LDAP Docker Examples
This directory contains example scripts and applications demonstrating how to use the LDAP server for authentication and user management.
Available Examples
1. Simple Authentication (simple_auth.py)
A Python script demonstrating basic LDAP authentication and user information retrieval.
Features:
- Authenticate users with username/password
- Retrieve detailed user information
- Get user group memberships
- List all users in the directory
Usage:
# Authenticate a user (default: jdoe)
python examples/simple_auth.py
# Authenticate with custom credentials
python examples/simple_auth.py --username jsmith --password password123
# List all users
python examples/simple_auth.py --list-users
# Use a different LDAP server
python examples/simple_auth.py --server ldaps://localhost:636
Example Output:
🔐 LDAP Authentication Example
Server: ldap://localhost:389
Attempting to authenticate user: jdoe
✅ Authentication successful for user: jdoe
✅ Authentication successful!
Fetching user information...
==================================================
USER INFORMATION
==================================================
Username: jdoe
Full Name: John Doe
First Name: John
Last Name: Doe
Email: jdoe@testing.local
UID Number: 10001
GID Number: 10001
DN: uid=jdoe,ou=people,dc=testing,dc=local
==================================================
Fetching user groups...
User belongs to 2 group(s):
• developers
• users
Using in Your Application
Python with ldap3
from ldap3 import Server, Connection
# Connect and authenticate
server = Server('ldap://localhost:389')
conn = Connection(
server,
user='uid=jdoe,ou=people,dc=testing,dc=local',
password='password123',
auto_bind=True
)
# Search for users
conn.search(
'dc=testing,dc=local',
'(objectClass=inetOrgPerson)',
attributes=['uid', 'cn', 'mail']
)
for entry in conn.entries:
print(f"{entry.cn}: {entry.mail}")
conn.unbind()
Using ldapsearch (Command Line)
# Search for a user
ldapsearch -H ldap://localhost:389 \
-D "cn=admin,dc=testing,dc=local" \
-w admin_password \
-b "dc=testing,dc=local" \
"(uid=jdoe)"
# List all users
ldapsearch -H ldap://localhost:389 \
-D "cn=admin,dc=testing,dc=local" \
-w admin_password \
-b "ou=people,dc=testing,dc=local" \
"(objectClass=inetOrgPerson)" \
uid cn mail
Web Application Integration
Flask Example
from flask import Flask, request, jsonify
from ldap3 import Server, Connection
app = Flask(__name__)
@app.route('/login', methods=['POST'])
def login():
username = request.json.get('username')
password = request.json.get('password')
server = Server('ldap://localhost:389')
user_dn = f'uid={username},ou=people,dc=testing,dc=local'
try:
conn = Connection(server, user=user_dn, password=password)
if conn.bind():
return jsonify({'status': 'success', 'message': 'Authenticated'})
else:
return jsonify({'status': 'error', 'message': 'Invalid credentials'}), 401
except:
return jsonify({'status': 'error', 'message': 'Authentication failed'}), 401
Django Example
# settings.py
import ldap
from django_auth_ldap.config import LDAPSearch
AUTH_LDAP_SERVER_URI = "ldap://localhost:389"
AUTH_LDAP_BIND_DN = "cn=admin,dc=testing,dc=local"
AUTH_LDAP_BIND_PASSWORD = "admin_password"
AUTH_LDAP_USER_SEARCH = LDAPSearch(
"ou=people,dc=testing,dc=local",
ldap.SCOPE_SUBTREE,
"(uid=%(user)s)"
)
AUTHENTICATION_BACKENDS = [
'django_auth_ldap.backend.LDAPBackend',
'django.contrib.auth.backends.ModelBackend',
]
Common Integration Patterns
1. Simple Bind Authentication
The most straightforward approach - try to bind with user credentials:
def authenticate_user(username, password):
server = Server('ldap://localhost:389')
user_dn = f'uid={username},ou=people,dc=testing,dc=local'
conn = Connection(server, user=user_dn, password=password)
return conn.bind()
2. Search and Bind
Search for the user first, then authenticate:
def authenticate_user(username, password):
# First, search for the user with admin credentials
server = Server('ldap://localhost:389')
admin_conn = Connection(
server,
user='cn=admin,dc=testing,dc=local',
password='admin_password',
auto_bind=True
)
admin_conn.search(
'ou=people,dc=testing,dc=local',
f'(uid={username})',
attributes=['dn']
)
if not admin_conn.entries:
return False
user_dn = admin_conn.entries[0].entry_dn
admin_conn.unbind()
# Now authenticate as the user
user_conn = Connection(server, user=user_dn, password=password)
return user_conn.bind()
3. Group-Based Authorization
Check if user belongs to specific groups:
def user_has_role(username, required_group):
server = Server('ldap://localhost:389')
conn = Connection(
server,
user='cn=admin,dc=testing,dc=local',
password='admin_password',
auto_bind=True
)
user_dn = f'uid={username},ou=people,dc=testing,dc=local'
conn.search(
'ou=groups,dc=testing,dc=local',
f'(&(objectClass=groupOfNames)(member={user_dn})(cn={required_group}))',
attributes=['cn']
)
return len(conn.entries) > 0
Testing Your Integration
1. Start the LDAP Server
make start
2. Test Connection
python examples/simple_auth.py --list-users
3. Test Authentication
python examples/simple_auth.py --username jdoe --password password123
4. Test with Your Application
Point your application to:
- LDAP URL:
ldap://localhost:389 - LDAPS URL:
ldaps://localhost:636(with SSL) - Base DN:
dc=testing,dc=local
Available Test Accounts
| Username | Password | Groups | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| admin | password123 | admins | Administrative testing |
| jdoe | password123 | developers, users | Regular user testing |
| jsmith | password123 | developers, users | Regular user testing |
| testuser | password123 | users | Basic user testing |
SSL/TLS Configuration
For production-like testing with LDAPS:
import ssl
from ldap3 import Server, Connection, Tls
tls = Tls(
ca_certs_file='certs/ca.crt',
validate=ssl.CERT_REQUIRED
)
server = Server('ldaps://localhost:636', use_ssl=True, tls=tls)
conn = Connection(server, user=user_dn, password=password, auto_bind=True)
Troubleshooting
Connection Refused
# Check if LDAP server is running
make status
# Start if not running
make start
Authentication Fails
# Verify user exists
make test-users
# Check LDAP logs
make logs
Python ImportError
# Install ldap3 library
uv pip install ldap3
# or
pip install ldap3
Additional Resources
Contributing Examples
Have an example for a specific framework or use case? Contributions are welcome!
Examples we'd love to see:
- Express.js / Node.js authentication
- Ruby on Rails integration
- Go LDAP client
- Java Spring Security LDAP
- PHP authentication
- Docker Compose with application stack
Submit a pull request with your example!