Extension:OpenID

This is the manual of the OpenID extension (in svn trunk) which is suited for MediaWiki trunk and PHP 5.3.x. If you need older deprecated versions, please consult one of the [ archived pages].

The extension makes a MediaWiki installation OpenID 2.0-aware and lets users log in using their OpenID identity - a special URL - instead of (or as an alternative to) standard username/password log in. In that way, the MediaWiki acts as Relying part (RP) = OpenID consumer As an option, it also allows the MediaWiki to act as OpenID provider, so that users with an account on that wiki can use their userpage URL as OpenID with which they can log in to other OpenID-aware web sites.

Typical uses of OpenID and the OpenID extension for MediaWiki are:
 * Single-signon between multiple affiliated wikis and other sites.
 * Single-signon across the Internet. Many sites support OpenID, including Google, Yahoo, and Verisign. Allowing users to login with OpenID means one less step for them to create an account and to contribute to your wiki.
 * Distributed reputation. Logging into a new wiki with the same username as on another wiki does not prove that they are the same person, but logging in with OpenID from the old wiki does. In that way, OpenID can help building a distributed reputation across different sites.

It as been in use for years on several large wikis without known security problems. However, no software is completely bug-free or secure, and there's no guarantee that this software will work as advertised.

Pre-requisites and dependencies
The OpenID extension version comes with a tiny "Makefile" which creates a sub directory in your extensions path, and downloads and patches the required php-openid library in one go. Run "make" in you extensions folder; it satisfies the "requisite 1" which reading you can skip.

requisite 1: php-openid library
The extension depends on the OpenIDEnabled.com PHP library for OpenID, which in turn depends on the OpenIDEnabled.com PHP library for YADIS. This package is called "php-openid library" here. The step of downloading, installing and patching php-openid is automated by running "make" in your extensions folder.

requisite 2: PHP extensions or modules
You need to install a few additional dependencies as PHP extensions (or recompile your PHP ) if these are not part of your standard PHP installation. When running a server with OpenSUSE you often need to add via YaST or manually at least
 * gmp
 * mcrypt
 * curl
 * openssl

You can resolve the missing dependencies one by one: use YaST, add module, restart configure - or check your system's manual and the PHP documentaion how to install php5-modules. As an alternative, you can recompile PHP until the ./configure command is fully statisfied and finishes without errors. The php-openid OpenIDEnabled documentation README tells you more about the dependencies.

Installation
The installation is explained for OpenID extension versions 0.925-beta (and later) suited for MediaWiki trunk and contemporary PHP.

1. make sure that you have the pre-requisite 2. Pre-requisite 1 will be downloaded by the makefile during step 3.

2. download from svn into a new subdirectory $IP/extensions/OpenID

cd $IP/extensions $IP/extensions# svn checkout http://svn.wikimedia.org/svnroot/mediawiki/trunk/extensions/OpenID OpenID

3. goto the OpenID directory and run make to download the library and to apply patches for PHP 5.3. or later cd $IP/extensions/OpenID $IP/extensions/OpenID# make 4. In your MediaWiki $IP/LocalSettings.php, at the bottom of the file add

5. Run update.php script in in your MediaWiki maintenance folder $IP/maintenance to create necessary tables in MediaWiki database. $IP/maintenance# php update.php

It should work out of the box, but you'll almost definitely want to set the trust root and access controls (see Configuration below).

Logging in using OpenID (MediaWiki as OpenID consumer)
To log in to the wiki using an OpenID, go to the Special:OpenIDLogin page on the wiki. Add the OpenID identity URL to the login box, and click "Verify".

This should take you to the OpenID server for your identity, where you can either log in (if you're not already) or approve allowing the wiki to use your OpenID for logging in. If the OpenID server supports the Simple Registration Extension ('sreg'), it may also ask you whether to share personal information like your preferred nickname, real name, email address, etc. Choose as you wish.

Once you're logged in to your OpenID server, and you've finished approving the login, you should return to the wiki from whence you came automatically.

Every user who logs in with an OpenID identity for the first time will be assigned a "fake" username in the local wiki. (This just makes things work better.)

If you've allowed your nickname to be passed to the wiki, and it's not already taken, and it's a legal MediaWiki user name, then it should use that for your login automatically. If not, the extension will try to make up some good candidate usernames for you and present you with a choice. If you don't like any of them, you can make up your own.

After you're logged in, you can edit, read, write, and do all the other things that MediaWiki users do. Since you've got a "real" account, you'll also have a home page and a message page and such. It should also be possible to assign extra permissions ('sysop', 'bureaucrat') to the account. You can log out as normal.

To log back in, use the OpenIDLogin page again. Don't try to login using the regular login page, since it won't work.

You can log in with an Interwiki abbreviation of an URL right now, but that's experimental and may disappear in later versions. Don't fall in love with this convenient, useful feature. You may get hurt.

Using a MediaWiki account as an OpenID (MediaWiki as OpenID Server)
MediaWikis with the extension act as OpenID consumers (clients). They also can work as OpenID server, but only if the Wiki adminstrator has enabled this feature.

To log in to other OpenID-aware sites (consumer) with your MediaWiki account (OpenID server):
 * if, and only if you have a user account, and
 * if, and only if you have manually set a password to your account via Reset Password (link in your User profile preferences), and
 * if the user page exists (has some content)

then your OpenID identity URL is the full URL of your non-empty MediaWiki user page http://www.server.org/wiki/index.php/User:MySelf

When you use this OpenID with another site, logging in should take you to the wiki site. You may need to enter your password if you're not already logged in (by cookie, or by session).

You'll then be asked if you want to let the other site log you in, and if you want the MediaWiki wiki to share your personal information (nickname, email, full name, language) with the other site. Choose what feels comfortable to you. For some sites, you may not be asked; see configuration below.

Once you've finished deciding, the other site will finish the login.

Configuration
Some settings can be configured in the LocalSettings.php file. Place your parameters after the require_once line for the OpenID extension, otherwise the default values will be in force.

OpenID servers (where you can register an OpenID)
The following non-comprehensive list of OpenID services shows those with which the extension has been tested in the past. All have free signup for identities.

"It does not work": bugs, common pitfalls

 * Please check our First aid checklist before asking for help. Report a bug: see info box.


 * one MediaWiki acting as OpenID server Bob does not work with another or same MediaWiki acting as OpenID consumer Alice on the same server. Advice for the moment: use two different servers while playing with the extension
 * when you want to log in to your OpenID-consuming MediaWiki Alice as user X:
 * make sure that your are not logged in to the OpenID identity server Bob as another user Z ; otherwise you will see an error, which is intended.
 * I recommend you log out every persona you may have on server Bob while testing the extension
 * clear your browser cache of all Bob-related cookies, and session cookie.
 * The OpenID authentication process flow will redirect you from Alice to Bob. Bob will then prompt you to log in and hopefully everything works.

information for legacy version users
Please consult [ older] page versions for more detailed information and special cases, or check our |discussion page.
 * Upgrade from OpenID version 0.3 →
 * Installation using sqlite →
 * Installation issues for Debian →
 * Upgrade from older versions →