Using IdM API

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9

Using IdM API with Python scripts

Red Hat Customer Content Services

Abstract

The IdM API contains examples for using various types of request. Administrators and developers can use the IdM API to write custom scripts in Python to integrate IdM with third-party applications.

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Chapter 1. Introduction to IdM API

You can access the services of the Red Hat Identity Management with command-line and web-based interfaces. With the Identity Management API, you can interact with Identity Management services through the third-party applications and scripts that are written in Python.

The Identity Management API has the JavaScript Object Notation Remote Procedure Call (JSON-RPC) interface. To use the automation for various important parts, access the Identity Management API through Python. For example, you can retrieve metadata from the server with all available commands.

Chapter 2. Basics of IdM API

You can use the IdM API to automate the access to IdM environment with your custom scripts.

2.1. Initializing IdM API

To use the IdM API, first initialize it in your environment.

Prerequisites

  • The IdM server or IdM client package is installed.
  • A valid Kerberos ticket is issued.

Procedure

  1. To initialize the IdM API, include the following code in the beginning of your script:

    from ipalib import api
    
    api.bootstrap(context="server")
    api.finalize()
  2. To establish a connection with the LDAP server, add the following logic to your script after API initialization:

    if api.env.in_server:
        api.Backend.ldap2.connect()
    else:
        api.Backend.rpcclient.connect()
    • If you run your script on the IdM server, this logic allows your script to connect directly to LDAP server.
    • If you run your script on the IdM client, the script uses the Remote Procedure Call (RPC) client.

Additional resources

2.2. Running IdM API commands

You can run IdM API commands within your script. To run an IdM API command, use the api.Command structure in your script.

Prerequisites

Procedure

  • For example, to list the information about user, include the following code in your script:

    api.Command.user_show("user_name", no_members=True, all=True)

    In this example, you also pass arguments and options to the command user_show.

Additional resources

  • For the full list of the api.Command commands, see IPA API Commands web source.

2.3. IdM API commands output structure

Each IdM API command has four sections for its output. These sections contain various information about the command execution.

IdM API output structure

result
This section provides the result of the command. It contains various details about the command operation, such as options and arguments which were passed to the command.
values
This section indicates the argument for the command.
messages
This section shows various information which ipa tool provides after the execution of the command.
summary
This section shows the summary for the operation.

In this example, your script executes the add_user command:

api.Command.user_add("test", givenname="a", sn="b")

The output structure of that command is below:

{
    "result": {
        "displayname": ["a b"],
        "objectclass": [
            "top",
            "person",
            "organizationalperson",
            "inetorgperson",
            "inetuser",
            "posixaccount",
            "krbprincipalaux",
            "krbticketpolicyaux",
            "ipaobject",
            "ipasshuser",
            "ipaSshGroupOfPubKeys",
            "mepOriginEntry",
            "ipantuserattrs",
        ],
        "cn": ["a b"],
        "gidnumber": ["1445000004"],
        "mail": ["test@ipa.test"],
        "krbprincipalname": [ipapython.kerberos.Principal("test@IPA.TEST")],
        "loginshell": ["/bin/sh"],
        "initials": ["ab"],
        "uid": ["test"],
        "uidnumber": ["1445000004"],
        "sn": ["b"],
        "krbcanonicalname": [ipapython.kerberos.Principal("test@IPA.TEST")],
        "homedirectory": ["/home/test"],
        "givenname": ["a"],
        "gecos": ["a b"],
        "ipauniqueid": ["9f9c1df8-5073-11ed-9a56-fa163ea98bb3"],
        "mepmanagedentry": [
            ipapython.dn.DN("cn=test,cn=groups,cn=accounts,dc=ipa,dc=test")
        ],
        "has_password": False,
        "has_keytab": False,
        "memberof_group": ["ipausers"],
        "dn": ipapython.dn.DN("uid=test,cn=users,cn=accounts,dc=ipa,dc=test"),
    },
    "value": "test",
    "messages": [
        {
            "type": "warning",
            "name": "VersionMissing",
            "message": "API Version number was not sent, forward compatibility not guaranteed. Assuming server's API version, 2.248",
            "code": 13001,
            "data": {"server_version": "2.248"},
        }
    ],
    "summary": 'Added user "test"',
}

2.4. Listing the IdM API commands and parameters

You can list information about the IdM API command and its parameters by using the commands command_show and param_show.

Prerequisites

Procedure

  1. To display information about user_add command, execute the following code:

    api.Command.command_show("user_add")

    The result for this command is as follows:

    {
        "result": {
            "name": "user_add",
            "version": "1",
            "full_name": "user_add/1",
            "doc": "Add a new user.",
            "topic_topic": "user/1",
            "obj_class": "user/1",
            "attr_name": "add",
        },
        "value": "user_add",
        "messages": [
            {
                "type": "warning",
                "name": "VersionMissing",
                "message": "API Version number was not sent, forward compatibility not guaranteed. Assuming server's API version, 2.251",
                "code": 13001,
                "data": {"server_version": "2.251"},
            }
        ],
        "summary": None,
    }
  2. To display information about the givenname parameter for the user_add command, execute the following code:

    api.Command.param_show("user_add", name="givenname")

    The result for this command is as follows:

    {
        "result": {
            "name": "givenname",
            "type": "str",
            "positional": False,
            "cli_name": "first",
            "label": "First name",
        },
        "value": "givenname",
        "messages": [
            {
                "type": "warning",
                "name": "VersionMissing",
                "message": "API Version number was not sent, forward compatibility not guaranteed. Assuming server's API version, 2.251",
                "code": 13001,
                "data": {"server_version": "2.251"},
            }
        ],
        "summary": None,
    }

2.5. Using batches for executing IdM API commands

You can execute multiple IdM API commands with a single call by using the batch command. The following example shows how to create multiple IdM users.

Prerequisites

Procedure

  • To create 100 IdM users in one batch, include the following code into your script:

    batch_args = []
    for i in range(100):
        user_id = "user%i" % i
        args = [user_id]
        kw = {
            'givenname' : user_id,
            'sn' : user_id
        }
        batch_args.append({
            'method' : 'user_add',
            'params' : [args, kw]
        })
    ret = api.Command.batch(*batch_args)

2.6. IdM API context

IdM API context determines which plug-ins the API uses. Specify the context during API initialization. For example on how to use the IdM API context, see Initializing IdM API.

IdM API context

server
Set of plug-ins which validate arguments and options that are passed to IdM API commands for execution.
client
Set of plug-ins which validate arguments and options that are forwarded to the IdM server for execution.
installer
Set of plug-ins which are specific to the installation process.
updates
Set of plug-ins which are specific to the updating process.

Chapter 3. IdM API and IdM CLI commands comparison

You can use the IdM API commands in the Python interactive console. The IdM API commands are different from the ipa tool commands.

IdM CLI and IdM API commands difference

Command naming structure
The ipa CLI commands use the hyphen, as in user-add, but IdM API commands use the underscore instead, as in user_add.
Parameter naming
The parameters are different for IdM CLI commands and IdM API commands. For example, the IdM CLI user-add command has a parameter first but the IdM API user_add command has a parameter givenname.
Date format

The following date formats are available for IdM CLI:

  • %Y%m%d%H%M%SZ
  • %Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ
  • %Y-%m-%dT%H:%MZ
  • %Y-%m-%dZ
  • %Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%SZ
  • %Y-%m-%d %H:%MZ

    Additionally, the IdM API can use the Python built-in class datetime.

Useful CLI tools

  • The console starts an interactive Python console, which you can use to run IdM API commands.
  • The help command shows description of the topics and the commands and includes various examples.
  • The show-mapping command shows the mapping between CLI parameter names and LDAP attributes.

Chapter 4. IdM API example scenarios

The following examples provide you with the common scenarios of using IdM API commands.

4.1. Managing users with IdM API commands

The examples below show common scenarios of how you can manage IdM users with the IdM API commands.

Examples of managing IdM users with IdM API commands

Creating an IdM user

In this example, you create an IdM user with the username exampleuser and the supported user one-time password (OTP) authentication.

api.Command.user_add("exampleuser", givenname="Example", sn="User", ipauserauthtype="otp")
Showing an IdM user information

In this example, you display all available information about the IdM user exampleuser.

api.Command.user_show("exampleuser", all=True)
Modifying an IdM user

In this example, you change the e-mail address for the IdM user exampleuser.

api.Command.user_mod("exampleuser", mail="exampleuser@example.org")
Searching for an IdM user

In this example, you search for all IdM users that match exampleuser in the IdM group admins.

api.Command.user_find(criteria="exampleuser", in_group="admins")
Deleting an IdM user

In this example, you delete the IdM user exampleuser.

api.Command.user_del("exampleuser")

To restore the user in future, use the preserve option. If you use this option, you can restore the user with the user_undel command.

Adding and removing a certificate for an IdM user

You can add or remove Base64 encoded certificate for a user with the user_add_cert and user_remove_cert commands. In this example, you add a certificate for a user exampleuser.

args = ["exampleuser"]
kw = {
    "usercertificate": """
      MIICYzCCAcygAwIBAgIBADANBgkqhkiG9w0BAQUFADAuMQswCQYDVQQGEwJVUzEMMAoGA1UEC
      hMDSUJNMREwDwYDVQQLEwhMb2NhbCBDQTAeFw05OTEyMjIwNTAwMDBaFw0wMDEyMjMwNDU5NT
      laMC4xCzAJBgNVBAYTAlVTMQwwCgYDVQQKEwNJQk0xETAPBgNVBAsTCExvY2FsIENBMIGfMA0
      GCSqGSIb3DQEBATOPA4GNADCBiQKBgQD2bZEo7xGaX2/0GHkrNFZvlxBou9v1Jmt/PDiTMPve
      8r9FeJAQ0QdvFST/0JPQYD20rH0bimdDLgNdNynmyRoS2S/IInfpmf69iyc2G0TPyRvmHIiOZ
      bdCd+YBHQi1adkj17NDcWj6S14tVurFX73zx0sNoMS79q3tuXKrDsxeuwIDAQABo4GQMIGNME
      sGCVUdDwGG+EIBDQQ+EzxHZW5lcmF0ZWQgYnkgdGhlIFNlY3VyZVdheSBTZWN1cml0eSBTZXJ
      2ZXIgZm9yIE9TLzM5MCAoUkFDRikwDgYDVR0PAQH/BAQDAgAGMA8GA1UdEwEB/wQFMAMBAf8w
      HQYDVR0OBBYEFJ3+ocRyCTJw067dLSwr/nalx6YMMA0GCSqGSIb3DQEBBQUAA4GBAMaQzt+za
      j1GU77yzlr8iiMBXgdQrwsZZWJo5exnAucJAEYQZmOfyLiMD6oYq+ZnfvM0n8G/Y79q8nhwvu
      xpYOnRSAXFp6xSkrIOeZtJMY1h00LKp/JX3Ng1svZ2agE126JHsQ0bhzN5TKsYfbwfTwfjdWA
      Gy6Vf1nYi/rO+ryMO
    """
}

api.Command.user_add_cert(*args, **kw)
Enabling and disabling an IdM user

You can enable or disable an IdM user with the user_enable and user_disable commands. In this example, you disable the IdM user exampleuser.

api.Command.user_disable("exampleuser")

4.2. Managing groups with IdM API commands

The examples below show common scenarios of how you can manage IdM groups with the IdM API commands.

Examples of managing IdM users with IdM API commands

Creating an IdM group

In this example, you create an IdM group developers, with a specified Group ID number.

api.Command.group_add("developers", gidnumber=500, description="Developers")
Adding a user as a member to an IdM group

In this example, you add the admin user to the developers group.

api.Command.group_add_member("developers", user="admin")
Adding a service as a member to an IdM group

In this example, you add the HTTP/server.ipa.test service to the developers group.

api.Command.group_add_member("developers", service="HTTP/server.ipa.test")
Adding a group as a subgroup to an IdM group

In this example, you add another group, admins, to the developers group.

api.Command.group_add_member("developers", group="admins")
Adding IdM group managers

In this example, you add the bob user as a group manager for the developers group.

api.Command.group_add_member_manager("developers", user="bob")
Finding an IdM group

You can search for an IdM group using various parameters. In this example, you find all groups that the user bob is managing.

api.Command.group_find(membermanager_user="bob")
Displaying IdM group information

In this example, you display group information about the developers group, without the members list.

api.Command.group_show("developers", no_members=True)
Modifying an IdM group

In this example, you convert a non-POSIX group testgroup to a POSIX group.

api.Command.group_mod("testgroup", posix=True)
Removing members from an IdM group

In this example, you remove the admin user from the developers group.

api.Command.group_remove_member("developers", user="admin")
Removing IdM group managers

In this example, you remove the user bob as a manager from the developers group.

api.Command.group_remove_member_manager("developers", user="bob")
Removing an IdM group

In this example, you remove the developers group.

api.Command.group_del("developers")

4.3. Managing access control with IdM API commands

The examples below show common scenarios of how you can manage access control with the IdM API commands.

Examples of managing access control with IdM API commands

Adding a permission for creating users

In this example, you add a permission for creating users.

api.Command.permission_add("Create users", ipapermright='add', type='user')
Adding a permission for managing group membership

In this example, you add a permission for adding users to groups.

api.Command.permission_add("Manage group membership", ipapermright='write', type='group', attrs="member")
Adding a privilege for the user creation process

In this example, you add a privilege for creating users, adding them to groups, and managing user certificates.

api.Command.permission_add("Create users", ipapermright='add', type='user')
api.Command.permission_add("Manage group membership", ipapermright='write', type='group', attrs="member")
api.Command.permission_add("Manage User certificates", ipapermright='write', type='user', attrs='usercertificate')

api.Command.privilege_add("User creation")
api.Command.privilege_add_permission("User creation", permission="Create users")
api.Command.privilege_add_permission("User creation", permission="Manage group membership")
api.Command.privilege_add_permission("User creation", permission="Manage User certificates")
Adding a role using a privilege

In this example, you add a role using the privilege created in the previous example.

api.Command.role_add("usermanager", description="Users manager")
api.Command.role_add_privilege("usermanager", privilege="User creation")
Assigning a role to a user

In this example, you assign the usermanager role to the user bob.

api.Command.role_add_member("usermanager", user="bob")
Assigning a role to a group

In this example, you assign the usermanager role to the managers group.

api.Command.role_add_member("usermanager", group="managers")

4.4. Managing sudo rules with IdM API commands

The examples below show common scenarios of how you can manage sudo rules with the IdM API commands.

Examples of managing sudo rules with IdM API commands

Creating a sudo rule

In this example, you create a sudo rule that holds time change commands.

api.Command.sudorule_add("timechange")
Creating a sudo command

In this example, you create the date sudo command.

api.Command.sudocmd_add("/usr/bin/date")
Attaching a sudo command to a sudo rule

In this example, you attach the date sudo command to the timechange sudo rule.

api.Command.sudorule_add_allow_command("timechange", sudocmd="/usr/bin/date")
Creating and attaching groups of sudo commands

In this example, you create multiple sudo commands, add them to a newly created timecmds sudo command group, and attach the group to the timechange sudo rule.

api.Command.sudocmd_add("/usr/bin/date")
api.Command.sudocmd_add("/usr/bin/timedatectl")
api.Command.sudocmd_add("/usr/sbin/hwclock")
api.Command.sudocmdgroup_add("timecmds")
api.Command.sudocmdgroup_add_member("timecmds", sudocmd="/usr/bin/date")
api.Command.sudocmdgroup_add_member("timecmds", sudocmd="/usr/bin/timedatectl")
api.Command.sudocmdgroup_add_member("timecmds", sudocmd="/usr/sbin/hwclock")
api.Command.sudorule_add_allow_command("timechange", sudocmdgroup="timecmds")
Denying sudo commands

In this example, you deny the rm command to be run as sudo.

api.Command.sudocmd_add("/usr/bin/rm")
api.Command.sudorule_add_deny_command("timechange", sudocmd="/usr/bin/rm")
Adding a user to a sudo rule

In this example, you add the user bob to the timechange sudo rule.

api.Command.sudorule_add_user("timechange", user="bob")
Making a sudo rule available only for a specified host

In this example, you restrict the timechange rule to be available only for the client.ipa.test host.

api.Command.sudorule_add_host("timechange", host="client.ipa.test")
Setting sudo rules to be run as a different user

By default, sudo rules are run as root. In this example, you set the timechange sudo rule to be run as the alice user instead.

api.Command.sudorule_add_runasuser("timechange", user="alice")
Setting sudo rules to be run as a group

In this example, you set the timechange sudo rule to be run as the sysadmins group.

api.Command.sudorule_add_runasgroup("timechange", group="sysadmins")
Setting a sudo option for a sudo rule

In this example, you set a sudo option for the timechange sudo rule.

api.Command.sudorule_add_option("timechange", ipasudoopt="logfile='/var/log/timechange_log'")
Enabling a sudo rule

In this example, you enable the timechange sudo rule.

api.Command.sudorule_enable("timechange")
Disabling a sudo rule

In this example, you disable the timechange sudo rule.

api.Command.sudorule_disable("timechange")

4.5. Managing Host-based Access Control with IdM API commands

The examples below show common scenarios of how you can manage Host-based Access Control (HBAC) with the IdM API commands.

Examples of managing HBAC with IdM API commands

Creating an HBAC rule

In this example, you create a base rule that will handle SSH service access.

api.Command.hbacrule_add("sshd_rule")
Adding a user to an HBAC rule

In this example, you add the user john to the sshd_rule HBAC rule.

api.Command.hbacrule_add_user("sshd_rule", user="john")
Adding a group to an HBAC rule

In this example, you add the group developers to the sshd_rule HBAC rule.

api.Command.hbacrule_add_user("sshd_rule", group="developers")
Removing a user from an HBAC rule

In this example, you remove the user john from the sshd_rule HBAC rule.

api.Command.hbacrule_remove_user("sshd_rule", user="john")
Registering a new target HBAC service

You must register a target service before you can attach it to an HBAC rule. In this example, you register the chronyd service.

api.Command.hbacsvc_add("chronyd")
Attaching a registered service to an HBAC rule

In this example, you attach the sshd service to the sshd_rule HBAC rule. This service is registered in IPA by default, so there is no need to register it using hbacsvc_add beforehand.

api.Command.hbacrule_add_service("sshd_rule", hbacsvc="sshd")
Adding a host to an HBAC rule

In this example, you add workstations host group to the sshd_rule HBAC rule.

api.Command.hbacrule_add_host("sshd_rule", hostgroup="workstations")
Testing an HBAC rule

In this example, you use the sshd_rule HBAC rule against the workstation.ipa.test host. It targets the service sshd that comes from the user john.

api.Command.hbactest(user="john", targethost="workstation.ipa.test", service="sshd", rules="sshd_rule")
Enabling an HBAC rule

In this example, you enable the sshd_rule HBAC rule.

api.Command.hbacrule_enable("sshd_rule")
Disabling an HBAC rule

In this example, you disable the sshd_rule HBAC rule.

api.Command.hbacrule_disable("sshd_rule")

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