Enable Basic Auth for Kong Manager

Uses: Kong Gateway

Deployment Platform:

Set environment variables

Set the Kong Gateway license as a variable:

export KONG_LICENSE_DATA='LICENSE-CONTENTS-GO-HERE'

Start Kong Gateway

Create the Kong Gateway container and enable RBAC and basic auth. In this example, we can use the quickstart:

curl -Ls get.konghq.com/quickstart | bash -s -- -e "KONG_LICENSE_DATA" \
    -e "KONG_ENFORCE_RBAC=on" \
    -e "KONG_ADMIN_GUI_AUTH=basic-auth" \
    -e "KONG_PASSWORD=kong" \
    -e 'KONG_ADMIN_GUI_SESSION_CONF={"secret":"kong"}'

This enables RBAC, sets basic-auth as the authentication method, and creates a session secret.

Kong Manager uses the Session plugin in the background. This plugin (configured with admin_gui_session_conf) requires a secret and is configured securely by default. Under all circumstances, the secret must be manually set to a string.

For more information about the values, see the RBAC reference.

Validate

To validate that basic authentication was configured correctly for Kong Manager, navigate to the Kong Manager GUI at http://localhost:8002 and use the username (kong_admin) and the password (kong) you set when you created the Kong Gateway container.

To log in to Kong Manage with basic auth, you must have super admin permissions or a user that has /admins and /rbac read and write access.

Cleanup

Destroy the Kong Gateway container

curl -Ls https://get.konghq.com/quickstart | bash -s -- -d

FAQs

If I created a super admin via the Kong Manager Teams tab, how do they log in using basic auth?

They should log in with the credentials they created after accepting the email invitation.

How can I reset my password in Kong Manager?

To reset a forgotten password in Kong Manager, authentication and RBAC must be enabled with basic authentication, and SMTP must be configured to send emails. If these conditions are met, you can reset you password by clicking Forget Password on the login page. You’ll be prompted to enter the email address associated with the account. You’ll then receive an email with a link to reset your password.

How can I change my password in Kong Manager?

To change a password in Kong Manager, authentication and RBAC must be enabled with basic authentication, and you must have super admin permissions or read and write access on admins and RBAC. If these conditions are met, you can change a password by clicking you account name and selecting Profile. Fill in the fields in the Reset Password section to change the password.

How can I reset an RBAC token in Kong Manager?

To reset a forgotten password in Kong Manager, authentication and RBAC must be enabled, and you must have super admin permissions or read and write access on admins and RBAC. If these conditions are met, you can change a password by clicking you account name and selecting Profile. Click Reset Token in the Reset RBAC Token section.