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Active Identity · Security

Authentik Identity Platform

Central identity, single sign-on and multi-factor authentication for every self-hosted application in the homelab.

SSOMFAReverse proxy authSecurity

Purpose

Authentik sits in front of self-hosted applications as the authentication boundary — handling login, TOTP, and (in progress) Duo Push MFA, then passing trusted identity through to the applications behind it.

Environment

  • Hosted as an LXC container on the Proxmox platform.
  • Published over HTTPS via Nginx Proxy Manager, using a corrected browser-facing URL (previously HTTP, fixed to HTTPS).
  • Uses an embedded outpost for proxy-provider applications — i.e. apps that don't natively speak an SSO protocol get authentication injected at the proxy layer.

Demonstrated integrations

  • Radarr and Sonarr — media automation apps sitting behind the proxy provider.
  • OpenClaw — migrated from a shared gateway token to trusted-proxy identity headers issued by Authentik.
  • Nginx Proxy Manager — the HTTPS entry point for all of the above.
  • Duo Push MFA — partially configured, running alongside TOTP during rollout.

Completed work

  • Established a repeatable proxy-provider pattern for apps that don't support native SSO.
  • Corrected the outpost's browser-facing URL from HTTP to HTTPS.
  • Used Authentik-issued identity headers for OpenClaw's trusted-proxy authentication, replacing a shared token.
  • Retained TOTP as a working fallback while designing Duo Push enrollment, avoiding any lockout risk during the transition.

Next documentation

  • Full application/provider inventory.
  • Groups and access policies.
  • Enrollment and account-recovery process.
  • Break-glass access for when Authentik itself is unavailable.
  • Backup and upgrade process for the Authentik container.
Security note: device tokens, secrets and API keys for this platform are deliberately kept out of the documentation — the notes describe patterns and decisions, not credentials.