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nixos-servers/docs/user-management.md
Torjus Håkestad d6606d3f53
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docs: update kanidm troubleshooting with nscd restart
Add troubleshooting tips discovered during testing:
- kanidm-unix status command for checking connectivity
- nscd restart required after config changes
- Direct PAM auth test with kanidm-unix auth-test

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-02-08 14:27:15 +01:00

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# User Management with Kanidm
Central authentication for the homelab using Kanidm.
## Overview
- **Server**: kanidm01.home.2rjus.net (auth.home.2rjus.net)
- **WebUI**: https://auth.home.2rjus.net
- **LDAPS**: port 636
## CLI Setup
The `kanidm` CLI is available in the devshell:
```bash
nix develop
# Login as idm_admin
kanidm login --name idm_admin --url https://auth.home.2rjus.net
```
## User Management
### Creating Users
Users are provisioned declaratively in `services/kanidm/default.nix`:
```nix
services.kanidm.provision.persons.username = {
displayName = "Display Name";
groups = [ "admins" "users" "ssh-users" ];
};
```
### Enabling POSIX for Users
For PAM/NSS integration, users need POSIX attributes and a UNIX password:
```bash
# Check if user has POSIX enabled
kanidm person get <username>
# Set UNIX password (required for SSH login)
kanidm person posix set-password <username>
```
## Group Management
### Creating Groups
Groups are provisioned declaratively:
```nix
services.kanidm.provision.groups = {
admins = { };
users = { };
ssh-users = { };
};
```
### Enabling POSIX for Groups
Groups must have POSIX enabled to be resolved via NSS:
```bash
# Enable POSIX on a group with a specific GID
kanidm group posix set <group-name> --gidnumber <gid>
# Example: enable ssh-users group
kanidm group posix set ssh-users --gidnumber 68000
```
### UID/GID Allocation
| Range | Purpose |
|-------|---------|
| 65,536 - 67,999 | Users |
| 68,000 - 69,999 | Groups |
## PAM/NSS Client Configuration
Enable central authentication on a host:
```nix
homelab.kanidm.enable = true;
```
This configures:
- `services.kanidm.enablePam = true`
- Client connection to auth.home.2rjus.net
- Login authorization for `ssh-users` group
### Options
```nix
homelab.kanidm = {
enable = true;
server = "https://auth.home.2rjus.net"; # default
allowedLoginGroups = [ "ssh-users" ]; # default
};
```
## Testing
### Verify NSS Resolution
```bash
# Check user resolution
getent passwd <username>
# Check group resolution
getent group <group-name>
```
### Test SSH Login
```bash
ssh <username>@<hostname>.home.2rjus.net
```
## Troubleshooting
### "PAM user mismatch" error
SSH fails with "fatal: PAM user mismatch" in logs. This happens when Kanidm returns
usernames in SPN format (`torjus@home.2rjus.net`) but SSH expects short names (`torjus`).
**Solution**: Configure `uid_attr_map = "name"` in unixSettings (already set in our module).
Check current format:
```bash
getent passwd torjus
# Should show: torjus:x:65536:...
# NOT: torjus@home.2rjus.net:x:65536:...
```
### User resolves but SSH fails immediately
The user's login group (e.g., `ssh-users`) likely doesn't have POSIX enabled:
```bash
# Check if group has POSIX
getent group ssh-users
# If empty, enable POSIX on the server
kanidm group posix set ssh-users --gidnumber 68000
```
### User doesn't resolve via getent
1. Check kanidm-unixd service is running:
```bash
systemctl status kanidm-unixd
```
2. Check unixd can reach server:
```bash
kanidm-unix status
# Should show: system: online, Kanidm: online
```
3. Check client can reach server:
```bash
curl -s https://auth.home.2rjus.net/status
```
4. Check user has POSIX enabled on server:
```bash
kanidm person get <username>
```
5. Restart nscd to clear stale cache:
```bash
systemctl restart nscd
```
### Changes not taking effect after deployment
NixOS uses nsncd (a Rust reimplementation of nscd) for NSS caching. After deploying
kanidm-unixd config changes, you may need to restart both services:
```bash
systemctl restart kanidm-unixd
systemctl restart nscd
```
### Test PAM authentication directly
Use the kanidm-unix CLI to test PAM auth without SSH:
```bash
kanidm-unix auth-test --name <username>
```