Keycloak JWT Authentication Architecture - Overview

Complete enterprise-grade authentication and identity management architecture with Keycloak as the authoritative identity provider

Complete enterprise-grade authentication and identity management architecture with Keycloak as the authoritative identity provider.

Executive Summary

This implementation provides a production-ready authentication system with:

• ✅ Keycloak as Single Source of Truth - All identity centralized
• ✅ JWT Standardization - All auth methods produce JWTs
• ✅ Service Principals - Long-lived credentials for batch jobs
• ✅ API Key Management - Legacy support with JWT exchange
• ✅ Identity Federation - LDAP, SAML, OIDC integration
• ✅ SCIM 2.0 Provisioning - Automated user management
• ✅ Kong JWT Validation - High-performance gateway validation
• ✅ OpenFGA Permission Inheritance - Service principals inherit user permissions
• ✅ Hybrid Session Model - Stateless users + stateful services

Architecture Diagram

Quick Links

Documentation

• Deployment Guide
• Service Principals Guide
• API Key Management
• Identity Federation
• SCIM Provisioning

Architecture Decision Records

• ADR-0031: Keycloak as Authoritative Identity
• ADR-0032: JWT Standardization
• ADR-0033: Service Principal Design
• ADR-0034: API Key to JWT Exchange
• ADR-0035: Kong JWT Validation
• ADR-0036: Hybrid Session Model
• ADR-0037: Identity Federation
• ADR-0038: SCIM Implementation
• ADR-0039: OpenFGA Permission Inheritance

Key Design Decisions

Decision	ADR	Rationale
Keycloak as authoritative source	ADR-0031	Single source of truth, enterprise federation
JWT standardization	ADR-0032	Consistent auth, stateless validation
Service principal design	ADR-0033	Long-running tasks, permission delegation
API key→JWT exchange	ADR-0034	Legacy support + JWT standard
Kong JWT validation	ADR-0035	High performance, no custom plugin
Hybrid session model	ADR-0036	Stateless users, stateful services
Identity federation	ADR-0037	Enterprise integration
SCIM implementation	ADR-0038	Automated provisioning
Permission inheritance	ADR-0039	Service acting as user

Getting Started

1. Review ADR-0031 through ADR-0039
2. Follow Deployment Guide
3. Configure identity providers per Federation Guide
4. Create service principals per Service Principals Guide
5. Generate API keys per API Key Guide

Support

• GitHub Issues: Report bugs
• Discussions: Ask questions