authelia/docs/configuration/session.md

---
layout: default
title: Session
parent: Configuration
nav_order: 8
---

# Session

**Authelia** relies on session cookies to authenticate users. When the user visits
a website of the protected domain `example.com` for the first time, Authelia detects
that there is no cookie for that user. Consequently, Authelia redirects the user
to the login portal through which the user should authenticate to get a cookie which
is valid for `*.example.com`, meaning all websites of the domain.
At the next request, Authelia receives the cookie associated to the authenticated user
and can then order the reverse proxy to let the request pass through to the application.

## Configuration

```yaml
session:
  # The name of the session cookie. (default: authelia_session).
  name: authelia_session

  # The secret to encrypt the session data. This is only used with Redis.
  # Secret can also be set using a secret: https://docs.authelia.com/configuration/secrets.html
  secret: unsecure_session_secret

  # The time in seconds before the cookie expires and session is reset.
  expiration: 1h

  # The inactivity time in seconds before the session is reset.
  inactivity: 5m

  # The remember me duration.
  # Value of 0 disables remember me.
  # Value is in seconds, or duration notation. See: https://docs.authelia.com/configuration/index.html#duration-notation-format
  # Longer periods are considered less secure because a stolen cookie will last longer giving attackers more time to spy
  # or attack. Currently the default is 1M or 1 month.
  remember_me_duration:  1M

  # The domain to protect.
  # Note: the login portal must also be a subdomain of that domain.
  domain: example.com

  # The redis connection details (optional)
  # If not provided, sessions will be stored in memory
  redis:
    host: 127.0.0.1
    port: 6379
    ## Use a unix socket instead
    # host: /var/run/redis/redis.sock

    ## Optional username to be used with authentication.
    username: authelia

    ## Password can also be set using a secret: https://docs.authelia.com/configuration/secrets.html
    password: authelia

    ## This is the Redis DB Index https://redis.io/commands/select (sometimes referred to as database number, DB, etc).
    database_index: 0

    ## The maximum number of concurrent active connections to Redis.
    maximum_active_connections: 8

    ## The target number of idle connections to have open ready for work. Useful when opening connections is slow.
    minimum_idle_connections: 0

    ## The Redis TLS configuration. If defined will require a TLS connection to the Redis instance(s).
    tls:
      ## Server Name for certificate validation (in case you are using the IP or non-FQDN in the host option).
      server_name: myredis.example.com

      ## Skip verifying the server certificate (to allow a self-signed certificate).
      ## In preference to setting this we strongly recommend you add the public portion of the certificate to the
      ## certificates directory which is defined by the `certificates_directory` option at the top of the config.
      skip_verify: false

      ## Minimum TLS version for the connection.
      minimum_version: TLS1.2

    ## The Redis HA configuration options.
    ## This provides specific options to Redis Sentinel, sentinel_name must be defined (Master Name).
    high_availability:
      ## Sentinel Name / Master Name
      sentinel_name: mysentinel

      ## Specific password for Redis Sentinel. The node username and password is configured above.
      sentinel_password: sentinel_specific_pass

      ## The additional nodes to pre-seed the redis provider with (for sentinel).
      ## If the host in the above section is defined, it will be combined with this list to connect to sentinel.
      ## For high availability to be used you must have either defined; the host above or at least one node below.
      nodes:
        - host: sentinel-node1
          port: 6379
        - host: sentinel-node2
          port: 6379

      ## Choose the host with the lowest latency.
      route_by_latency: false

      ## Choose the host randomly.
      route_randomly: false
```

### Security

Configuration of this section has an impact on security. You should read notes in
[security measures](../security/measures.md#session-security) for more information.

### Duration Notation

The configuration parameters expiration, inactivity, and remember_me_duration use duration notation. See the documentation
for [duration notation format](index.md#duration-notation-format) for more information.

## IPv6 Addresses

If utilising an IPv6 literal address it must be enclosed by square brackets and quoted:
```yaml
host: "[fd00:1111:2222:3333::1]"
```

## Loading a password from a secret instead of inside the configuration

Password can also be defined using a [secret](../secrets.md).

## Redis Sentinel

When using Redis Sentinel, the host specified in the main redis section is added (it will be the first node) to the 
nodes in the high availability section. This however is optional.