---
layout: default
title: Integrate Authelia with Django
parent: Community
nav_order: 6
---
# Integrate Authelia with Django
Django, the Python web framework, can be configured to delegate authentication to external services
using HTTP request headers. This is well documented on [Django documentation](https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/3.2/howto/auth-remote-user/)
Therefore, it is possible to integrate Django with Authelia following the documentation about
[Proxy integration](https://www.authelia.com/docs/deployment/supported-proxies/#how-can-the-backend-be-aware-of-the-authenticated-users)
and adding a few lines of code on your Django application.
## Basic integration
Django uses `REMOTE_USER` header by default. But WSGI servers transform the headers received from
proxy servers adding `HTTP_` as prefix. So we need to add a custom middleware in order to use `HTTP_REMOTE_USER`.
This basic configuration enables authentication using Authelia. If the user does not exists on Django database,
it will be automatically created.
### Configuration
```python
# file: settings.py
MIDDLEWARE = [
'...',
'django.contrib.auth.middleware.AuthenticationMiddleware',
'your_app.auth.middleware.RemoteUserMiddleware',
# or 'your_app.auth.middleware.PersistentRemoteUserMiddleware',
'...',
]
AUTHENTICATION_BACKENDS = [
'django.contrib.auth.backends.RemoteUserBackend',
]
# Logout from authelia after logout on the Django application
LOGOUT_REDIRECT_URL = 'https://auth.your_domain.com/logout'
```
### New authentication middleware
```python
# new file: your_app/auth/middleware.py
from django.contrib.auth.middleware import RemoteUserMiddleware, PersistentRemoteUserMiddleware
class HttpRemoteUserMiddleware(RemoteUserMiddleware):
header = 'HTTP_REMOTE_USER'
# uncomment the line below to disable authentication to users that not exists on Django database
# create_unknown_user = False
class PersistentHttpRemoteUserMiddleware(PersistentRemoteUserMiddleware):
"""
The RemoteUserMiddleware authentication middleware assumes that the HTTP request header
REMOTE_USER is present with all authenticated requests.
With PersistentRemoteUserMiddleware, it is possible to receive this header only on a few
pages (as login page) and maintain the authenticated session until explicit
logout by the user.
"""
header = 'HTTP_REMOTE_USER'
```
**Security Warning:**
The proxy server **must** set `Remote-User` header **every time** it hits the Django application. If you only
protect the login URL with Authelia and use the Persistent class, you have to set this header to `''`
on the other locations.
## Advanced integration
While the basic integration only uses the HTTP header `Remote-User` set by Authelia, this advanced integration
uses also the HTTP headers `Remote-Name`, `Remote-Email` and `Remote-Groups`.
In this example, we create a new authentication backend on Django that will synchronize user data with Authelia
backend, storing the name, the email and the groups of the user on the Django database.
### Configuration
```python
# file: settings.py
MIDDLEWARE = [
'...',
'django.contrib.auth.middleware.AuthenticationMiddleware',
'your_app.auth.middleware.RemoteUserMiddleware',
# or 'your_app.auth.middleware.PersistentRemoteUserMiddleware',
'...',
]
AUTHENTICATION_BACKENDS = [
'your_app.auth.backends.RemoteExtendedUserBackend',
]
# Logout from authelia after logout on the Django application
LOGOUT_REDIRECT_URL = 'https://auth.your_domain.com/logout'
```
### New authentication backend
```python
# new file: your_app/auth/backends.py
from django.conf import settings
from django.contrib.auth.models import Group
from django.contrib.auth.backends import RemoteUserBackend
class RemoteExtendedUserBackend(RemoteUserBackend):
"""
This backend can be used in conjunction with the ``RemoteUserMiddleware``
to handle authentication outside Django and update local user with external information
(name, email and groups).
Extends RemoteUserBackend (it creates the Django user if it does not exist,
as explained here: https://github.com/django/django/blob/main/django/contrib/auth/backends.py#L167),
updating the user with the information received from the remote headers.
Django user is only added to groups that already exist on the database (no groups are created).
A settings variable can be used to exclude some groups when updating the user.
"""
excluded_groups = set()
if hasattr(settings, 'REMOTE_AUTH_BACKEND_EXCLUDED_GROUPS'):
excluded_groups = set(settings.REMOTE_AUTH_BACKEND_EXCLUDED_GROUPS)
# Warning: possible security breach if reverse proxy does not set
# these variables EVERY TIME it hits this Django application (and REMOTE_USER variable).
# See https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/4.0/howto/auth-remote-user/#configuration
header_name = 'HTTP_REMOTE_NAME'
header_groups = 'HTTP_REMOTE_GROUPS'
header_email = 'HTTP_REMOTE_EMAIL'
def authenticate(self, request, remote_user):
user = super().authenticate(request, remote_user)
# original authenticate calls configure_user only
# when user is created. We need to call this method every time
# the user is authenticated in order to update its data.
if user:
self.configure_user(request, user)
return user
def configure_user(self, request, user):
"""
Complete the user from extra request.META information.
"""
if self.header_name in request.META:
user.last_name = request.META[self.header_name]
if self.header_email in request.META:
user.email = request.META[self.header_email]
if self.header_groups in request.META:
self.update_groups(user, request.META[self.header_groups])
if self.user_has_to_be_staff(user):
user.is_staff = True
user.save()
return user
def user_has_to_be_staff(self, user):
return True
def update_groups(self, user, remote_groups):
"""
Synchronizes groups the user belongs to with remote information.
Groups (existing django groups or remote groups) on excluded_groups are completely ignored.
No group will be created on the django database.
Disclaimer: this method is strongly inspired by the LDAPBackend from django-auth-ldap.
"""
current_group_names = frozenset(
user.groups.values_list("name", flat=True).iterator()
)
preserved_group_names = current_group_names.intersection(self.excluded_groups)
current_group_names = current_group_names - self.excluded_groups
target_group_names = frozenset(
[x for x in map(self.clean_groupname, remote_groups.split(',')) if x is not None]
)
target_group_names = target_group_names - self.excluded_groups
if target_group_names != current_group_names:
target_group_names = target_group_names.union(preserved_group_names)
existing_groups = list(
Group.objects.filter(name__in=target_group_names).iterator()
)
user.groups.set(existing_groups)
return
def clean_groupname(self, groupname):
"""
Perform any cleaning on the "groupname" prior to using it.
Return the cleaned groupname.
"""
return groupname
```