# Setting up authentication

You can delegate in SonarQube the authentication to GitLab by using one of the following provisioning modes:

* Just-in-Time
* Automatic (starting from the [Developer Edition](https://www.sonarsource.com/plans-and-pricing/developer/))

You need the global Administer System permission in SonarQube to set up the authentication delegation.

{% hint style="info" %}
When you set up GitLab authentication and provisioning, existing manual users are not removed and you cannot edit their group membership or permissions anymore. For security reasons, we recommend that you deactivate them: see [deactivating-users](https://docs.sonarsource.com/sonarqube-server/10.7/instance-administration/user-management/deactivating-users "mention").
{% endhint %}

## Setup overview <a href="#overview" id="overview"></a>

The SonarQube Server uses a GitLab OAuth 2 application to manage the authentication delegation to GitLab and the user or group synchronization. SonarQube Server uses a "GitLab Configuration" record to access the GitLab application.

![](https://3272878703-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FI10pmJWeVVXYITlQJllp%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-fc39c7516b160652ed53700339cda85f328ecd11%2F3a1828ac51ea11b3cc63044e816ba7aa94e4600a.png?alt=media)

## Step 1: Create a GitLab application for authentication and provisioning <a href="#create-gitlab-app" id="create-gitlab-app"></a>

1. Create a GitLab OAuth 2 application: see the [GitLab documentation](https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/integration/oauth_provider.html).
2. Specify the following settings in your GitLab application:
   * **Name**: Your app’s name, such as SonarQube.
   * **Redirect URI**: `<Your SonarQube URL>/oauth2/callback/gitlab`. For example, <https://sonarqube.mycompany.com/oauth2/callback/gitlab>.
   * **Scopes**: Select `api`if you plan to enable group synchronization with Just-in-Time or enable automatic provisioning. Select `read_user` otherwise.
3. Save your application. GitLab takes you to the application’s page, where you can find your Application ID and Secret you’ll need in Step 2 below.

## Step 2: Configure in SonarQube GitLab authentication and provisioning <a href="#configure-in-sq" id="configure-in-sq"></a>

This step is different depending on your SonarQube Edition.

<details>

<summary>Community Edition</summary>

1. In SonarQube, go to Administration > Configuration > General Settings > Authentication > GitLab.
2. Select **Enabled**.
3. Fill the following fields with information from the GitLab application created in Step 1:
   * **GitLab URL**: Enter `https://gitlab.com` or your own GitLab server URL where applicable.
   * **Application ID**
   * **Secret**
4. Set the options you want to use:
   * **Allow users to sign up:** You can block new user sign-up with SonarQube. This may be useful if you want to manage user provisioning through an API.
   * **Synchronize user groups:** You can enable [just-in-time](https://docs.sonarsource.com/sonarqube-server/10.7/instance-administration/authentication/gitlab/provisioning-modes/just-in-time "mention"). See also [managing-jit-mode](https://docs.sonarsource.com/sonarqube-server/10.7/instance-administration/authentication/gitlab/managing-jit-mode "mention")

</details>

<details>

<summary>From the Developer Edition</summary>

1\. In SonarQube, go to **Administration > Configuration > General Settings > Authentication > GitLab**.

2\. In **GitLab configuration**, select **Create configuration**. The New **GitLab Configuration** dialog opens.

![](https://3272878703-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FI10pmJWeVVXYITlQJllp%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-316031227a9072d59b2fb0dbcffb5df4db5d9547%2F1bcf16d234a592fd6bb207ea69e9f15fdc2b6506.png?alt=media)

3\. Fill the fields of **GitLab configuration** with information from the GitLab application created in Step 1:

* * **Application ID**
  * **GitLab URL**: Enter `https://gitlab.com` or your own GitLab server URL where applicable.
  * **Secret**

4\. Select the **Synchronize user groups** option if you want to enable group synchronization at user login:

* * In Just-in-Time provisioning mode, this means that group synchronization is enabled.
  * In automatic provisioning mode, this means that users’ group memberships are also synchronized at user authentication time (and not only on an hourly basis).

5\. Select **Save configuration**. The configuration is created.

![](https://3272878703-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FI10pmJWeVVXYITlQJllp%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-8a53ea996ab5e99b5617fd7698c20716c397fc3b%2Fac841fe15a3b35bce943172a96c15b56c7b7ff93.png?alt=media)

6\. Select **Test configuration** to check the configuration. Correct it if necessary.

7\. You can now enable the automatic provisioning option by selecting **Automatic user, group, and permission provisioning**. See [managing-automatic-provisioning](https://docs.sonarsource.com/sonarqube-server/10.7/instance-administration/authentication/gitlab/managing-automatic-provisioning "mention").\
If you don’t want to use the automatic provisioning option, you can configure JIT provisioning options in the **Provisioning > Just-in-Time provisioning** section: see [managing-jit-mode](https://docs.sonarsource.com/sonarqube-server/10.7/instance-administration/authentication/gitlab/managing-jit-mode "mention").

</details>

## Related pages <a href="#related-pages" id="related-pages"></a>

* [just-in-time](https://docs.sonarsource.com/sonarqube-server/10.7/instance-administration/authentication/gitlab/provisioning-modes/just-in-time "mention")
* [automatic](https://docs.sonarsource.com/sonarqube-server/10.7/instance-administration/authentication/gitlab/provisioning-modes/automatic "mention")
* [disabling](https://docs.sonarsource.com/sonarqube-server/10.7/instance-administration/authentication/gitlab/disabling "mention")