Integrate LDAP with GitLab (FREE SELF)

GitLab integrates with LDAP - Lightweight Directory Access Protocol to support user authentication.

This integration works with most LDAP-compliant directory servers, including:

Microsoft Active Directory.
Apple Open Directory.
Open LDAP.
389 Server.

NOTE: GitLab does not support Microsoft Active Directory Trusts.

Users added through LDAP:

Usually use a licensed seat.
Can authenticate with Git using either their GitLab username or their email and LDAP password, even if password authentication for Git is disabled.

The LDAP distinguished name (DN) is associated with existing GitLab users when:

The existing user signs in to GitLab with LDAP for the first time.
The LDAP email address is the primary email address of an existing GitLab user. If the LDAP email attribute isn't found in the GitLab user database, a new user is created.

If an existing GitLab user wants to enable LDAP sign-in for themselves, they should:

Check that their GitLab email address matches their LDAP email address.
Sign in to GitLab by using their LDAP credentials.

Security

GitLab verifies if a user is still active in LDAP.

Users are considered inactive in LDAP when they:

Are removed from the directory completely.
Reside outside the configured base DN or user_filter search.
Are marked as disabled or deactivated in Active Directory through the user account control attribute. This means attribute userAccountControl:1.2.840.113556.1.4.803 has bit 2 set.

GitLab checks LDAP users' status:

When signing in using any authentication provider. In GitLab 14.4 and earlier, status was checked only when signing in using LDAP directly.
Once per hour for active web sessions or Git requests using tokens or SSH keys.
When performing Git over HTTP requests using LDAP username and password.
Once per day during User Sync.

If the user is no longer active in LDAP, they are:

Signed out.
Placed in an ldap_blocked status.
Unable to sign in using any authentication provider until they are reactivated in LDAP.

Security risks

You should only use LDAP integration if your LDAP users cannot:

Change their mail, email or userPrincipalName attributes on the LDAP server. These users can potentially take over any account on your GitLab server.
Share email addresses. LDAP users with the same email address can share the same GitLab account.

Configure LDAP

LDAP users must have an email address, regardless of whether or not it's used to sign in.

After configuring LDAP, to test the configuration, use the LDAP check Rake task.

Basic configuration settings

The hosts configuration setting was introduced in GitLab 14.7.

The following configuration settings are available:

Setting	Required	Type	Description
`label`	{check-circle} Yes	String	A human-friendly name for your LDAP server. It is displayed on your sign-in page. Example: `'Paris'` or `'Acme, Ltd.'`
`host`	{check-circle} Yes	String	IP address or domain name of your LDAP server. Ignored when `hosts` is defined. Example: `'ldap.mydomain.com'`
`port`	{check-circle} Yes	Integer	The port to connect with on your LDAP server. Ignored when `hosts` is defined. Example: `389` or `636` (for SSL)
`uid`	{check-circle} Yes	String	The LDAP attribute that maps to the username that users use to sign in. Should be the attribute, not the value that maps to the `uid`. Does not affect the GitLab username (see attributes section). Example: `'sAMAccountName'` or `'uid'` or `'userPrincipalName'`
`base`	{check-circle} Yes	String	Base where we can search for users. Example: `'ou=people,dc=gitlab,dc=example'` or `'DC=mydomain,DC=com'`
`encryption`	{check-circle} Yes	String	Encryption method (the `method` key is deprecated in favor of `encryption`). It can have one of three values: `'start_tls'`, `'simple_tls'`, or `'plain'`. `simple_tls` corresponds to 'Simple TLS' in the LDAP library. `start_tls` corresponds to StartTLS, not to be confused with regular TLS. If you specify `simple_tls`, usually it's on port 636, while `start_tls` (StartTLS) would be on port 389. `plain` also operates on port 389.
`hosts`	{dotted-circle} No	Array of strings and integers	An array of host and port pairs to open connections. Each configured server should have an identical data set. This is not meant to configure multiple distinct LDAP servers, but to configure failover. Hosts are tried in the order they are configured. Example: `[['ldap1.mydomain.com', 636], ['ldap2.mydomain.com', 636]]`
`bind_dn`	{dotted-circle} No	String	The full DN of the user you bind with. Example: `'america\momo'` or `'CN=Gitlab,OU=Users,DC=domain,DC=com'`
`password`	{dotted-circle} No	String	The password of the bind user.
`verify_certificates`	{dotted-circle} No	Boolean	Defaults to `true`. Enables SSL certificate verification if encryption method is `start_tls` or `simple_tls`. If set to `false`, no validation of the LDAP server's SSL certificate is performed.
`timeout`	{dotted-circle} No	Integer	Defaults to `10`. Set a timeout, in seconds, for LDAP queries. This helps avoid blocking a request if the LDAP server becomes unresponsive. A value of `0` means there is no timeout.
`active_directory`	{dotted-circle} No	Boolean	This setting specifies if LDAP server is Active Directory LDAP server. For non-AD servers it skips the AD specific queries. If your LDAP server is not AD, set this to false.
`allow_username_or_email_login`	{dotted-circle} No	Boolean	Defaults to `false`. If enabled, GitLab ignores everything after the first `@` in the LDAP username submitted by the user on sign-in. If you are using `uid: 'userPrincipalName'` on ActiveDirectory you must disable this setting, because the userPrincipalName contains an `@`.
`block_auto_created_users`	{dotted-circle} No	Boolean	Defaults to `false`. To maintain tight control over the number of billable users on your GitLab installation, enable this setting to keep new users blocked until they have been cleared by an administrator .
`user_filter`	{dotted-circle} No	String	Filter LDAP users. Follows the format of RFC 4515. GitLab does not support `omniauth-ldap`'s custom filter syntax. Examples of the `user_filter` field syntax: - `'(employeeType=developer)'` - `'(&(objectclass=user)(
`lowercase_usernames`	{dotted-circle} No	Boolean	If enabled, GitLab converts the name to lower case.
`retry_empty_result_with_codes`	{dotted-circle} No	Array	An array of LDAP query response code that attempt to retry the operation if the result/content is empty. For Google Secure LDAP, set this value to `[80]`.

Here's an example of setting up LDAP with the basic configuration settings.

::Tabs

:::TabTitle Linux package (Omnibus)

Edit /etc/gitlab/gitlab.rb:

gitlab_rails['ldap_enabled'] = true
gitlab_rails['ldap_servers'] = {
  'main' => {
    'label' => 'LDAP',
    'host' =>  'ldap.mydomain.com',
    'port' => 636,
    'uid' => 'sAMAccountName',
    'bind_dn' => 'CN=Gitlab,OU=Users,DC=domain,DC=com',
    'password' => '<bind_user_password>',
    'encryption' => 'simple_tls',
    'verify_certificates' => true,
    'timeout' => 10,
    'active_directory' => false,
    'user_filter' => '(employeeType=developer)',
    'base' => 'dc=example,dc=com',
    'lowercase_usernames' => 'false',
    'retry_empty_result_with_codes' => [80],
    'allow_username_or_email_login' => false,
    'block_auto_created_users' => false
  }
}

Save the file and reconfigure GitLab:
```
sudo gitlab-ctl reconfigure
```

:::TabTitle Helm chart (Kubernetes)

Export the Helm values:

helm get values gitlab > gitlab_values.yaml

Edit gitlab_values.yaml:

global:
  appConfig:
    ldap:
      servers:
        main:
          label: 'LDAP'
          host: 'ldap.mydomain.com'
          port: 636
          uid: 'sAMAccountName'
          bind_dn: 'CN=Gitlab,OU=Users,DC=domain,DC=com'
          password: '<bind_user_password>'
          encryption: 'simple_tls'
          verify_certificates: true
          timeout: 10
          active_directory: false
          user_filter: '(employeeType=developer)'
          base: 'dc=example,dc=com'
          lowercase_usernames: false
          retry_empty_result_with_codes: [80]
          allow_username_or_email_login: false
          block_auto_created_users: false

Save the file and apply the new values:

helm upgrade -f gitlab_values.yaml gitlab gitlab/gitlab

For more information, see how to configure LDAP for a GitLab instance that was installed by using the Helm chart.

:::TabTitle Docker

Edit docker-compose.yml:

version: "3.6"
services:
  gitlab:
    image: 'gitlab/gitlab-ee:latest'
    restart: always
    hostname: 'gitlab.example.com'
    environment:
      GITLAB_OMNIBUS_CONFIG: |
        gitlab_rails['ldap_enabled'] = true
        gitlab_rails['ldap_servers'] = {
          'main' => {
            'label' => 'LDAP',
            'host' =>  'ldap.mydomain.com',
            'port' => 636,
            'uid' => 'sAMAccountName',
            'bind_dn' => 'CN=Gitlab,OU=Users,DC=domain,DC=com',
            'password' => '<bind_user_password>',
            'encryption' => 'simple_tls',
            'verify_certificates' => true,
            'timeout' => 10,
            'active_directory' => false,
            'user_filter' => '(employeeType=developer)',
            'base' => 'dc=example,dc=com',
            'lowercase_usernames' => 'false',
            'retry_empty_result_with_codes' => [80],
            'allow_username_or_email_login' => false,
            'block_auto_created_users' => false
          }
        }

Save the file and restart GitLab:
```
docker compose up -d
```

:::TabTitle Self-compiled (source)

Edit /home/git/gitlab/config/gitlab.yml:

production: &base
  ldap:
    enabled: true
    servers:
      main:
        label: 'LDAP'
        host: 'ldap.mydomain.com'
        port: 636
        uid: 'sAMAccountName'
        bind_dn: 'CN=Gitlab,OU=Users,DC=domain,DC=com'
        password: '<bind_user_password>'
        encryption: 'simple_tls'
        verify_certificates: true
        timeout: 10
        active_directory: false
        user_filter: '(employeeType=developer)'
        base: 'dc=example,dc=com'
        lowercase_usernames: false
        retry_empty_result_with_codes: [80]
        allow_username_or_email_login: false
        block_auto_created_users: false

Save the file and restart GitLab:

# For systems running systemd
sudo systemctl restart gitlab.target

# For systems running SysV init
sudo service gitlab restart

For more information about the various LDAP options, see the ldap setting in gitlab.yml.example.

::EndTabs

SSL configuration settings

SSL configuration settings can be configured under tls_options name/value pairs. The following SSL configuration settings are available:

Setting	Description	Required	Examples
`ca_file`	Specifies the path to a file containing a PEM-format CA certificate, for example, if you need an internal CA.	{dotted-circle} No	`'/etc/ca.pem'`
`ssl_version`	Specifies the SSL version for OpenSSL to use, if the OpenSSL default is not appropriate.	{dotted-circle} No	`'TLSv1_1'`
`ciphers`	Specific SSL ciphers to use in communication with LDAP servers.	{dotted-circle} No	`'ALL:!EXPORT:!LOW:!aNULL:!eNULL:!SSLv2'`
`cert`	Client certificate.	{dotted-circle} No	`'-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE----- <REDACTED> -----END CERTIFICATE -----'`
`key`	Client private key.	{dotted-circle} No	`'-----BEGIN PRIVATE KEY----- <REDACTED> -----END PRIVATE KEY -----'`

The examples below illustrate how to set ca_file and ssl_version in tls_options:

::Tabs

:::TabTitle Linux package (Omnibus)

Edit /etc/gitlab/gitlab.rb:

gitlab_rails['ldap_enabled'] = true
gitlab_rails['ldap_servers'] = {
  'main' => {
    'label' => 'LDAP',
    'host' =>  'ldap.mydomain.com',
    'port' => 636,
    'uid' => 'sAMAccountName',
    'encryption' => 'simple_tls',
    'base' => 'dc=example,dc=com'
    'tls_options' => {
      'ca_file' => '/path/to/ca_file.pem',
      'ssl_version' => 'TLSv1_2'
    }
  }
}

Save the file and reconfigure GitLab:
```
sudo gitlab-ctl reconfigure
```

:::TabTitle Helm chart (Kubernetes)

Export the Helm values:

helm get values gitlab > gitlab_values.yaml

Edit gitlab_values.yaml:

global:
  appConfig:
    ldap:
      servers:
        main:
          label: 'LDAP'
          host: 'ldap.mydomain.com'
          port: 636
          uid: 'sAMAccountName'
          base: 'dc=example,dc=com'
          encryption: 'simple_tls'
          tls_options:
            ca_file: '/path/to/ca_file.pem'
            ssl_version: 'TLSv1_2'

Save the file and apply the new values:

helm upgrade -f gitlab_values.yaml gitlab gitlab/gitlab

For more information, see how to configure LDAP for a GitLab instance that was installed by using the Helm chart.

:::TabTitle Docker

Edit docker-compose.yml:

version: "3.6"
services:
  gitlab:
    image: 'gitlab/gitlab-ee:latest'
    restart: always
    hostname: 'gitlab.example.com'
    environment:
      GITLAB_OMNIBUS_CONFIG: |
        gitlab_rails['ldap_enabled'] = true
        gitlab_rails['ldap_servers'] = {
          'main' => {
            'label' => 'LDAP',
            'host' =>  'ldap.mydomain.com',
            'port' => 636,
            'uid' => 'sAMAccountName',
            'encryption' => 'simple_tls',
            'base' => 'dc=example,dc=com',
            'tls_options' => {
              'ca_file' => '/path/to/ca_file.pem',
              'ssl_version' => 'TLSv1_2'
            }
          }
        }

Save the file and restart GitLab:
```
docker compose up -d
```

:::TabTitle Self-compiled (source)

Edit /home/git/gitlab/config/gitlab.yml:

production: &base
  ldap:
    enabled: true
    servers:
      main:
        label: 'LDAP'
        host: 'ldap.mydomain.com'
        port: 636
        uid: 'sAMAccountName'
        encryption: 'simple_tls'
        base: 'dc=example,dc=com'
        tls_options:
          ca_file: '/path/to/ca_file.pem'
          ssl_version: 'TLSv1_2'

Save the file and restart GitLab:

# For systems running systemd
sudo systemctl restart gitlab.target

# For systems running SysV init
sudo service gitlab restart

::EndTabs

Attribute configuration settings

GitLab uses these LDAP attributes to create an account for the LDAP user. The specified attribute can be either:

The attribute name as a string. For example, 'mail'.
An array of attribute names to try in order. For example, ['mail', 'email'].

The user's LDAP sign in is the LDAP attribute specified as uid.

You must define the following attributes in an attributes hash.

Setting	Description	Required	Examples
`username`	Used in paths for the user's own projects (for example, `gitlab.example.com/username/project`) and when mentioning them in issues, merge request and comments (for example, `@username`). If the attribute specified for `username` contains an email address, the GitLab username is part of the email address before the `@`.	{dotted-circle} No	`['uid', 'userid', 'sAMAccountName']`
`email`	LDAP attribute for user email.	{dotted-circle} No	`['mail', 'email', 'userPrincipalName']`
`name`	LDAP attribute for user display name. If `name` is blank, the full name is taken from the `first_name` and `last_name`.	{dotted-circle} No	Attributes `'cn'`, or `'displayName'` commonly carry full names. Alternatively, you can force the use of `first_name` and `last_name` by specifying an absent attribute such as `'somethingNonExistent'`.
`first_name`	LDAP attribute for user first name. Used when the attribute configured for `name` does not exist.	{dotted-circle} No	`'givenName'`
`last_name`	LDAP attribute for user last name. Used when the attribute configured for `name` does not exist.	{dotted-circle} No	`'sn'`

LDAP sync configuration settings (PREMIUM SELF)

These LDAP sync configuration settings are available:

Setting	Description	Required	Examples
`group_base`	Base used to search for groups. All valid groups have this base as part of their DN.	{dotted-circle} No (required when `external_groups` is configured)	`'ou=groups,dc=gitlab,dc=example'`
`admin_group`	The CN of a group containing GitLab administrators. Not `cn=administrators` or the full DN.	{dotted-circle} No	`'administrators'`
`external_groups`	An array of CNs of groups containing users that should be considered external. Not `cn=interns` or the full DN.	{dotted-circle} No	`['interns', 'contractors']`
`sync_ssh_keys`	The LDAP attribute containing a user's public SSH key.	{dotted-circle} No	`'sshPublicKey'` or false if not set

Use multiple LDAP servers (PREMIUM SELF)

If you have users on multiple LDAP servers, you can configure GitLab to use them. To add additional LDAP servers:

Duplicate the main LDAP configuration.
Edit each duplicate configuration with the details of the additional servers.
- For each additional server, choose a different provider ID, like main, secondary, or tertiary. Use lowercase alphanumeric characters. GitLab uses the provider ID to associate each user with a specific LDAP server.
- For each entry, use a unique label value. These values are used for the tab names on the sign-in page.

The following example shows how to configure three LDAP servers with minimal configuration:

::Tabs

:::TabTitle Linux package (Omnibus)

Edit /etc/gitlab/gitlab.rb:

gitlab_rails['ldap_enabled'] = true
gitlab_rails['ldap_servers'] = {
  'main' => {
    'label' => 'GitLab AD',
    'host' =>  'ad.mydomain.com',
    'port' => 636,
    'uid' => 'sAMAccountName',
    'encryption' => 'simple_tls',
    'base' => 'dc=example,dc=com',
  },

  'secondary' => {
    'label' => 'GitLab Secondary AD',
    'host' =>  'ad-secondary.mydomain.com',
    'port' => 636,
    'uid' => 'sAMAccountName',
    'encryption' => 'simple_tls',
    'base' => 'dc=example,dc=com',
  },

  'tertiary' => {
    'label' => 'GitLab Tertiary AD',
    'host' =>  'ad-tertiary.mydomain.com',
    'port' => 636,
    'uid' => 'sAMAccountName',
    'encryption' => 'simple_tls',
    'base' => 'dc=example,dc=com',
  }
}

Save the file and reconfigure GitLab:
```
sudo gitlab-ctl reconfigure
```

:::TabTitle Helm chart (Kubernetes)

Export the Helm values:

helm get values gitlab > gitlab_values.yaml

Edit gitlab_values.yaml:

global:
  appConfig:
    ldap:
      servers:
        main:
          label: 'GitLab AD'
          host: 'ad.mydomain.com'
          port: 636
          uid: 'sAMAccountName'
          base: 'dc=example,dc=com'
          encryption: 'simple_tls'
        secondary:
          label: 'GitLab Secondary AD'
          host: 'ad-secondary.mydomain.com'
          port: 636
          uid: 'sAMAccountName'
          base: 'dc=example,dc=com'
          encryption: 'simple_tls'
        tertiary:
          label: 'GitLab Tertiary AD'
          host: 'ad-tertiary.mydomain.com'
          port: 636
          uid: 'sAMAccountName'
          base: 'dc=example,dc=com'
          encryption: 'simple_tls'

Save the file and apply the new values:

helm upgrade -f gitlab_values.yaml gitlab gitlab/gitlab

:::TabTitle Docker

Edit docker-compose.yml:

version: "3.6"
services:
  gitlab:
    image: 'gitlab/gitlab-ee:latest'
    restart: always
    hostname: 'gitlab.example.com'
    environment:
      GITLAB_OMNIBUS_CONFIG: |
        gitlab_rails['ldap_enabled'] = true
        gitlab_rails['ldap_servers'] = {
          'main' => {
            'label' => 'GitLab AD',
            'host' =>  'ad.mydomain.com',
            'port' => 636,
            'uid' => 'sAMAccountName',
            'encryption' => 'simple_tls',
            'base' => 'dc=example,dc=com',
          },

          'secondary' => {
            'label' => 'GitLab Secondary AD',
            'host' =>  'ad-secondary.mydomain.com',
            'port' => 636,
            'uid' => 'sAMAccountName',
            'encryption' => 'simple_tls',
            'base' => 'dc=example,dc=com',
          },

          'tertiary' => {
            'label' => 'GitLab Tertiary AD',
            'host' =>  'ad-tertiary.mydomain.com',
            'port' => 636,
            'uid' => 'sAMAccountName',
            'encryption' => 'simple_tls',
            'base' => 'dc=example,dc=com',
          }
        }

Save the file and restart GitLab:
```
docker compose up -d
```

:::TabTitle Self-compiled (source)

Edit /home/git/gitlab/config/gitlab.yml:

production: &base
  ldap:
    enabled: true
    servers:
      main:
        label: 'GitLab AD'
        host: 'ad.mydomain.com'
        port: 636
        uid: 'sAMAccountName'
        base: 'dc=example,dc=com'
        encryption: 'simple_tls'
      secondary:
        label: 'GitLab Secondary AD'
        host: 'ad-secondary.mydomain.com'
        port: 636
        uid: 'sAMAccountName'
        base: 'dc=example,dc=com'
        encryption: 'simple_tls'
      tertiary:
        label: 'GitLab Tertiary AD'
        host: 'ad-tertiary.mydomain.com'
        port: 636
        uid: 'sAMAccountName'
        base: 'dc=example,dc=com'
        encryption: 'simple_tls'

Save the file and restart GitLab:

# For systems running systemd
sudo systemctl restart gitlab.target

# For systems running SysV init
sudo service gitlab restart

For more information about the various LDAP options, see the ldap setting in gitlab.yml.example.

::EndTabs

This example results in a sign-in page with the following tabs:

GitLab AD.
GitLab Secondary AD.
GitLab Tertiary AD.

Set up LDAP user filter

To limit all GitLab access to a subset of the LDAP users on your LDAP server, first narrow the configured base. However, to further filter users if necessary, you can set up an LDAP user filter. The filter must comply with RFC 4515.

::Tabs

:::TabTitle Linux package (Omnibus)

Edit /etc/gitlab/gitlab.rb:

gitlab_rails['ldap_servers'] = {
  'main' => {
    'user_filter' => '(employeeType=developer)'
  }
}

Save the file and reconfigure GitLab:
```
sudo gitlab-ctl reconfigure
```

:::TabTitle Helm chart (Kubernetes)

Export the Helm values:

helm get values gitlab > gitlab_values.yaml

Edit gitlab_values.yaml:

global:
  appConfig:
    ldap:
      servers:
        main:
          user_filter: '(employeeType=developer)'

Save the file and apply the new values:

helm upgrade -f gitlab_values.yaml gitlab gitlab/gitlab

:::TabTitle Docker

Edit docker-compose.yml:

version: "3.6"
services:
  gitlab:
    image: 'gitlab/gitlab-ee:latest'
    restart: always
    hostname: 'gitlab.example.com'
    environment:
      GITLAB_OMNIBUS_CONFIG: |
        gitlab_rails['ldap_servers'] = {
          'main' => {
            'user_filter' => '(employeeType=developer)'
          }
        }

Save the file and restart GitLab:
```
docker compose up -d
```

:::TabTitle Self-compiled (source)

Edit /home/git/gitlab/config/gitlab.yml:

production: &base
  ldap:
    servers:
      main:
        user_filter: '(employeeType=developer)'

Save the file and restart GitLab:

# For systems running systemd
sudo systemctl restart gitlab.target

# For systems running SysV init
sudo service gitlab restart

::EndTabs

To limit access to the nested members of an Active Directory group, use the following syntax:

(memberOf:1.2.840.113556.1.4.1941:=CN=My Group,DC=Example,DC=com)

For more information about LDAP_MATCHING_RULE_IN_CHAIN filters, see Search Filter Syntax.

Support for nested members in the user filter shouldn't be confused with group sync nested groups support.

GitLab does not support the custom filter syntax used by OmniAuth LDAP.

Escape special characters in `user_filter`

The user_filter DN can contain special characters. For example:

A comma:
```
OU=GitLab, Inc,DC=gitlab,DC=com
```
Open and close brackets:
```
OU=GitLab (Inc),DC=gitlab,DC=com
```

These characters must be escaped as documented in RFC 4515.

Escape commas with \2C. For example:
```
OU=GitLab\2C Inc,DC=gitlab,DC=com
```
Escape open brackets with \28 and close brackets with \29. For example:
```
OU=GitLab \28Inc\29,DC=gitlab,DC=com
```

Enable LDAP username lowercase

Some LDAP servers, depending on their configuration, can return uppercase usernames. This can lead to several confusing issues such as creating links or namespaces with uppercase names.

GitLab can automatically lowercase usernames provided by the LDAP server by enabling the configuration option lowercase_usernames. By default, this configuration option is false.

::Tabs

:::TabTitle Linux package (Omnibus)

Edit /etc/gitlab/gitlab.rb:

gitlab_rails['ldap_servers'] = {
  'main' => {
    'lowercase_usernames' => true
  }
}

Save the file and reconfigure GitLab:
```
sudo gitlab-ctl reconfigure
```

:::TabTitle Helm chart (Kubernetes)

Export the Helm values:

helm get values gitlab > gitlab_values.yaml

Edit gitlab_values.yaml:

global:
  appConfig:
    ldap:
      servers:
        main:
         lowercase_usernames: true

Save the file and apply the new values:

helm upgrade -f gitlab_values.yaml gitlab gitlab/gitlab

:::TabTitle Docker

Edit docker-compose.yml:

version: "3.6"
services:
  gitlab:
    image: 'gitlab/gitlab-ee:latest'
    restart: always
    hostname: 'gitlab.example.com'
    environment:
      GITLAB_OMNIBUS_CONFIG: |
        gitlab_rails['ldap_servers'] = {
          'main' => {
            'lowercase_usernames' => true
          }
        }

Save the file and restart GitLab:
```
docker compose up -d
```

:::TabTitle Self-compiled (source)

Edit config/gitlab.yaml:

production:
  ldap:
    servers:
      main:
        lowercase_usernames: true

Save the file and restart GitLab:

# For systems running systemd
sudo systemctl restart gitlab.target

# For systems running SysV init
sudo service gitlab restart

::EndTabs

Disable LDAP web sign in

It can be useful to prevent using LDAP credentials through the web UI when an alternative such as SAML is preferred. This allows LDAP to be used for group sync, while also allowing your SAML identity provider to handle additional checks like custom 2FA.

When LDAP web sign in is disabled, users don't see an LDAP tab on the sign-in page. This does not disable using LDAP credentials for Git access.

::Tabs

:::TabTitle Linux package (Omnibus)

Edit /etc/gitlab/gitlab.rb:

gitlab_rails['prevent_ldap_sign_in'] = true

Save the file and reconfigure GitLab:
```
sudo gitlab-ctl reconfigure
```

:::TabTitle Helm chart (Kubernetes)

Export the Helm values:

helm get values gitlab > gitlab_values.yaml

Edit gitlab_values.yaml:

global:
  appConfig:
    ldap:
      preventSignin: true

Save the file and apply the new values:

helm upgrade -f gitlab_values.yaml gitlab gitlab/gitlab

:::TabTitle Docker

Edit docker-compose.yml:

version: "3.6"
services:
  gitlab:
    image: 'gitlab/gitlab-ee:latest'
    restart: always
    hostname: 'gitlab.example.com'
    environment:
      GITLAB_OMNIBUS_CONFIG: |
        gitlab_rails['prevent_ldap_sign_in'] = true

Save the file and restart GitLab:
```
docker compose up -d
```

:::TabTitle Self-compiled (source)

Edit config/gitlab.yaml:

production:
  ldap:
    prevent_ldap_sign_in: true

Save the file and restart GitLab:

# For systems running systemd
sudo systemctl restart gitlab.target

# For systems running SysV init
sudo service gitlab restart

::EndTabs

Use encrypted credentials

Instead of having the LDAP integration credentials stored in plaintext in the configuration files, you can optionally use an encrypted file for the LDAP credentials.

Prerequisites:

To use encrypted credentials, you must first enable the encrypted configuration.

The encrypted configuration for LDAP exists in an encrypted YAML file. The unencrypted contents of the file should be a subset of the secret settings from your servers block in the LDAP configuration.

The supported configuration items for the encrypted file are:

bind_dn
password

::Tabs

:::TabTitle Linux package (Omnibus)

If initially your LDAP configuration in /etc/gitlab/gitlab.rb looked like:

  gitlab_rails['ldap_servers'] = {
    'main' => {
      'bind_dn' => 'admin',
      'password' => '123'
    }
  }

Edit the encrypted secret:

sudo gitlab-rake gitlab:ldap:secret:edit EDITOR=vim

Enter the unencrypted contents of the LDAP secret:
```
main:
  bind_dn: admin
  password: '123'
```
Edit /etc/gitlab/gitlab.rb and remove the settings for bind_dn and password.
Save the file and reconfigure GitLab:
```
sudo gitlab-ctl reconfigure
```

:::TabTitle Helm chart (Kubernetes)

Use a Kubernetes secret to store the LDAP password. For more information, read about Helm LDAP secrets.

:::TabTitle Docker

If initially your LDAP configuration in docker-compose.yml looked like:

version: "3.6"
services:
  gitlab:
    image: 'gitlab/gitlab-ee:latest'
    restart: always
    hostname: 'gitlab.example.com'
    environment:
      GITLAB_OMNIBUS_CONFIG: |
        gitlab_rails['ldap_servers'] = {
          'main' => {
            'bind_dn' => 'admin',
            'password' => '123'
          }
        }

Get inside the container, and edit the encrypted secret:

sudo docker exec -t <container_name> bash
gitlab-rake gitlab:ldap:secret:edit EDITOR=vim

Enter the unencrypted contents of the LDAP secret:
```
main:
  bind_dn: admin
  password: '123'
```
Edit docker-compose.yml and remove the settings for bind_dn and password.
Save the file and restart GitLab:
```
docker compose up -d
```

:::TabTitle Self-compiled (source)

If initially your LDAP configuration in /home/git/gitlab/config/gitlab.yml looked like:

production:
  ldap:
    servers:
      main:
        bind_dn: admin
        password: '123'

Edit the encrypted secret:

bundle exec rake gitlab:ldap:secret:edit EDITOR=vim RAILS_ENVIRONMENT=production

Enter the unencrypted contents of the LDAP secret:
```
main:
 bind_dn: admin
 password: '123'
```
Edit /home/git/gitlab/config/gitlab.yml and remove the settings for bind_dn and password.

Save the file and restart GitLab:

# For systems running systemd
sudo systemctl restart gitlab.target

# For systems running SysV init
sudo service gitlab restart

::EndTabs

Updating LDAP DN and email

When an LDAP server creates a user in GitLab, the user's LDAP DN is linked to their GitLab account as an identifier.

When a user tries to sign in with LDAP, GitLab tries to find the user using the DN saved on that user's account.

If GitLab finds the user by the DN and the user's email address:
- Matches the GitLab account's email address, GitLab does not take any further action.
- Has changed, GitLab updates its record of the user's email to match the one in LDAP.
If GitLab cannot find a user by their DN, it tries to find the user by their email. If GitLab:
- Finds the user by their email, GitLab updates the DN stored in the user's GitLab account. Both values now match the information stored in LDAP.
- Cannot find the user by their email address (both the DN and the email address have changed), see User DN and email have changed.

Disable anonymous LDAP authentication

GitLab doesn't support TLS client authentication. Complete these steps on your LDAP server.

Disable anonymous authentication.
Enable one of the following authentication types:
- Simple authentication.
- Simple Authentication and Security Layer (SASL) authentication.

The TLS client authentication setting in your LDAP server cannot be mandatory and clients cannot be authenticated with the TLS protocol.

Users deleted from LDAP

Users deleted from the LDAP server:

Are immediately blocked from signing in to GitLab.
No longer consume a license.

However, these users can continue to use Git with SSH until the next time the LDAP check cache runs.

To delete the account immediately, you can manually block the user.

Update user email addresses

Email addresses on the LDAP server are considered the source of truth for users when LDAP is used to sign in.

Updating user email addresses must be done on the LDAP server that manages the user. The email address for GitLab is updated either:

When the user next signs in.
When the next user sync is run.

The updated user's previous email address becomes the secondary email address to preserve that user's commit history.

You can find more details on the expected behavior of user updates in our LDAP troubleshooting section.

Google Secure LDAP

Introduced in GitLab 11.9.

Google Cloud Identity provides a Secure LDAP service that can be configured with GitLab for authentication and group sync. See Google Secure LDAP for detailed configuration instructions.

Synchronize users and groups

For more information on synchronizing users and groups between LDAP and GitLab, see LDAP synchronization.

Move from LDAP to SAML

Configure SAML. Add auto_link_ldap_user to:
- gitlab.rb for Linux package installations.
- values.yml for Helm chart installations. For more information, see the initial settings for all providers.
Optional. Disable the LDAP auth from the sign-in page.
Optional. To fix issues with linking users, you can first remove those users' LDAP identities.
Confirm that users are able to sign in to their accounts. If a user cannot sign in, check if that user's LDAP is still there and remove it if necessary. If this issue persists, check the logs to identify the problem.
In the configuration file, change:
- omniauth_auto_link_user to saml only.
- omniauth_auto_link_ldap_user to false.
- ldap_enabled to false. You can also comment out the LDAP provider settings.

Troubleshooting

See our administrator guide to troubleshooting LDAP.

Integrate LDAP with GitLab (FREE SELF)

Security

Security risks

Configure LDAP

Basic configuration settings

SSL configuration settings

Attribute configuration settings

LDAP sync configuration settings (PREMIUM SELF)

Use multiple LDAP servers (PREMIUM SELF)

Set up LDAP user filter

Escape special characters in user_filter

Enable LDAP username lowercase

Disable LDAP web sign in

Use encrypted credentials

Updating LDAP DN and email

Disable anonymous LDAP authentication

Users deleted from LDAP

Update user email addresses

Google Secure LDAP

Synchronize users and groups

Move from LDAP to SAML

Troubleshooting

Escape special characters in `user_filter`