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Okta OIDC Setup Tutorial

This tutorial walks you through setting up Okta Single Sign-On (SSO) authentication for MCP Gateway, enabling enterprise identity management with Okta's comprehensive platform.

Prerequisites

  • MCP Gateway installed and running
  • Okta account with admin access (Developer or Enterprise edition)
  • Access to your gateway's environment configuration

Step 1: Create Okta Application Integration

1.1 Access Okta Admin Console

  1. Navigate to your Okta admin console
  2. URL format: https://[org-name].okta.com or https://[org-name].oktapreview.com
  3. Log in with your administrator credentials
  4. Go to Applications → Applications in the left sidebar

1.2 Create New App Integration

  1. Click Create App Integration
  2. Choose OIDC - OpenID Connect as the sign-in method
  3. Choose Web Application as the application type
  4. Click Next

1.3 Configure General Settings

App integration name: MCP Gateway

App logo: Upload your organization's logo (optional)

Grant type: Select Authorization Code (should be pre-selected)

1.4 Configure Sign-in Settings

Sign-in redirect URIs: Critical - must be exact - Production: https://gateway.yourcompany.com/auth/sso/callback/okta - Development: http://localhost:8000/auth/sso/callback/okta - Click Add URI if you need both

Sign-out redirect URIs (optional): - Production: https://gateway.yourcompany.com/admin/login - Development: http://localhost:8000/admin/login

Controlled access: Choose appropriate option: - Allow everyone in your organization to access (most common) - Limit access to selected groups (recommended for production) - Skip group assignment for now (development only)

1.5 Save and Obtain Credentials

  1. Click Save
  2. After creation, you'll see the Client Credentials:
  3. Client ID: Copy this value
  4. Client secret: Copy this value (click to reveal)
  5. Note your Okta domain (e.g., https://dev-12345.okta.com)

Step 2: Configure Okta Application Settings

2.1 Configure Token Settings (Optional)

  1. In your application, go to the General tab
  2. Scroll to General Settings → Edit
  3. Configure token lifetimes:
  4. Access token lifetime: 1 hour (default)
  5. Refresh token lifetime: 90 days (default)
  6. ID token lifetime: 1 hour (default)

2.2 Configure Claims (Advanced)

  1. Go to the Sign On tab
  2. Scroll to OpenID Connect ID Token
  3. Configure claims if you need custom user attributes:
  4. groups - User's group memberships
  5. department - User's department
  6. title - User's job title

Example custom claim configuration: - Name: groups - Include in token type: ID Token, Always - Value type: Groups - Filter: Matches regex .* (for all groups)

Step 3: Configure User and Group Access

3.1 Assign Users to Application

  1. Go to the Assignments tab in your application
  2. Click Assign → Assign to People
  3. Select users who should have access
  4. Click Assign for each user
  5. Click Save and Go Back
  1. Click Assign → Assign to Groups
  2. Select groups that should have access:
  3. Everyone - All users (not recommended for production)
  4. MCP Gateway Users - Custom group for gateway access
  5. IT Admins - Administrative access
  6. For each group, you can set a custom Application username
  7. Click Assign and Done

3.3 Create Custom Groups (Optional)

If you want specific groups for MCP Gateway:

  1. Go to Directory → Groups
  2. Click Add Group
  3. Create groups like:
  4. Name: MCP Gateway Users
  5. Description: Users with access to MCP Gateway
  6. Add appropriate users to these groups

Step 4: Configure MCP Gateway Environment

4.1 Update Environment Variables

Add these variables to your .env file:

# Enable SSO System
SSO_ENABLED=true

# Okta OIDC Configuration
SSO_OKTA_ENABLED=true
SSO_OKTA_CLIENT_ID=0oa1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8i9
SSO_OKTA_CLIENT_SECRET=AbCdEfGhIjKlMnOpQrStUvWxYz1234567890abcdef
SSO_OKTA_ISSUER=https://dev-12345.okta.com

# Optional: Auto-create users on first login
SSO_AUTO_CREATE_USERS=true

# Optional: Restrict to corporate email domains
SSO_TRUSTED_DOMAINS=["yourcompany.com"]

# Optional: Preserve local admin authentication
SSO_PRESERVE_ADMIN_AUTH=true

4.2 Example Production Configuration

# Production Okta SSO Setup
SSO_ENABLED=true
SSO_OKTA_ENABLED=true
SSO_OKTA_CLIENT_ID=0oa1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8i9
SSO_OKTA_CLIENT_SECRET=AbCdEfGhIjKlMnOpQrStUvWxYz1234567890abcdef
SSO_OKTA_ISSUER=https://acmecorp.okta.com

# Enterprise security settings
SSO_AUTO_CREATE_USERS=true
SSO_TRUSTED_DOMAINS=["acmecorp.com"]
SSO_PRESERVE_ADMIN_AUTH=true

# Optional: Custom scopes for additional user attributes
SSO_OKTA_SCOPE="openid profile email groups"

4.3 Development Configuration

# Development Okta SSO Setup
SSO_ENABLED=true
SSO_OKTA_ENABLED=true
SSO_OKTA_CLIENT_ID=0oa_dev_client_id
SSO_OKTA_CLIENT_SECRET=dev_client_secret
SSO_OKTA_ISSUER=https://dev-12345.oktapreview.com

# More permissive for testing
SSO_AUTO_CREATE_USERS=true
SSO_PRESERVE_ADMIN_AUTH=true

4.4 Advanced Configuration Options

# Custom OAuth scopes for enhanced user data
SSO_OKTA_SCOPE="openid profile email groups address phone"

# Group mapping for automatic team assignment
OKTA_GROUP_MAPPING={"MCP Gateway Admins": "admin-team-uuid", "MCP Gateway Users": "user-team-uuid"}

# Custom authorization server (if using custom Okta authorization server)
SSO_OKTA_ISSUER=https://dev-12345.okta.com/oauth2/custom-auth-server-id

Step 5: Restart and Verify Gateway

5.1 Restart the Gateway

# Development
make dev

# Or directly with uvicorn
uvicorn mcpgateway.main:app --reload --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8000

# Production
make serve

5.2 Verify Okta SSO is Enabled

Test that Okta appears in SSO providers:

# Check if Okta is listed
curl -X GET http://localhost:8000/auth/sso/providers

# Should return Okta in the list:
[
  {
    "id": "okta",
    "name": "okta",
    "display_name": "Okta"
  }
]

Step 6: Test Okta SSO Login

6.1 Access Login Page

  1. Navigate to your gateway's login page:
  2. Development: http://localhost:8000/admin/login

  3. Production: https://gateway.yourcompany.com/admin/login

  4. You should see a "Continue with Okta" button

6.2 Test Authentication Flow

  1. Click Continue with Okta
  2. You'll be redirected to Okta's sign-in page
  3. Enter your Okta credentials
  4. Complete any multi-factor authentication if required
  5. Grant consent for the application if prompted
  6. You'll be redirected back to the gateway admin panel
  7. You should be logged in successfully

6.3 Verify User Creation

Check that a user was created:

# Using the admin API (requires admin token)
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_ADMIN_TOKEN" \
  http://localhost:8000/auth/users

# Look for your Okta email in the user list

Step 7: Okta Advanced Features (Enterprise)

7.1 Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

Configure MFA policies in Okta:

  1. Go to Security → Multifactor
  2. Set up MFA policies for your MCP Gateway application
  3. Configure factors (SMS, Email, Okta Verify app, etc.)
  4. Users will be prompted for MFA during login

7.2 Adaptive Authentication

Configure risk-based authentication:

  1. Go to Security → Authentication → Sign On
  2. Create policies with conditions:
  3. Device trust
  4. Network location
  5. User risk level
  6. Time-based restrictions

7.3 Universal Directory Integration

Sync user attributes from external directories:

  1. Go to Directory → Directory Integrations
  2. Configure integration with:
  3. Active Directory
  4. LDAP
  5. HR systems (Workday, BambooHR, etc.)
  6. Map attributes for automatic user provisioning

7.4 API Access Management

For programmatic API access:

  1. Create a custom authorization server
  2. Configure API scopes and claims
  3. Issue API tokens for service-to-service authentication

Step 8: Production Deployment Checklist

8.1 Security Requirements

  • HTTPS enforced for all redirect URIs
  • Client secrets stored securely (vault/secret management)
  • MFA policies configured appropriately
  • Adaptive authentication policies set
  • Password policies enforced
  • Session management configured

8.2 Okta Configuration

  • Application created with correct settings
  • Appropriate users/groups assigned access
  • Custom claims configured if needed
  • Token lifetimes set appropriately
  • Sign-out redirect URIs configured

8.3 Monitoring and Compliance

  • System Log monitoring enabled
  • Audit trail configured
  • Compliance reporting set up (if required)
  • Regular access reviews scheduled

Troubleshooting

Error: "SSO authentication is disabled"

Problem: SSO endpoints return 404 Solution: Set SSO_ENABLED=true and restart gateway

Error: "invalid_client"

Problem: Wrong client ID or client secret Solution: Verify credentials from Okta application settings

# Double-check these values match your Okta application
SSO_OKTA_CLIENT_ID=your-actual-client-id
SSO_OKTA_CLIENT_SECRET=your-actual-client-secret

Error: "redirect_uri_mismatch"

Problem: Okta redirect URI doesn't match Solution: Verify exact URL match in Okta application settings

# Okta redirect URI must exactly match:
https://your-domain.com/auth/sso/callback/okta

# Common mistakes:
https://your-domain.com/auth/sso/callback/okta/  # Extra slash
http://your-domain.com/auth/sso/callback/okta   # HTTP instead of HTTPS
https://your-domain.com/auth/sso/callback/oauth # Wrong provider ID

Error: "User is not assigned to the client application"

Problem: User doesn't have access to the application Solution: Assign user to the application

  1. In Okta admin console, go to Applications → [Your App]
  2. Go to Assignments tab
  3. Assign the user or their group to the application

Error: "The issuer specified in the request is invalid"

Problem: Wrong Okta domain or issuer URL Solution: Verify issuer URL matches your Okta domain

# Get the correct issuer from Okta's well-known configuration
curl https://[your-okta-domain].okta.com/.well-known/openid_configuration

# Use the "issuer" field value

MFA Bypass Issues

Problem: Users not prompted for MFA Solution: Check MFA policies and user enrollment

  1. Verify MFA policies are active for your application
  2. Check user MFA enrollment status
  3. Ensure policy conditions are met (device, location, etc.)

Token Validation Errors

Problem: JWT tokens failing validation Solution: Check token configuration and clock sync

  1. Verify token lifetime settings
  2. Check server clock synchronization
  3. Validate JWT signature verification

Testing Checklist

  • Okta application integration created
  • Client ID and secret configured
  • Redirect URIs set correctly
  • Users/groups assigned to application
  • Environment variables configured
  • Gateway restarted with new config
  • /auth/sso/providers returns Okta provider
  • Login page shows "Continue with Okta" button
  • Authentication flow completes successfully
  • User appears in gateway user list
  • MFA working (if configured)
  • Group claims included in tokens (if configured)

Okta API Integration (Advanced)

Programmatic User Management

Use Okta APIs for advanced user management:

# Example: Sync Okta groups with Gateway teams
import requests

def sync_okta_groups():
    okta_token = "your-okta-api-token"
    okta_domain = "https://dev-12345.okta.com"

    # Get user's groups from Okta
    response = requests.get(
        f"{okta_domain}/api/v1/users/{user_id}/groups",
        headers={"Authorization": f"SSWS {okta_token}"}
    )

    groups = response.json()
    return [group['profile']['name'] for group in groups]

Custom Authorization Server

For advanced API access patterns:

  1. Create custom authorization server in Okta
  2. Define custom scopes for MCP Gateway APIs
  3. Configure audience restrictions
  4. Use for service-to-service authentication

Next Steps

After Okta SSO is working:

  1. Configure MFA policies for enhanced security
  2. Set up adaptive authentication based on risk
  3. Integrate with existing directories (AD/LDAP)
  4. Configure custom user attributes and claims
  5. Set up automated user provisioning/deprovisioning
  6. Monitor authentication patterns for security insights

Support

If you encounter issues:

  1. Check Okta System Log for authentication errors
  2. Enable debug logging: LOG_LEVEL=DEBUG
  3. Review gateway logs for Okta-specific errors
  4. Verify all Okta settings match tutorial exactly
  5. Use Okta's support resources and community forums