Django Authentication Using LDAP
This is a Django authentication backend that authenticates against an LDAP service. Configuration can be as simple as a single distinguished name template, but there are many rich configuration options for working with users, groups, and permissions.
Documentation: https://django-auth-ldap.readthedocs.io/
Repository: https://github.com/django-auth-ldap/django-auth-ldap
License: BSD 2-Clause
Installation
Install the package with pip:
$ pip install django-auth-ldapIt requires python-ldap >= 3.1. You’ll need the OpenLDAP libraries and headers available on your system.
To use the auth backend in a Django project, add 'django_auth_ldap.backend.LDAPBackend' to AUTHENTICATION_BACKENDS. Do not add anything to INSTALLED_APPS.
AUTHENTICATION_BACKENDS = [
'django_auth_ldap.backend.LDAPBackend',
]LDAPBackend should work with custom user models, but it does assume that a database is present.
Example Configuration
Here is a complete example configuration from settings.py that exercises nearly all of the features. In this example, we’re authenticating against a global pool of users in the directory, but we have a special area set aside for Django groups (ou=django,ou=groups,dc=example,dc=com). Remember that most of this is optional if you just need simple authentication. Some default settings and arguments are included for completeness.
import ldap
from django_auth_ldap.config import LDAPSearch, GroupOfNamesType
# Baseline configuration.
AUTH_LDAP_SERVER_URI = 'ldap://ldap.example.com'
AUTH_LDAP_BIND_DN = 'cn=django-agent,dc=example,dc=com'
AUTH_LDAP_BIND_PASSWORD = 'phlebotinum'
AUTH_LDAP_USER_SEARCH = LDAPSearch(
'ou=users,dc=example,dc=com',
ldap.SCOPE_SUBTREE,
'(uid=%(user)s)',
)
# Or:
# AUTH_LDAP_USER_DN_TEMPLATE = 'uid=%(user)s,ou=users,dc=example,dc=com'
# Set up the basic group parameters.
AUTH_LDAP_GROUP_SEARCH = LDAPSearch(
'ou=django,ou=groups,dc=example,dc=com',
ldap.SCOPE_SUBTREE,
'(objectClass=groupOfNames)',
)
AUTH_LDAP_GROUP_TYPE = GroupOfNamesType(name_attr='cn')
# Simple group restrictions
AUTH_LDAP_REQUIRE_GROUP = 'cn=enabled,ou=django,ou=groups,dc=example,dc=com'
AUTH_LDAP_DENY_GROUP = 'cn=disabled,ou=django,ou=groups,dc=example,dc=com'
# Populate the Django user from the LDAP directory.
AUTH_LDAP_USER_ATTR_MAP = {
'first_name': 'givenName',
'last_name': 'sn',
'email': 'mail',
}
AUTH_LDAP_USER_FLAGS_BY_GROUP = {
'is_active': 'cn=active,ou=django,ou=groups,dc=example,dc=com',
'is_staff': 'cn=staff,ou=django,ou=groups,dc=example,dc=com',
'is_superuser': 'cn=superuser,ou=django,ou=groups,dc=example,dc=com',
}
# This is the default, but I like to be explicit.
AUTH_LDAP_ALWAYS_UPDATE_USER = True
# Use LDAP group membership to calculate group permissions.
AUTH_LDAP_FIND_GROUP_PERMS = True
# Cache distinguished names and group memberships for an hour to minimize
# LDAP traffic.
AUTH_LDAP_CACHE_TIMEOUT = 3600
# Keep ModelBackend around for per-user permissions and maybe a local
# superuser.
AUTHENTICATION_BACKENDS = (
'django_auth_ldap.backend.LDAPBackend',
'django.contrib.auth.backends.ModelBackend',
)Contributing
If you’d like to contribute, the best approach is to send a well-formed pull request, complete with tests and documentation. Pull requests should be focused: trying to do more than one thing in a single request will make it more difficult to process.
If you have a bug or feature request you can try logging an issue.
There’s no harm in creating an issue and then submitting a pull request to resolve it. This can be a good way to start a conversation and can serve as an anchor point.
3 maintainers
Metadata
3 maintainers
Release files for django-auth-ldap 5.4.0
For a detailed explanation of source distributions (sdists) and built distributions (wheels), please see the package formats documentation.
Source distribution (sdist)
| File | Size | Uploaded | Provenance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| django_auth_ldap-5.4.0.tar.gz | 56.4 kB | With provenance | Details |
Built distribution (wheel)
| File | Interpreter | ABI | Platform | Reset |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| django_auth_ldap-5.4.0-py3-none-any.whl | Python 3 | none | any | Details |
Total release size: 77.3 kB
Release files / django_auth_ldap-5.4.0.tar.gz
| Download URL | django_auth_ldap-5.4.0.tar.gz |
|---|---|
| Size | 56.4 kB |
| Tags | Source |
|
SHA-256 checksum How to use checksums |
66740dbfba0f41ea6c030bc53974787cbc2f27ed1f3796ebf9fe0cbc9917605e
|
|
BLAKE2b-256 checksum How to use checksums |
bd3aff3c0ac9cd315a4b872b0c913463643ce2df1306b10db1e054136edf579a
|
| Upload date | |
|
Uploaded using Trusted Publishing? What is trusted publishing? |
Yes |
| Uploaded via |
twine/7.0.0 CPython/3.13.14
|
Provenance
Provenance describes where a file came from. On PyPI, provenance is shared via attestations, which provide a verifiable record of the build or publishing details. View details, limitations and caveats.
PyPI Publish Attestation
PyPI verified that this artifact, at this checksum, originated from the publisher listed below.
Signed by GitHub Actions, verified by PyPI on Oct 20, 2026.
Transparency logRelease files / django_auth_ldap-5.4.0-py3-none-any.whl
| Download URL | django_auth_ldap-5.4.0-py3-none-any.whl |
|---|---|
| Size | 20.9 kB |
| Tags | Python 3 |
|
SHA-256 checksum How to use checksums |
8a8e38add49be404e885e94216ff8e7611e11e55bf6cb6576c3b560a6a25dc20
|
|
BLAKE2b-256 checksum How to use checksums |
f69593bf708f2cba96e5c2ab6aabc3694c7c3dbdd25df1461af2e16a09d1bce8
|
| Upload date | |
|
Uploaded using Trusted Publishing? What is trusted publishing? |
Yes |
| Uploaded via |
twine/7.0.0 CPython/3.13.14
|
Provenance
Provenance describes where a file came from. On PyPI, provenance is shared via attestations, which provide a verifiable record of the build or publishing details. View details, limitations and caveats.
PyPI Publish Attestation
PyPI verified that this artifact, at this checksum, originated from the publisher listed below.
Signed by GitHub Actions, verified by PyPI on Oct 20, 2026.
Transparency logSecurity for django-auth-ldap 5.4.0
Provenance
Provenance describes where a file came from. On PyPI, provenance is shared via attestations, which provide a verifiable record of the build or publishing details. View details, limitations and caveats.
Full provenance
All 2 files in this release have been uploaded with provenance metadata.
Attestation for django_auth_ldap-5.4.0.tar.gz
PyPI Publish Attestation
PyPI verified that this artifact, at this checksum, originated from the publisher listed below.
Signed by GitHub Actions, verified by PyPI on Oct 20, 2026.
Transparency logA note on package security
PyPI is a repository for distributing packages, not a service for auditing them. While third-party security researchers and our staff do their best to detect and remove malicious packages, PyPI cannot guarantee the quality, security or suitability of any given package.
