This Helix Server extension facilitates Single-Sign-On (SSO) authentication, directing end users to the Helix Authentication Service to authenticate using an identity provider that supports either the OpenID Connect or SAML 2.0 authentication protocols.
Official releases will have version numbers of the form YYYY.N, such as
2019.1, 2020.1, or 2020.2. These releases have undergone testing and are
available on releases page in the GitHub project.
Patch releases will have version numbers with three dot separated numbers, such
as 2020.1.1 or 2019.1.2.
The unofficial "snapshot" releases will have -snapshot after the version
number: YYYY.N-snapshot after a major release, and YYYY.N.N-snapshot after a
patch release. These may include changes that are not yet reflected in the
documentation, and these versions are limited to Community Support.
The Helix Authentication Extension is installed on the Helix Server, and hooks into the authentication facility of the server. Whenever a user attempts to authenticate with the server, they will be directed to the Helix Authentication Service via their default web browser, which in turn redirects the user to the configured identity provider (IdP). Once the user has successfully authenticated with the IdP, a ticket will be issued by the Helix Server, at which point the user can interact with Helix Server.
The extension requires a Helix Server version that supports extensions. This is 2019.1 or later for Linux systems, and 2021.2 or later for Windows systems.
The extension integrates with the Helix Authentication Service (available on GitHub) in order to direct the user to the identity provider during the login process. As such, the authentication service must be running and accessible to the Helix Core Server running the extension.
The authentication extension has been tested with the following clients. The extension will work with the versions shown, as well as later versions.
- P4 2019.1, the Helix Core command-line client
- Earlier versions will also work, but the user will have to copy the URL displayed in the console and paste it into the browser location bar.
- P4V 2019.2, the Helix Core Visual Client
- P4VS 2019.2, patch 2, the Helix Plugin for Visual Studio
- P4EXP 2019.2, the Helix Plugin for File Explorer
- Helix DAM, 2022.1
- Helix Plugin for Eclipse (P4Eclipse) 2019.1 patch 2
- Helix Plugin for Matlab (P4SL) 2019.1
- Helix Swarm 2018.3, the free code review tool
- Helix Sync 2023.4
- Helix TeamHub, 2022.1
See the administrative guide in the docs directory for instructions on installing and configuring the extension. Additionally, guidance on configuring LDAP authentication, along with SSO, is given in the LDAP guide.
Configuring the extension, the authentication service, and the identity provider is a non-trivial task. Some expertise in a security systems is helpful. In the event that you need assistance with configuring these systems, please contact Perforce Support.
If you discover a security vulnerability in the extension, please contact Perforce Support.
See the development page for additional information regarding building and testing the service.