Authentication System

General

For a quick overview, refer to the user guide provided here: Authentication

Here's an overview of the general configuration.

Note: OpenID and SAML do not support the ability to disable only registration.

Quick Tips:

• Even with registration disabled, you can add users directly to the database using the create-user script detailed below.
• To delete a user, you can use the delete-user script also detailed below.

Session Expiry and Refresh Token

• Default values: session expiry: 15 minutes, refresh token expiry: 7 days

sequenceDiagram
    Client->>Server: Login request with credentials
    Server->>Passport: Use authentication strategy (e.g., 'local', 'google', etc.)
    Passport-->>Server: User object or false/error
    Note over Server: If valid user...
    Server->>Server: Generate access and refresh tokens
    Server->>Database: Store hashed refresh token
    Server-->>Client: Access token and refresh token
    Client->>Client: Store access token in HTTP Header and refresh token in HttpOnly cookie
    Client->>Server: Request with access token from HTTP Header
    Server-->>Client: Requested data
    Note over Client,Server: Access token expires
    Client->>Server: Request with expired access token
    Server-->>Client: Unauthorized
    Client->>Server: Request with refresh token from HttpOnly cookie
    Server->>Database: Retrieve hashed refresh token
    Server->>Server: Compare hash of provided refresh token with stored hash
    Note over Server: If hashes match...
    Server-->>Client: New access token and refresh token
    Client->>Server: Retry request with new access token
    Server-->>Client: Requested data

JWT Secret and Refresh Secret

• You should use new secure values. The examples given are 32-byte keys (64 characters in hex).
  • Use this tool to generate some quickly: JWT Keys

Automated Moderation System (optional)

The Automated Moderation System is enabled by default. It uses a scoring mechanism to track user violations. As users commit actions like excessive logins, registrations, or messaging, they accumulate violation scores. Upon reaching a set threshold, the user and their IP are temporarily banned. This system ensures platform security by monitoring and penalizing rapid or suspicious activities.

To set up the mod system, review the setup guide.

Please Note: If you want this to work in development mode, you will need to create a file called .env.development in the root directory and set DOMAIN_CLIENT to http://localhost:3090 or whatever port is provided by vite when runnning npm run frontend-dev

User Management Scripts

IntelliAsk ships a set of Node scripts for managing users directly, which is useful when registration is disabled or you need to administer accounts from the server. Run them inside the intelliask container.

intelliask shell intelliask -- npm run create-user

Available Scripts

Create a User

Adds a user directly to the database, even when registration is disabled. Follow the prompts to enter the new user's email and password:

intelliask shell intelliask -- npm run create-user

Delete a User

Removes a user account. Replace email@domain.com with the email of the user you want to delete:

intelliask shell intelliask -- npm run delete-user email@domain.com

Local development: If you're running IntelliAsk from source instead of the containerized stack, run these scripts from the project root without the container prefix, e.g. npm run create-user.