Authentication — FileGator

FileGator can take accounts from four places. One is active at a time, chosen in Admin → Auth; switching is validated before it happens, and a failed switch leaves the previous provider running.

Provider	`auth.type`	Writable from the admin UI
Users file	`json` (default)	yes
LDAP / Active Directory	`ldap`	no
MySQL / MariaDB	`mysql`	yes
PostgreSQL	`postgres`	yes

Whatever the provider, users get the same roles (guest, user, admin) and permissions (read, write, upload, download, batchdownload, zip, chmod).

Users file

{ "auth": { "type": "json", "users_file": "private/users.json" } }

The default, and the simplest. On first start private/users.json is copied from private/users.json.sample, which contains admin / admin123 and a disabled guest. Change the admin password immediately; the server logs a warning at every start until you do. Setting FILEGATOR_ADMIN_PASSWORD before the first start replaces that default without anyone signing in — see Installation.

The file uses the same format FileGator has always used, so an existing one works unchanged. Passwords are bcrypt only — $2y$ , $2a$ or $2b$ . A plain-text password never authenticates.

Full key reference: Configuration.

LDAP

{
  "auth": {
    "type": "ldap",
    "ldap": {
      "server": "ldaps://dc1.example.com:636",
      "bind_dn": "cn=filegator,ou=services,dc=example,dc=com",
      "bind_pass": "…",
      "base_dn": "ou=people,dc=example,dc=com",
      "filter": "(uid=%s)",
      "attributes": ["uid", "cn", "mail"],
      "username_attribute": "uid",
      "name_attribute": "cn",
      "default_permissions": ["read", "write", "upload", "download"],
      "admin_usernames": ["jane.doe"],
      "home_template": "/users/%s",
      "user_cache_ttl": 60,
      "timeout": 10
    }
  }
}

Key	Default	Meaning
`server`	—	`ldap://`, `ldaps://` or `ldapi://` URL. Required
`bind_dn`, `bind_pass`	—	Service account used to search. It must be able to read `base_dn`. Searching anonymously is refused
`base_dn`	—	Where to search. Required
`filter`	`""`	Extra search filter, e.g. `(objectClass=person)`. The username condition `(<username_attribute>=<login>)` is ANDed onto it, and the login is filter-escaped so a typed `*` cannot enumerate accounts. Empty means "any entry with a username attribute"
`attributes`	`username_attribute`, the name attribute, `dn`	Attributes to request
`username_attribute`	—	Which attribute is the login name. Required
`name_attribute`	`""` (falls back to the username)	Display name attribute
`add_domain`	`""`	Appended to a typed username that has no domain, e.g. `@example.com`
`remove_domains`	`[]`	Stripped from a typed username before searching, e.g. `["EXAMPLE\\"]`
`default_permissions`	`[]`	Granted to every resolved user
`admin_usernames`	`[]`	Promoted to administrators, with all permissions and home `/`
`home_template`	`/`	Home folder for each user; `%s` becomes the login name. Without it every LDAP user shares the storage root. Use `/%s` to give every user a private folder
`user_cache_ttl`	`60`	Seconds a resolved user is cached. `0` means the default, not "no cache"
`timeout`	`10`	Seconds per LDAP operation

Bind as the service account and search for the filter.
Bind as the found DN with the supplied password. If that succeeds, the password is correct — the directory decides, FileGator never stores it.
Map the entry to permissions and home folder, then cache the result.

An empty password is refused before any bind, because directories commonly treat an empty password as an anonymous bind that succeeds.

What differs from the users file

LDAP users are read-only here. The admin UI hides create, edit and delete, and password changes return 403 — change them in the directory.
Users are cached for user_cache_ttl seconds instead of querying the directory per request. A directory outage therefore keeps existing sessions working until the cache expires.
Startup performs one search, so a wrong server, bind account or base DN fails immediately with the reason rather than at the first login.

MySQL / PostgreSQL

{
  "auth": {
    "type": "mysql",
    "sql": {
      "dsn": "filegator:secret@tcp(127.0.0.1:3306)/files?parseTime=true",
      "table": "users",
      "max_open_conns": 10,
      "max_idle_conns": 2,
      "timeout": 30
    }
  }
}

type is mysql or postgres; postgres takes a libpq-style DSN (postgres://user:pass@host/db).

Key	Default	Meaning
`dsn`	—	Connection string. Write-only: the API never returns it, and an empty value in the admin form keeps the stored one
`table`	`users`	Users table name
`user_cache_ttl`	`0` (no cache)	Seconds a resolved user is cached
`max_open_conns`, `max_idle_conns`	the driver's own	Connection pool bounds
`timeout`	—	Seconds for individual queries

The table layout is the same as users.json — see Database users, which covers the schema, creating rows and the password format.

FileGator never creates or migrates the table. Startup verifies it is readable and refuses to start with a message pointing at that page.

The DSN is write-only: the API never returns it, and an empty value in the admin form keeps the stored one.

Choosing one

	Users file	LDAP	MySQL / Postgres
Set up in the admin UI	yes	yes	yes
Managed from FileGator	yes	no	yes
Password changes here	yes	no	yes
Best for	small installs	an existing directory	accounts already in an app database

Security notes

All providers use the same signed-cookie sessions. Any change to a user's role, permissions, home folder or password invalidates their sessions immediately.
Passwords are never logged, and API responses never include password material or connection strings.
LDAP and SQL credentials sit in config.json in plain text: chmod 600 it.
Enable security.secure_cookies when serving over HTTPS, so session cookies are not sent in clear.