--- title: Configure a custom SAML identity provider for Coveo SSO slug: '2706' canonical_url: https://docs.coveo.com/en/2706/ collection: manage-an-organization source_format: adoc --- # Configure a custom SAML identity provider for Coveo SSO Coveo provides detailed instructions to implement single sign-on (SSO) in your Coveo organization using a variety of [identity providers](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1979#identity-providers). However, configuring SSO with a your preferred identity provider is also possible. Users can then log in to Coveo without having to provide their authentication credentials since your identity provider has validated their identity before. To allow users to log in via SAML SSO, Coveo must be able to trust and rely on your identity provider to authenticate users wanting to log in. To establish this trust relationship, you must configure your identity provider and Coveo so that both parties can exchange authentication information. This page explains how to proceed. To configure SSO in more than one Coveo organization, for example in a production organization and a [sandbox organization](https://docs.coveo.com/en/2959/), configure one of these organizations, and then follow [the instructions](#configure-sso-in-another-organization) at the end of this page. > **Notes** > > * Only the identity provider administrator at your company can configure the identity provider using the following steps. > Provide them with the Coveo public certificate, which is needed to [encrypt assertions](#encrypt-assertions). > > * Coveo supports HTTP POST binding only. > > * If you encounter implementation issues, contact the [Coveo Support](https://connect.coveo.com/s/case/Case/Default) team for troubleshooting help. ## Endpoints Depending on the identity provider, the endpoints to provide may be named differently. The **Typical endpoint names** column of the following table lists the most frequent names used. [cols="1,1", options="header"] |=== | Typical endpoint names | Addresses a|* Assertion Consumer Service (ACS) URL * POST Binding Endpoint * SSO URL |For a regular (non-HIPAA) organization: `https://platform.cloud.coveo.com/saml/SSO` For a HIPAA organization: `https://platformhipaa.cloud.coveo.com/saml/SSO` For an organization with [data residency outside the US](https://docs.coveo.com/en/2976#data-residency): `https://platform-.cloud.coveo.com/saml/SSO` a|* Recipient URL * Reply URL |For a regular (non-HIPAA) organization: `https://platform.cloud.coveo.com/saml/SSO` For a HIPAA organization: `https://platformhipaa.cloud.coveo.com/saml/SSO` For an organization with [data residency outside the US](https://docs.coveo.com/en/2976#data-residency): `https://platform-.cloud.coveo.com/saml/SSO` a|* Audience URI * Entity ID * Identifier URL |For a regular (non-HIPAA) organization or an organization with [data residency outside the US](https://docs.coveo.com/en/2976#data-residency): `https://platform.cloud.coveo.com/saml/metadata` For a HIPAA organization: `https://platformhipaa.cloud.coveo.com/saml/metadata` |=== ## Assertion settings Coveo SAML SSO requires assertions with the following settings. ### `Subject` The `NameID` is a required setting and must be a permanent identifier unique to each user. ```xml your-unique-nameid ``` ### `user.email` attribute The `user.email` attribute is a required setting that provides Coveo with user email addresses. Coveo can then associate the email address of authenticated users to item [permissions](https://docs.coveo.com/en/223/) [indexed by your sources](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1779#same-users-and-groups-as-in-your-content-system). This association allows Coveo to [replicate the original repository permission system in your search interface](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1719/). ```xml jsmith@example.com ``` ### Optional attributes #### `user.groups` The `user.groups` attribute provides Coveo with the groups of which a user is a member. This allows you to [import](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1980#import-members) several members at once into a Coveo group. ```xml GroupName1 GroupName2 ``` #### `user.firstName` and `user.lastName` The `user.firstName` and `user.lastName` attributes provide Coveo with the user's name, which is available in the user menu of the [Coveo Administration Console header](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1841#header). ```xml John Smith ``` ## Prepare to Configure Coveo Once you've configured your identity provider so that it passes the right information about user authentication to Coveo, you must configure Coveo to enable federation between Coveo and your identity provider. To do so, retrieve the following to later import into Coveo: * SSO URL (also called _assertion consumer service_ (ACS)) * Identity provider issuer URL (also called _entity ID_ or _federation service identifier_) * The identity provider X.509 public certificate ## Configure Coveo Once you've configured your identity provider to provide Coveo with user authentication data, you must configure Coveo to trust your identity provider and accept to rely on it for user authentication. . With the [data required to fill the Coveo configuration form](#prepare-to-configure-coveo) in hand, access the **Settings** page: .. [Log in to Coveo](https://platform.cloud.coveo.com/login) ([platform-ca](https://platform-ca.cloud.coveo.com/login) | [platform-eu](https://platform-eu.cloud.coveo.com/login) | [platform-au](https://platform-au.cloud.coveo.com/login)) as a [member](https://docs.coveo.com/en/2869/) of a [group](https://docs.coveo.com/en/2867/) with the [required privileges](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1562#required-privileges) to manage settings in the target [Coveo organization](https://docs.coveo.com/en/185/). .. On the **Settings** page, select the **Organization** tab, and then select the **Single Sign-On** subtab. . In the **Single Sign-On** subtab, in the **Identity provider name** box, enter the identity provider name as you want it to appear on your Coveo organization [login page](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1697/). . In the **Single sign-on URL** box, enter the URL where Coveo must send an authentication request. The SSO URL may also be called _Assertion Consumer Service_ (ACS). . In the **Identity provider issuer URI** box, enter the identity provider issuer unique URI. The identity provider issuer URI may also be called _entity ID_ or _federation service identifier_. . Using one of the following methods, provide Coveo with the identity provider's Base64 public certificate to validate the identity provider signature: * Paste the certificate in the **Enter your public certificate** box. * If you saved the certificate on your computer, click **Choose File** to browse your files and upload the certificate. . Click **Add**. > **Note** > > If you encounter a **SAML Authentication Error** while logging in to the hosted search page, it's typically because the SSO configuration has not been updated prior to the scheduled rotation of the certificate. To resolve this issue, the Coveo administrator can update the certificate on the [**Settings**](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1562/) page of the [Coveo Administration Console](https://docs.coveo.com/en/183/). > > To avoid this error, a Coveo administrator can add a [notification](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1583#add-or-edit-an-organization-notification) as a reminder to update the certificate prior to the rotation date. ## Encrypt assertions [Assertion encryption](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1979#assertion-encryption) is optional. To encrypt your identity provider assertions: . On the **Settings** page, in the [**Single Sign-On**](https://platform.cloud.coveo.com/admin/#/orgid/settings/organization/sso) ([platform-ca](https://platform-ca.cloud.coveo.com/admin/#/orgid/settings/organization/sso) | [platform-eu](https://platform-eu.cloud.coveo.com/admin/#/orgid/settings/organization/sso) | [platform-au](https://platform-au.cloud.coveo.com/admin/#/orgid/settings/organization/sso)) tab, under **Advanced Option**, download the Coveo certificate. . Import the Coveo certificate into your identity provider configuration. . Ensure that the identity provider will sign its responses. This prevents potential attacks on algorithms operating in CBC mode. ## Test your configuration . [Add your email address as an organization member](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1821/). In the **Add a Member** dialog, under **Provider**, ensure to select **Single sign-on**. . [Log out of the Coveo Administration Console](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1841#user-menu), and then [log back in using the SSO option and your identity provider account](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1697#logging-in-with-sso). By doing so, you ensure Coveo and your identity provider work together properly. > **Important** > > We strongly recommend that you don't delete the account with which you first logged in to the Administration Console and implemented SAML SSO. > This original account is a "backdoor" that prevents you from being locked out if the SAML SSO doesn't work as expected. > At any time, you can log in with your original, non-SSO identity provider, and then edit the Coveo configuration. > For details on how accounts belonging to the same individual are separated, see [Multiple Accounts](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1697#multiple-accounts). > > Alternatively, if you must delete your original account, you can also create another non-SSO administrator account with the [required privileges](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1562#required-privileges) beforehand. > [Logging in via email](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1697#logging-in-with-email) is also an alternative. ## Invite SSO users or user groups Once you've verified that your SSO configuration works, [invite SSO users to join your Coveo organization](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1821/). > **Important** > > Once you set up an SSO for your organization, users accessing a hosted search page of this organization are automatically redirected to the [SSO login page](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1697/). Therefore, after configuring your SSO, promptly invite your users as SSO users of this organization. Otherwise, users will enter their identity provider credentials, but access to the hosted search page won't be allowed since there will be no Coveo SSO user corresponding to the provided credentials. ## Configure SSO in another organization If you have multiple Coveo organizations, such as a production organization and a [sandbox organization](https://docs.coveo.com/en/2959/), you must use the same SSO settings for all organizations. Users will then use the same SSO credentials to log in, regardless of the organization they are accessing. Follow these steps to configure SSO in additional organizations: . Ensure that the user identity you'll use to configure SSO: -- ** Is a [member](https://docs.coveo.com/en/2869/) of all [organizations](https://docs.coveo.com/en/185/) where the SSO configuration will be used, including the original organization where SSO is already configured. If it's not already a member, this user identity must be [invited](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1821#add-members) to the organizations and [accept the invitations](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1697#after-login). ** Has the [privilege](https://docs.coveo.com/en/228/) to edit SSO settings (**Edit** on the [**Single sign-on identity provider** domain](https://docs.coveo.com/en/1707#single-sign-on-identity-provider-domain)) in each of these organizations. -- . Using this identity, log in to the organization where you want to configure SSO. . In the [**Single Sign-On**](https://platform.cloud.coveo.com/admin/#/orgid/settings/organization/sso) ([platform-ca](https://platform-ca.cloud.coveo.com/admin/#/orgid/settings/organization/sso) | [platform-eu](https://platform-eu.cloud.coveo.com/admin/#/orgid/settings/organization/sso) | [platform-au](https://platform-au.cloud.coveo.com/admin/#/orgid/settings/organization/sso)) tab of the **Settings** page, delete any existing SSO configuration. Save your change. This will also permanently delete the associated SSO members from your Coveo organization. . Copy the SSO settings from the first organization to the other. The SSO settings provided to Coveo must be identical across all organizations, including the identity provider name. > **Tip** > > Open the organization where SSO was originally configured in a private browser window. > This will let you copy and paste from one organization to the other without logging in and out to switch between them. . Follow the remainder of the deployment process above, starting at the assertion encryption step, for each organization where you copied the SSO settings.