CYPEX Academy - Application Authentication Section

Authentication Basics

The authentication section of the CYPEX admin panel governs which logins are possible. You can add users to a scenario and choose how they authenticate. LDAP is supported as a backend, but only for authentication itself—registering a user in LDAP does not automatically create a CYPEX account. A new user must be added to CYPEX separately to be recognized.

Working with Internal Accounts and Roles

To log in, a user must exist in CYPEX and be set to active. Accounts are created in the admin panel and can be identified by an email address or an optional username; either value works for signing in. These identifiers are mapped to database users, and multiple email addresses or usernames can be tied to the same database role. This lets you use PostgreSQL-side roles as permission groups—for example, a hundred bookkeepers with distinct emails could all map to a single server-side user with the same access rights.

Roles can be created in the UI, though the feature is slated for expansion to support more parameters in future releases.

Customizing Login and Repository Settings

The standard login page can be adjusted in "Login Settings" under the "Authentication" section. Two parameters are changeable: the page title and the logo. The logo file must reside in the web server's public folder, otherwise CYPEX cannot display it.

Git repositories can be registered to let users extend CYPEX data models with add-ons. CYPEX clones these repositories and presents the available extensions in the interface. Always test the connection before saving a repository configuration.

Enabling LDAP Authentication

Configuring LDAP through the admin panel alone is not enough. You must first enable it in the backend by editing the .env file to set LDAP=on, then rebuild the container with make up-d. Only after that can you enter your LDAP details in the graphical interface. LDAP then fully replaces other authentication methods.

Identifying Application Repositories

An application repository is recognized by a description.json file. CYPEX generates this file as it interacts with the repository. A sample structure is shown below:

{
    "name": "cypex_demos",
    "shortName": "CDEM",
    "description": "Cypex application distribution demo repository",
    "fileVersion": "0.1",
    "applications": [
        {
            "name": "demo_eshop",
            "description": "Cypex demo eshop application",
            "creator": "Hans",
            "owner": "Cybertec",
            "firstReleaseDate": "2019-07-26 11:33:56",
            "text": "Cypex demo eshop application",
            "releases": [
                {
                    "sourcePath": "demo_eshop/release_1",
                    "version": "0.1",
                    "fileNames": [
                        "001_base.sql",
                        "002_sample_data.sql",
                        "003_model.sql"
                    ],
                    "text": "Cypex demo eshop application",
                    "date": "2019-07-26 11:33:56",
                    "uninstallScript": "demo_eshop_uninstall.sql"
                }
            ]
        }
    ]
}