464d1cb655
# Which Problems Are Solved The `/password` page (and related password pages) can show the `unknownContext` error even though the user was resolved correctly and login completes fine. Two causes: 1. `sendLoginname` used two different `ignoreUnknownUsernames` sources: session creation was gated on the **user's org** login settings, while the redirect's `loginName` masking and enumeration guards were gated on a **caller-supplied flag** reflecting the request context (instance or org scope). Whenever the two diverge — e.g. `ignoreUnknownUsernames` enabled on the instance but not on the user's org, or the reverse — the redirect carries a `loginName` that doesn't match the session cookie (or no session is created at all), so the `/password` page can't load the session and renders `unknownContext`, while password submission still succeeds via its user-search fallback. This affects every caller of `sendLoginname` — the manual `/loginname` form as well as the server-side `login_hint` resolution; it was most reproducible with `login_hint`, since that path resolves context settings at the instance level, maximizing the chance of divergence with an org-level policy. 2. The password pages tried to re-derive "was enumeration protection applied?" from login settings to suppress the error — but they resolve settings from a different context than `sendLoginname` (falling back to the default organization instead of the instance), so any org-level custom policy made the suppression misfire. More fundamentally, the alert was keyed on a failed session lookup, which is not an error state: under enumeration protection no session exists by design, and the forms recover without one (`sendPassword` falls back to user search; `/password/set` works via code + userId). # How the Problems Are Solved `sendLoginname` no longer accepts `ignoreUnknownUsernames` from the caller. It derives a single constant server-side from the request-context login settings it already fetches and uses it for every decision in the flow: session creation, `preventUserEnumeration`, the multiple-users branch, the INITIAL-user check, the organization reset, the auth-method guards, and the IdP redirect after domain discovery. Redirect params use `session?.factors?.user?.loginName ?? command.loginName`: when a session exists, its loginName goes in the URL so the next page always finds the session cookie; when protection applies, no session (and no session cookie) is created and the raw input is echoed, keeping known and unknown users fully indistinguishable — including the previously observable `Set-Cookie` difference. `UsernameForm` and `resolveLoginHint` stop forwarding the flag, which also removes the redundant `getLoginSettings` call in `resolveLoginHint`. The password pages no longer consult login settings or the session lookup for the `unknownContext` error and instead warn only when required input is actually missing (matching the existing pattern on the passkey/mfa/u2f pages): `/password` and `/password/change` when no `loginName` searchParam is present, `/password/set` when neither `loginName` nor `userId` is present. A missing session alone no longer triggers the error. Verified against a live instance in all four settings combinations (uniform on/off, both divergence directions) including a known-vs-unknown `login_hint` comparison producing byte-identical responses under protection; full unit suite passes. --------- Co-authored-by: Livio Spring <[email protected]>
The Identity Infrastructure for Developers
ZITADEL is an open-source identity and access management platform built for teams that need more than basic auth. Whether you're securing a SaaS product, building a B2B platform, or self-hosting a production IAM stack — ZITADEL gives you everything out of the box: SSO, MFA, Passkeys, OIDC, SAML, SCIM, and a battle-tested multi-tenancy model.
No vendor lock-in. No compromise on control. Just a robust, API-first identity platform you can own.
🏡 Website | 💬 Chat | 📋 Docs | 🧑💻 Blog | 📞 Contact
Why ZITADEL
We built ZITADEL to handle the hardest IAM challenges at scale — starting with multi-tenancy.
| ZITADEL | FusionAuth | Keycloak | Auth0/Okta | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open-source | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Self-hostable | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Infrastructure-level tenants | ✅ Instances (High scale) | ✅ Tenants | 🟡 Realms (Scaling limits) | ❌ (Multi-tenant = multi-account) |
| B2B Organizations | ✅ Native & Unlimited | 🟡 via Entity Management | ✅ (Recent addition) | 🟡 (Plan/Account dependent) |
| Full audit trail | ✅ Comprehensive Event Stream* | 🟡 Audit logs | 🟡 Audit logs | 🟡 Audit logs |
| Passkeys (FIDO2) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Actions / webhooks | ✅ | ✅ | 🟡 via SPI | ✅ |
| API-first (gRPC + REST) | ✅ | 🟡 REST only | 🟡 REST only | 🟡 REST only |
| SaaS + self-host parity | ✅ | ✅ | ➖ N/A | ➖ N/A |
ZITADEL Cloud and self-hosted ZITADEL run the same codebase.
Key differentiators for architects:
- Relational core, event-driven soul — every mutation is written as an immutable event for a complete, API-accessible audit trail. Unlike systems that log only select activities, ZITADEL provides a comprehensive event stream that can be audited or streamed to external systems via Webhooks.
- Strict multi-tenant hierarchy — Identity System → Organizations → Projects, with isolated data and policy scoping at multiple levels
- API-first design — every resource and action is available via connectRPC, gRPC, and HTTP/JSON APIs
- Zero-downtime updates and horizontal scalability without external session stores
Get Started in 3 Minutes
ZITADEL Self-Hosted
# Docker Compose — up and running in under 3 minutes
curl -LO https://raw.githubusercontent.com/zitadel/zitadel/main/deploy/compose/docker-compose.yml \
&& curl -LO https://raw.githubusercontent.com/zitadel/zitadel/main/deploy/compose/.env.example \
&& cp .env.example .env \
&& docker compose up -d --wait
Full deployment guides:
Need professional support for your self-hosted deployment? Contact us.
ZITADEL Cloud (SaaS)
Start for free at zitadel.com — no credit card required. Available in US · EU · AU · CH. Pay-as-you-go pricing.
Integrate with the V2 API
ZITADEL exposes every capability over a typed API. Here's how to create a user with the V2 REST API:
curl -X POST https://$ZITADEL_DOMAIN/v2/users/human \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $ACCESS_TOKEN" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"username": "[email protected]",
"profile": { "givenName": "Alice", "familyName": "Smith" },
"email": { "email": "[email protected]", "sendCode": {} }
}'
Explore the full API reference — including connectRPC and gRPC transports — or jump straight to quickstart examples.
Features
Authentication
- Single Sign On (SSO) · Username/Password · Passkeys (FIDO2 / WebAuthn)
- MFA: OTP, U2F, OTP Email, OTP SMS
- LDAP · Enterprise IdPs and social logins
- OpenID Connect certified · SAML 2.0 · Device authorization
- Machine-to-machine: JWT Profile, PAT, Client Credentials
- Token exchange and impersonation
- Custom sessions for flows beyond OIDC/SAML
- Hosted Login V2
Multi-Tenancy
- Identity brokering with pre-built IdP templates
- Customizable B2B onboarding with self-service for customers
- Delegated role management to third parties
- Domain discovery
Integration
- gRPC, connectRPC, and REST APIs for every resource
- Actions: webhooks, custom code, token enrichment
- RBAC · SCIM 2.0 Server
- Audit log and SOC/SIEM integration
- SDKs and example apps
Self-Service & Admin
- Self-registration with email/phone verification
- Administration Console for orgs and projects
- Custom branding per organization
Deployment
- PostgreSQL (≥ 14) · Zero-downtime updates · High scalability
Track upcoming features on our roadmap and follow our changelog for recent updates.
Showcase
Login V2
Our new, fully customizable login experience — documentation
Adopters & Ecosystem
Used in production by organizations worldwide. See the full Adopters list — and add yours by submitting a pull request.
- SDKs: All supported languages and frameworks
- Examples: Clone and use our examples
How To Contribute
ZITADEL is built in the open and welcoming to contributions of all kinds.
- 📖 Read the Contribution Guide to get started
- 💬 Join the conversation on Discord
- 🐛 Report bugs or request features via GitHub Issues
Contributors
Made with contrib.rocks.
Security
Security policy: SECURITY.md
Vulnerability Disclosure Policy — how to responsibly report security issues.
Technical Advisories are published for major issues that could impact security or stability in production.
License
AGPL-3.0 — see LICENSING.md for the full licensing policy, including Apache 2.0 and MIT exceptions for specific directories.