This page of the Synapse documentation is now deprecated. For up to date
documentation on setting up or writing a password auth provider module, please see
this page.

# Password auth provider modules

Password auth providers offer a way for server administrators to
integrate their Synapse installation with an existing authentication
system.

A password auth provider is a Python class which is dynamically loaded
into Synapse, and provides a number of methods by which it can integrate
with the authentication system.

This document serves as a reference for those looking to implement their
own password auth providers. Additionally, here is a list of known
password auth provider module implementations:

* [matrix-synapse-ldap3](https://github.com/matrix-org/matrix-synapse-ldap3/)
* [matrix-synapse-shared-secret-auth](https://github.com/devture/matrix-synapse-shared-secret-auth)
* [matrix-synapse-rest-password-provider](https://github.com/ma1uta/matrix-synapse-rest-password-provider)

## Required methods

Password auth provider classes must provide the following methods:

* `parse_config(config)`
  This method is passed the `config` object for this module from the
  homeserver configuration file.

  It should perform any appropriate sanity checks on the provided
  configuration, and return an object which is then passed into
  `__init__`.

  This method should have the `@staticmethod` decoration.

* `__init__(self, config, account_handler)`

  The constructor is passed the config object returned by
  `parse_config`, and a `synapse.module_api.ModuleApi` object which
  allows the password provider to check if accounts exist and/or create
  new ones.

## Optional methods

Password auth provider classes may optionally provide the following methods:

* `get_db_schema_files(self)`

  This method, if implemented, should return an Iterable of
  `(name, stream)` pairs of database schema files. Each file is applied
  in turn at initialisation, and a record is then made in the database
  so that it is not re-applied on the next start.

* `get_supported_login_types(self)`

  This method, if implemented, should return a `dict` mapping from a
  login type identifier (such as `m.login.password`) to an iterable
  giving the fields which must be provided by the user in the submission
  to [the `/login` API](https://matrix.org/docs/spec/client_server/latest#post-matrix-client-r0-login).
  These fields are passed in the `login_dict` dictionary to `check_auth`.

  For example, if a password auth provider wants to implement a custom
  login type of `com.example.custom_login`, where the client is expected
  to pass the fields `secret1` and `secret2`, the provider should
  implement this method and return the following dict:

  ```python
  {"com.example.custom_login": ("secret1", "secret2")}
  ```

* `check_auth(self, username, login_type, login_dict)`

  This method does the real work. If implemented, it
  will be called for each login attempt where the login type matches one
  of the keys returned by `get_supported_login_types`.

  It is passed the (possibly unqualified) `user` field provided by the client,
  the login type, and a dictionary of login secrets passed by the
  client.

  The method should return an `Awaitable` object, which resolves
  to the canonical `@localpart:domain` user ID if authentication is
  successful, and `None` if not.

  Alternatively, the `Awaitable` can resolve to a `(str, func)` tuple, in
  which case the second field is a callback which will be called with
  the result from the `/login` call (including `access_token`,
  `device_id`, etc.)

* `check_3pid_auth(self, medium, address, password)`

  This method, if implemented, is called when a user attempts to
  register or log in with a third party identifier, such as email. It is
  passed the medium (ex. "email"), an address (ex.
  "<jdoe@example.com>") and the user's password.

  The method should return an `Awaitable` object, which resolves
  to a `str` containing the user's (canonical) User id if
  authentication was successful, and `None` if not.

  As with `check_auth`, the `Awaitable` may alternatively resolve to a
  `(user_id, callback)` tuple.

* `check_password(self, user_id, password)`

  This method provides a simpler interface than
  `get_supported_login_types` and `check_auth` for password auth
  providers that just want to provide a mechanism for validating
  `m.login.password` logins.

  If implemented, it will be called to check logins with an
  `m.login.password` login type. It is passed a qualified
  `@localpart:domain` user id, and the password provided by the user.

  The method should return an `Awaitable` object, which resolves
  to `True` if authentication is successful, and `False` if not.

* `on_logged_out(self, user_id, device_id, access_token)`

  This method, if implemented, is called when a user logs out. It is
  passed the qualified user ID, the ID of the deactivated device (if
  any: access tokens are occasionally created without an associated
  device ID), and the (now deactivated) access token.

  It may return an `Awaitable` object; the logout request will
  wait for the `Awaitable` to complete, but the result is ignored.
