Skip to content

Federated Login

Connect supports federated login using Microsoft accounts. Microsoft accounts can also be used to provide federated login using email addresses from other services, such as Gmail.

Tip

If you're using Entra ID, please see Entra ID authentication for details of how to enable authentication.

Using federated login means you don't need an access token, because you authenticate to Connect using your Microsoft account credentials instead.

To use federated login, you must already be a member of an Organisation in Connect. This means that you must either have signed up and created your own organisation, or have been invited to an existing organisation.

Using Federated Login

Federated login is available on Windows and Android. It's possible to use it on Linux too, but it's a little more involved.

Windows and Android

On Windows and Android, enter the Server and Username settings, and click apply.

The Windows user interface:

User interface on Windows

Connect will open the authentication window automatically, since you have not specified an access token.

Authentication on Windows:

Authentication on Windows

After you have authenticated with your Microsoft account, the window will close automatically.

Linux

On Linux, Connect is a command-line application, and typically runs as a service.

As long as the Linux environment has a browser installed that is compatible with the Microsoft account authentication process, federated login is possible.

Note

The Microsoft account authentication process requires Javascript to be enabled in the browser.

Tip

The browser can be displayed remotely using X-Forwarding for headless operation.

On a suitably configured Linux system, it can be as simple as using ssh -X to open a shell and run the browser.

Consult your operating system manual for details of how to configure X-Forwarding.

If an authentication token is not present when Connect starts, log messages will be emitted, instructing the user to open an authentication URL in their browser. For a typical install under systemd, these messages will be found in the syslog.

Once authentication is complete, the browser window will display a message confirming that it can be closed.