the node_name option can be set to define the name of the root node of the XML document, if needed. Usually, the node name will be urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:metadata:EntityDescriptor or urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:metadata:EntityDescriptor (node namespace and node tag name).

When using MDQ, the freshness_period option can be set to define a period for which the metadata fetched from the the MDQ server are considered fresh. After that period has passed the metadata are not valid anymore and must be fetched again. The period must be in the format defined in ISO 8601 or RFC3999.

By default, if freshness_period is not defined, the metadata are refreshed every 12 hours (P0Y0M0DT12H0M0S).

#### organization

Only used by make_metadata.py. Where you describe the organization responsible for the service.:

    "organization": {
        "name": [
            ("Example Company", "en"),
            ("Exempel AB", "se")
        ],
        "display_name": ["Exempel AB"],
        "url": [
            ("http://example.com", "en"),
            ("http://exempel.se", "se"),
        ],
    }

Note

You can specify the language of the name, or the language used on the webpage, by entering a tuple, instead of a simple string, where the second part is the language code. If you don’t specify a language, the default is “en” (English).

#### preferred_binding

Which binding should be preferred for a service. Example configuration:

    "preferred_binding" = {
        "single_sign_on_service": [
            'urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:bindings:HTTP-Redirect',
            'urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:bindings:HTTP-POST',
            'urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:bindings:HTTP-Artifact',
        ],
        "single_logout_service": [
            'urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:bindings:SOAP',
            'urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:bindings:HTTP-Redirect',
            'urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:bindings:HTTP-POST',
            'urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:bindings:HTTP-Artifact',
        ],
    }

The available services are:

- manage_name_id_service

- assertion_consumer_service

- name_id_mapping_service

- authn_query_service

- attribute_service

- authz_service

- assertion_id_request_service

- artifact_resolution_service

- attribute_consuming_service

- single_logout_service

#### service

Which services the server will provide; those are combinations of “idp”, “sp” and “aa”. So if a server is a Service Provider (SP) then the configuration could look something like this:

    "service": {
        "sp": {
            "name": "Rolands SP",
            "endpoints": {
                "assertion_consumer_service": ["http://localhost:8087/"],
                "single_logout_service": [
                    (
                        "http://localhost:8087/slo",
                        'urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:bindings:HTTP-Redirect',
                    ),
                ],
            },
            "required_attributes": [
                "surname",
                "givenname",
                "edupersonaffiliation",
            ],
            "optional_attributes": ["title"],
            "idp": {
                "urn:mace:umu.se:saml:roland:idp": None,
            },
        }
    },

There are two options common to all services: ‘name’ and ‘endpoints’. The remaining options are specific to one or the other of the service types. Which one is specified alongside the name of the option.

#### accepted_time_diff

If your computer and another computer that you are communicating with are not in sync regarding the computer clock, then here you can state how big a difference in seconds you are prepared to accept.

Note

This will indiscriminately affect all time comparisons. Hence your server may accept a statement that in fact is too old.

#### allow_unknown_attributes

Indicates that attributes that are not recognized (they are not configured in attribute-mapping), will not be discarded. Default to False.

#### xmlsec_binary

Currently xmlsec1 binaries are used for all the signing and encryption stuff. This option defines where the binary is situated.

Example:

    "xmlsec_binary": "/usr/local/bin/xmlsec1",

#### xmlsec_path

This option is used to define non-system paths where the xmlsec1 binary can be located. It can be used when the xmlsec_binary option is not defined.

Example:

    "xmlsec_path": ["/usr/local/bin", "/opt/local/bin"],

OR:

    from saml2.sigver import get_xmlsec_binary

    if get_xmlsec_binary:
        xmlsec_path = get_xmlsec_binary(["/opt/local/bin","/usr/local/bin"])
    else:
        xmlsec_path = '/usr/bin/xmlsec1'

    "xmlsec_binary": xmlsec_path,

#### delete_tmpfiles

In many cases temporary files will have to be created during the encryption/decryption/signing/validation process. This option defines whether these temporary files will be automatically deleted when they are no longer needed. Setting this to False, will keep these files until they are manually deleted or automatically deleted by the OS (i.e Linux rules for /tmp). Absence of this option, defaults to True.

#### valid_for

How many hours this configuration is expected to be accurate.:

    "valid_for": 24

This, of course, is only used by make_metadata.py. The server will not stop working when this amount of time has elapsed :-).

#### metadata_key_usage

This specifies the purpose of the entity’s cryptographic keys used to sign data. If this option is not configured it will default to `"both"`.

The possible options for this configuration are `both`, `signing`, `encryption`.

If metadata_key_usage is set to `"signing"` or `"both"`, and a cert_file is provided the value of use in the KeyDescriptor element will be set to `"signing"`.

If metadata_key_usage is set to `"both"` or `"encryption"` and a enc_cert is provided the value of `"use"` in the KeyDescriptor will be set to `"encryption"`.

Example:

    "metadata_key_usage" : "both",

#### secret

A string value that is used in the generation of the RelayState.

Example:

    "secret": "0123456789",

#### crypto_backend

Defines the crypto backend used for signing and encryption. The default is `xmlsec1`. The options are `xmlsec1` and `XMLSecurity`.

If set to “XMLSecurity”, the crypto backend will be pyXMLSecurity.

Example:

    "crypto_backend": "xmlsec1",

#### verify_encrypt_advice

Specifies if the encrypted assertions in the advice element should be verified. Can be `True` or `False`.

Example:

    def verify_encrypt_cert(cert_str):
        osw = OpenSSLWrapper()
        ca_cert_str = osw.read_str_from_file(full_path("root_cert/localhost.ca.crt"))
        valid, mess = osw.verify(ca_cert_str, cert_str)
        return valid

    "verify_encrypt_cert_advice": verify_encrypt_cert,

#### verify_encrypt_cert_assertion

Specifies if the encrypted assertions should be verified. Can be `True` or `False`.

Example:

    "verify_encrypt_cert_assertion": verify_encrypt_cert

### Specific directives

Directives that are specific to a certain type of service.

#### idp/aa

Directives that are specific to an IdP or AA service instance.

##### sign_assertion

Specifies if the IdP should sign the assertion in an authentication response or not. Can be True or False. Default is False.

##### sign_response

Specifies if the IdP should sign the authentication response or not. Can be True or False. Default is False.

##### encrypt_assertion

Specifies if the IdP should encrypt the assertions. Can be `True` or `False`. Default is `False`.

##### encrypted_advice_attributes

Specifies if assertions in the advice element should be encrypted. Can be `True` or `False`. Default is `False`.

##### encrypt_assertion_self_contained

Specifies if all encrypted assertions should have all namespaces self contained. Can be `True` or `False`. Default is `True`.

##### want_authn_requests_signed

Indicates that the AuthnRequest received by this IdP should be signed. Can be `True` or `False`. The default value is `False`.

##### want_authn_requests_only_with_valid_cert

When verifying a signed AuthnRequest ignore the signature and verify the certificate.

##### policy

If the server is an IdP and/or an AA, then there might be reasons to do things differently depending on who is asking (which is the requesting service); the policy is where this behaviour is specified.

The keys are SP entity identifiers, Registration Authority names, or ‘default’. First, the policy for the requesting service is looked up using the SP entityID. If no such policy is found, and if the SP metadata includes a Registration Authority then a policy for the registration authority is looked up using the Registration Authority name. If no policy is found, then the ‘default’ is looked up. If there is no default and only SP entity identifiers as keys, then the server will only accept connections from the specified SPs.

An example might be:

    "service": {
        "idp": {
            "policy": {
                # a policy for a service
                "urn:mace:example.com:saml:roland:sp": {
                    "lifetime": {"minutes": 5},
                    "attribute_restrictions": {
                        "givenName": None,
                        "surName": None,
                    },
                },

                # a policy for a registration authority
                "http://www.swamid.se/": {
                    "attribute_restrictions": {
                        "givenName": None,
                    },
                },

                # the policy for all other services
                "default": {
                    "lifetime": {"minutes":15},
                    "attribute_restrictions": None, # means all I have
                    "name_form": "urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:attrname-format:uri",
                    "entity_categories": [
                        "edugain",
                    ],
                },
            }
        }
    }

lifetime

  This is the maximum amount of time before the information should be regarded as stale. In an Assertion, this is represented in the NotOnOrAfter attribute.

attribute_restrictions

  By default, there are no restrictions as to which attributes should be returned. Instead, all the attributes and values that are gathered by the database backends will be returned if nothing else is stated. In the example above the SP with the entity identifier “urn:mace:umu.se:saml:roland:sp” has an attribute restriction: only the attributes ‘givenName’ and ‘surName’ are to be returned. There are no limitations as to what values on these attributes that can be returned.

name_form

  Which name-form that should be used when sending assertions. Using this information, the attribute name in the data source will be mapped to the friendly name, and the saml attribute name will be taken from the uri/oid defined in the attribute map.

nameid_format

  Which nameid format that should be used. Defaults to urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:nameid-format:transient.

entity_categories

  Entity categories to apply.

sign

  Possible choices: “response”, “assertion”, “on_demand”

If restrictions on values are deemed necessary, those are represented by regular expressions.:

    "service": {
        "aa": {
            "policy": {
                "urn:mace:umu.se:saml:roland:sp": {
                    "lifetime": {"minutes": 5},
                    "attribute_restrictions": {
                         "mail": [".*\.umu\.se$"],
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    }

Here only mail addresses that end with “.umu.se” will be returned.

##### scope

A list of string values that will be used to set the `<Scope>` element The default value of regexp is `False`.

Example:

    "scope": ["example.org", "example.com"],

##### ui_info

This determines what information to display about an entity by configuring its mdui:UIInfo element. The configurable options include;

privacy_statement_url

  The URL to information about the privacy practices of the entity.

information_url

  Which URL contains localized information about the entity.

logo

  The logo image for the entity. The value is a dictionary with keys height, width and text.

display_name

  The localized name for the entity.

description

  The localized description of the entity. The value is a dictionary with keys text and lang.

keywords

  The localized search keywords for the entity. The value is a dictionary with keys lang and text.

Example:

    "ui_info": {
    "privacy_statement_url": "http://example.com/saml2/privacyStatement.html",
    "information_url": "http://example.com/saml2/info.html",
    "logo": {
        "height": "40",
        "width" : "30",
        "text": "http://example.com/logo.jpg"
    },
    "display_name": "Example Co.",
    "description" : {"text":"Exempel Bolag","lang":"se"},
    "keywords": {"lang":"en", "text":["foo", "bar"]}
    }

##### name_qualifier

A string value that sets the `NameQualifier` attribute of the `<NameIdentifier>` element.

Example:

    "name_qualifier": "http://authentic.example.com/saml/metadata",

##### session_storage

Example:

    "session_storage": ("mongodb", "session")

##### domain

Example:

    "domain": "umu.se",

#### sp

Directives specific to SP instances

##### authn_requests_signed

Indicates if the Authentication Requests sent by this SP should be signed by default. This can be overridden by application code for a specific call.

This sets the AuthnRequestsSigned attribute of the SPSSODescriptor node of the metadata so the IdP will know this SP preference.

Valid values are True or False. Default value is True.

Example:

    "service": {
        "sp": {
            "authn_requests_signed": True,
        }
    }

##### want_response_signed

Indicates that Authentication Responses to this SP must be signed. If set to True, the SP will not consume any SAML Responses that are not signed.

Valid values are True or False. Default value is True.

Example:

    "service": {
        "sp": {
            "want_response_signed": True,
        }
    }

##### force_authn

Mandates that the identity provider MUST authenticate the presenter directly rather than rely on a previous security context.

Example:

    "service": {
        "sp": {
            "force_authn": True,
        }
    }

##### name_id_policy_format

A string value that will be used to set the `Format` attribute of the `<NameIDPolicy>` element of an `<AuthnRequest>`.

Example:

    "service": {
        "sp": {
            "name_id_policy_format": "urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:nameid-format:persistent",
        }
    }

##### name_id_format_allow_create

A boolean value (`True` or `False`) that will be used to set the `AllowCreate` attribute of the `<NameIDPolicy>` element of an `<AuthnRequest>`.

Example:

    "service": {
        "sp": {
            "name_id_format_allow_create": True,
        }
    }

##### name_id_format

A list of string values that will be used to set the `<NameIDFormat>` element of the metadata of an entity.

Example:

    "service": {
        "sp": {
            "name_id_format": [
                "urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:nameid-format:persistent",
                "urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:nameid-format:transient",
            ]
        }
    }

##### allow_unsolicited

When set to true, the SP will consume unsolicited SAML Responses, i.e. SAML Responses for which it has not sent a respective SAML Authentication Request.

Example:

    "service": {
        "sp": {
            "allow_unsolicited": True,
        }
    }

##### hide_assertion_consumer_service

When set to true the AuthnRequest will not include the AssertionConsumerServiceURL and ProtocolBinding attributes.

Example:

    "service": {
        "sp": {
            "hide_assertion_consumer_service": True,
        }
    }

This kind of functionality is required for the eIDAS SAML profile.

> eIDAS-Connectors SHOULD NOT provide AssertionConsumerServiceURL.

Note

This is relevant only for the eIDAS SAML profile.

##### sp_type

Sets the value for the eIDAS SPType node. By the eIDAS specification the value can be one of public and private.

Example:

    "service": {
        "sp": {
            "sp_type": "private",
        }
    }

Note

This is relevant only for the eIDAS SAML profile.

##### sp_type_in_metadata

Whether the SPType node should appear in the metadata document or as part of each AuthnRequest.

Example:

    "service": {
        "sp": {
            "sp_type_in_metadata": True,
        }
    }

Note

This is relevant only for the eIDAS SAML profile.

##### requested_attributes

A list of attributes that the SP requires from an eIDAS-Service (IdP). Each attribute is an object with the following attributes:

- friendly_name

- name

- required

- name_format

Where friendly_name is an attribute name such as DateOfBirth, name is the full attribute name such as http://eidas.europa.eu/attributes/naturalperson/DateOfBirth, required indicates whether this attributed is required for authentication, and name_format indicates the name format for that attribute, such as urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:attrname-format:uri.

It is mandatory that at least name or friendly_name is set. By default attributes are assumed to be required. Missing attributes are inferred based on the attribute maps data.

Example:

    "service": {
        "sp": {
            "requested_attributes": [
                {
                    "name": "http://eidas.europa.eu/attributes/naturalperson/PersonIdentifier",
                },
                {
                    "friendly_name": "DateOfBirth",
                    "required": False,
                },
            ],
        }
    }

Note

This is relevant only for the eIDAS SAML profile.

This option is different from the required_attributes and optional_attributes parameters that control the requested attributes in the metadata of an SP.

##### idp

Defines the set of IdPs that this SP is allowed to use; if unset, all listed IdPs may be used. If set, then the value is expected to be a list with entity identifiers for the allowed IdPs. A typical configuration, when the allowed set of IdPs are limited, would look something like this:

    "service": {
        "sp": {
            "idp": ["urn:mace:umu.se:saml:roland:idp"],
        }
    }

In this case, the SP has only one IdP it can use.

##### optional_attributes

Attributes that this SP would like to receive from IdPs.

Example:

    "service": {
        "sp": {
            "optional_attributes": ["title"],
        }
    }

Since the attribute names used here are the user-friendly ones an attribute map must exist, so that the server can use the full name when communicating with other servers.

##### required_attributes

Attributes that this SP demands to receive from IdPs.

Example:

    "service": {
        "sp": {
            "required_attributes": [
                "surname",
                "givenName",
                "mail",
            ],
        }
    }

Again as for optional_attributes the names given are expected to be the user-friendly names.

##### want_assertions_signed

Indicates if this SP wants the IdP to send the assertions signed. This sets the WantAssertionsSigned attribute of the SPSSODescriptor node of the metadata so the IdP will know this SP preference.

Valid values are True or False. Default value is False.

Example:

    "service": {
        "sp": {
            "want_assertions_signed": True,
        }
    }

##### want_assertions_or_response_signed

Indicates that either the Authentication Response or the assertions contained within the response to this SP must be signed.

Valid values are True or False. Default value is False.

This configuration directive does not override `want_response_signed` or `want_assertions_signed`. For example, if `want_response_signed` is True and the Authentication Response is not signed an exception will be thrown regardless of the value for this configuration directive.

Thus to configure the SP to accept either a signed response or signed assertions set `want_response_signed` and `want_assertions_signed` both to False and this directive to True.

Example:

    "service": {
        "sp": {
            "want_response_signed": False,
            "want_assertions_signed": False,
            "want_assertions_or_response_signed": True,
        }
    }

##### discovery_response

This configuration allows the SP to include one or more Discovery Response Endpoints. The discovery_response can be the just the URL:

    "discovery_response":["http://example.com/sp/ds"],

or it can be a 2 tuple of the URL+Binding:

    from saml2.extension.idpdisc import BINDING_DISCO

    "discovery_response": [("http://example.com/sp/ds", BINDING_DISCO)]

##### ecp

This configuration option takes a dictionary with the ecp client IP address as the key and the entity ID as the value.

Example:

    "ecp": {
        "203.0.113.254": "http://example.com/idp",
    }

##### requested_attribute_name_format

This sets the NameFormat attribute in the `<RequestedAttribute>` element. The name formats are defined in saml2.saml.py. If not configured the default is `NAME_FORMAT_URI` which corresponds to `urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:attrname-format:uri`.

Example:

    from saml2.saml import NAME_FORMAT_BASIC

    "requested_attribute_name_format": NAME_FORMAT_BASIC

##### requested_authn_context

This configuration option defines the `<RequestedAuthnContext>` for an AuthnRequest by a client. The value is a dictionary with two fields

- `authn_context_class_ref` a list of string values representing `<AuthnContextClassRef>` elements.

- `comparison` a string representing the Comparison xml-attribute value of the `<RequestedAuthnContext>` element. Per the SAML core specificiation the value should be one of “exact”, “minimum”, “maximum”, or “better”. The default is “exact”.

Example:

    "service": {
        "sp": {
            "requested_authn_context": {
                "authn_context_class_ref": [
                    "urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:ac:classes:PasswordProtectedTransport",
                    "urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:ac:classes:TLSClient",
                ],
                "comparison": "minimum",
            }
        }
    }

#### idp/aa/sp

If the configuration is covering both two or three different service types (like if one server is actually acting as both an IdP and an SP) then in some cases you might want to have these below different for the different services.

##### endpoints

Where the endpoints for the services provided are. This directive has as value a dictionary with one or more of the following keys:

- artifact_resolution_service (aa, idp and sp)

- assertion_consumer_service (sp)

- assertion_id_request_service (aa, idp)

- attribute_service (aa)

- manage_name_id_service (aa, idp)

- name_id_mapping_service (idp)

- single_logout_service (aa, idp, sp)

- single_sign_on_service (idp)

The value per service is a list of endpoint specifications. An endpoint specification can either be just the URL:

    ”http://localhost:8088/A"

or it can be a 2-tuple (URL+binding):

    from saml2 import BINDING_HTTP_POST
    (”http://localhost:8087/A”, BINDING_HTTP_POST)

or a 3-tuple (URL+binding+index):

    from saml2 import BINDING_HTTP_POST
    (”http://lingon.catalogix.se:8087/A”, BINDING_HTTP_POST, 1)

If no binding is specified, no index can be set. If no index is specified, the index is set based on the position in the list.

Example:

    "service":
        "idp": {
            "endpoints": {
                "single_sign_on_service": [
                    ("http://localhost:8088/sso", BINDING_HTTP_REDIRECT),
                ],
                "single_logout_service": [
                    ("http://localhost:8088/slo", BINDING_HTTP_REDIRECT),
                ],
            },
        },
    },

##### error_url

The URL to which the user’s browser may be redirected in the event of a failure.

Example:

    "service":
        "idp": {
            "error_url": "http://localhost:8088/error_page",
        },
    }

##### only_use_keys_in_metadata

If set to False, the certificate contained in a SAML message will be used for signature verification. Default True.

##### validate_certificate

Indicates that the certificate used in sign SAML messages must be valid. Default to False.

##### logout_requests_signed

Indicates if this entity will sign the Logout Requests originated from it.

This can be overridden by application code for a specific call.

Valid values are True or False. Default value is False.

Example:

    "service": {
        "sp": {
            "logout_requests_signed": False,
        }
    }

##### signing_algorithm

Default algorithm to be used. Example:

    "service": {
        "sp": {
            "signing_algorithm": "http://www.w3.org/2001/04/xmldsig-more#rsa-sha512",
            "digest_algorithm": "http://www.w3.org/2001/04/xmlenc#sha512",
        }
    }

##### digest_algorithm

Default algorithm to be used. Example:

    "service": {
        "idp": {
            "signing_algorithm": "http://www.w3.org/2001/04/xmldsig-more#rsa-sha512",
            "digest_algorithm": "http://www.w3.org/2001/04/xmlenc#sha512",
        }
    }

##### logout_responses_signed

Indicates if this entity will sign the Logout Responses while processing a Logout Request.

This can be overridden by application code when calling `handle_logout_request`.

Valid values are True or False. Default value is False.

Example:

    "service": {
        "sp": {
            "logout_responses_signed": False,
        }
    }

##### subject_data

The name of a database where the map between a local identifier and a distributed identifier is kept. By default, this is a shelve database. So if you just specify a name, then a shelve database with that name is created. On the other hand, if you specify a tuple, then the first element in the tuple specifies which type of database you want to use and the second element is the address of the database.

Example:

    "subject_data": "./idp.subject.db",

or if you want to use for instance memcache:

    "subject_data": ("memcached", "localhost:12121"),

shelve and memcached are the only database types that are currently supported.

##### virtual_organization

Gives information about common identifiers for virtual_organizations:

    "virtual_organization": {
        "urn:mace:example.com:it:tek": {
            "nameid_format": "urn:oid:1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.15-NameID",
            "common_identifier": "umuselin",
        }
    },

Keys in this dictionary are the identifiers for the virtual organizations. The arguments per organization are ‘nameid_format’ and ‘common_identifier’. Useful if all the IdPs and AAs that are involved in a virtual organization have common attribute values for users that are part of the VO.

### Complete example

We start with a simple but fairly complete Service provider configuration:

    from saml2 import BINDING_HTTP_REDIRECT

    CONFIG = {
        "entityid": "http://example.com/sp/metadata.xml",
        "service": {
            "sp": {
                "name": "Example SP",
                "endpoints": {
                    "assertion_consumer_service": ["http://example.com/sp"],
                    "single_logout_service": [
                        ("http://example.com/sp/slo", BINDING_HTTP_REDIRECT),
                    ],
                },
            }
        },
        "key_file": "./mykey.pem",
        "cert_file": "./mycert.pem",
        "xmlsec_binary": "/usr/local/bin/xmlsec1",
        "delete_tmpfiles": True,
        "attribute_map_dir": "./attributemaps",
        "metadata": {
            "local": ["idp.xml"]
        }
        "organization": {
            "display_name": ["Example identities"]
        }
        "contact_person": [
            {
                "given_name": "Roland",
                "sur_name": "Hedberg",
                "telephone_number": ["+46 90510"],
                "email_address": ["roland@example.com"],
                "contact_type": "technical",
            },
        ]
    }

This is the typical setup for an SP. A metadata file to load is always needed, but it can, of course, contain anything from 1 up to many entity descriptions.

A slightly more complex configuration:

    from saml2 import BINDING_HTTP_REDIRECT

    CONFIG = {
        "entityid": "http://sp.example.com/metadata.xml",
        "service": {
            "sp": {
                "name": "Example SP",
                "endpoints": {
                    "assertion_consumer_service": ["http://sp.example.com/"],
                    "single_logout_service": [
                        ("http://sp.example.com/slo", BINDING_HTTP_REDIRECT),
                    ],
                },
                "subject_data": ("memcached", "localhost:12121"),
                "virtual_organization": {
                    "urn:mace:example.com:it:tek": {
                        "nameid_format": "urn:oid:1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.15-NameID",
                        "common_identifier": "eduPersonPrincipalName",
                    }
                },
            }
        },
        "key_file": "./mykey.pem",
        "cert_file": "./mycert.pem",
        "xmlsec_binary": "/usr/local/bin/xmlsec1",
        "delete_tmpfiles": True,
        "metadata": {
            "local": ["example.xml"],
            "remote": [
                {
                    "url":"https://kalmar2.org/simplesaml/module.php/aggregator/?id=kalmarcentral2&set=saml2",
                    "cert":"kalmar2.pem",
                }
            ]
        },
        "attribute_maps": "attributemaps",
        "organization": {
            "display_name": ["Example identities"]
        }
        "contact_person": [
            {
                "given_name": "Roland",
                "sur_name": "Hedberg",
                "telephone_number": ["+46 90510"],
                "email_address": ["roland@example.com"],
                "contact_type": "technical",
            },
        ]
    }

Uses metadata files, both local and remote, and will talk to whatever IdP that appears in any of the metadata files.

## Other considerations

### Entity Categories

Entity categories and their attributes are defined in src/saml2/entity_category/<registrar-of-entity-category>.py. We can configure Entity Categories in PySAML2 in two ways:

1. Using the configuration options entity_category_support or entity_category, to generate the appropriate EntityAttribute metadata elements.

2. Using the configuration option entity_categories as part of the policy configuration, to make the entity category work as a filter on the attributes that will be released.

If the entity categories are configured as metadata, as follow:

    'debug' : True,
    'xmlsec_binary': get_xmlsec_binary([/usr/bin/xmlsec1']),
    'entityid': '%s/metadata' % BASE_URL,

    # or entity_category: [ ... ]
    'entity_category_support': [
        edugain.COCO, # "http://www.geant.net/uri/dataprotection-code-of-conduct/v1"
        refeds.RESEARCH_AND_SCHOLARSHIP,
    ],

    'attribute_map_dir': 'data/attribute-maps',
    'description': 'SAML2 IDP',

    'service': {
        'idp': {
    ...

In the metadata we’ll then have:

    <md:Extensions>
      <mdattr:EntityAttributes>
        <saml:Attribute Name="http://macedir.org/entity-category-support" NameFormat="urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:attrname-format:uri">
          <saml:AttributeValue xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" xsi:type="xs:string">http://www.geant.net/uri/dataprotection-code-of-conduct/v1</saml:AttributeValue>
          <saml:AttributeValue xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" xsi:type="xs:string">http://refeds.org/category/research-and-scholarship</saml:AttributeValue>
        </saml:Attribute>
      </mdattr:EntityAttributes>

If the entity categories are configurated in the policy section, they will act as filters on the released attributes.

Example:

    "policy": {
      "default": {
        "lifetime": {"minutes": 15},
        # if the SP is not conform to entity_categories
        # the attributes will not be released
        "entity_categories": ["refeds",],