Federated Identity
Federated identity lets applications trust user authentication performed by an external identity provider instead of storing local passwords. Protocols such as SAML, OpenID Connect, and SCIM provisioning exchange trusted assertions, tokens, and directory attributes.
Technical Architecture & Deep-Dive
B2B SaaS commonly federates with customer IdPs while still maintaining local tenant records. You map external subject IDs to internal user rows, sync groups to roles, and enforce MFA policies at the IdP.
API security requires translating federation outcomes into machine-readable auth: validated ID tokens, signed session cookies, or service-specific access tokens with tenant isolation. Never trust unverified email domains or unsigned SAML responses.
Key Architectural Benefits
Implement Federated Identity at the Edge
Deploy lightweight API aggregation, edge caching, and secret injection in minutes without Docker containers or complex servers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q:What is the difference between federation and SSO?
SSO is the user experience of one login for many apps. Federation is the trust framework between organizations and IdPs that makes SSO work.
Related Architecture Concepts
Single sign-on (SSO) lets a user authenticate once with an identity provider and access multiple applications without signing in again. SSO protocols such as SAML, OpenID Connect, and Kerberos exchange trust artifacts that downstream apps validate to create local sessions.
SAML single sign-on (SSO) is an XML-based federation protocol where an identity provider (IdP) authenticates the user and sends a signed SAML assertion to a service provider (SP). The SP trusts the assertion to create a session without handling the user password directly.
OpenID Connect (OIDC) is an identity layer built on OAuth 2.0 that lets applications verify who a user is. Alongside an access token, the identity provider issues a signed ID token, a JWT containing claims such as the user ID, email, and authentication time.
OAuth 2.0 is an authorization framework that lets an application obtain limited access to a user account on another service without handling the user password. The user approves requested scopes, and the application receives an access token it uses to call the service API.
Ready-to-Use Edge Recipes
To stitch firebase with clerk session bootstrap, use one RealComposer pipeline with parallel steps. Clerk session and Firebase FCM registration merged at startup. Your React Native app makes one request instead of several sequential upstream calls.
To combine firebase auth user with supabase profile endpoint, use one RealComposer pipeline with parallel steps. Firebase ID token lookup and Supabase profile row merged at edge. Your React / Flutter / Mobile app makes one request instead of several sequential upstream calls.
To solve call clerk backend api from client side, never execute unauthenticated requests or embed private tokens directly in client bundles. RealComposer acts as a sub-10ms edge gateway running on Cloudflare Workers that securely injects credentials from your Secret Vault, normalizes responses, and prevents unauthorized API usage. Route calls through your RealComposer edge URL to guarantee complete privacy, robust origin validation, and low mobile latency.