For many REST APIs that are not defined by external standards, ForgeRock products provide common ways to access web resources and collections of resources. This section covers what is common across products. Adapt the examples to your types of resources and to your deployment.

POST /users?_action=create HTTP/1.1
Host: example.com
Accept: application/json
Content-Length: ...
Content-Type: application/json
{ JSON resource }
  

PUT /users/some-id HTTP/1.1
Host: example.com
Accept: application/json
Content-Length: ...
Content-Type: application/json
If-None-Match: *
{ JSON resource }
  

GET /users/some-id HTTP/1.1
Host: example.com
Accept: application/json
  

PUT /users/some-id HTTP/1.1
Host: example.com
Accept: application/json
Content-Length: ...
Content-Type: application/json
If-Match: _rev
{ JSON resource }
  

DELETE /users/some-id HTTP/1.1
Host: example.com
Accept: application/json
  

PATCH /users/some-id HTTP/1.1
Host: example.com
Accept: application/json
Content-Length: ...
Content-Type: application/json
If-Match: _rev
{ JSON array of patch operations }
  

{
    "fruits" : [ "orange", "apple" ]
}

{
    "operation" : "add",
    "field" : "/fruits/-",
    "value" : "pineapple"
}

{
    "fruits" : [ "orange", "apple", "pineapple" ]
}

[
  {
    "operation" : "copy",
    "field" : "/hot/potato",
    "value" : "/hot/tamale"
  }
]

[
  {
    "operation" : "increment",
    "field" : "/user/payment",
    "value" : "1000"
  }
]

[
  {
    "operation" : "move",
    "field" : "/hot/potato",
    "value" : "/hot/tamale"
  }
]

[
  {
    "operation" : "remove",
    "field" : "phoneNumber"
  }
]

[
  {
    "operation" : "replace",
    "field" : "/telephoneNumber",
    "value" : "+1 408 555 9999"
  }
]

{
    "fruits" : [ "apple", "orange", "kiwi", "lime" ],
}

[
  {
    "operation" : "remove",
    "field" : "/fruits/0",
    "value" : ""
  },
  {
    "operation" : "replace",
    "field" : "/fruits/1",
    "value" : "pineapple"
  }
]

[
  {
    "fruits" : [ "orange", "kiwi", "lime" ],
  }
]

[
  {
    "fruits" : [ "orange", "pineapple", "lime" ],
  }
]

[
  {
    "operation" : "transform",
    "field" : "/objects",
    "value" : {
      "script" : {
        "type" : "text/javascript",
        "file" : "something.js"
      }
    }
  },
]

GET /users?_queryFilter=true HTTP/1.1
Host: example.com
Accept: application/json
  

OpenDJ REST APIs can be versioned. If there is more than one version of the API, then you must select the version by setting a version header that specifies which version of the resource is requested:

Accept-API-Version: resource=version

Here, version is the value of the version field in the mapping configuration file for the API. For details, see "Mapping Configuration File" in the Reference.

If you do not set a version header, then the latest version is returned.

The default example configuration includes only one API, whose version is 1.0. In this case, the header can be omitted. If used in the examples below, the appropriate header would be Accept-API-Version: resource=1.0.

When you first try to read a resource that can be read as an LDAP entry with an anonymous search, you learn that you must authenticate as shown in the following example:

$ curl http://opendj.example.com:8080/api/users/bjensen
{
  "code" : 401,
  "reason" : "Unauthorized",
  "message" : "Unauthorized"
}
  

HTTP status code 401 indicates that the request requires user authentication.

To prevent OpenDJ directory server from requiring authentication, set the Rest2ldap endpoint authorization-mechanism to map anonymous HTTP requests to LDAP requests performed by an authorized user, as in the following example that uses Kirsten Vaughan's identity:

$ dsconfig \
 set-http-authorization-mechanism-prop \
 --hostname opendj.example.com \
 --port 4444 \
 --bindDN "cn=Directory Manager" \
 --bindPassword password \
 --mechanism-name "HTTP Anonymous" \
 --set enabled:true \
 --set user-dn:uid=kvaughan,ou=people,dc=example,dc=com \
 --no-prompt \
 --trustAll

$ dsconfig \
 set-http-endpoint-prop \
 --hostname opendj.example.com \
 --port 4444 \
 --bindDN "cn=Directory Manager" \
 --bindPassword password \
 --endpoint-name "/api" \
 --set authorization-mechanism:"HTTP Anonymous" \
 --no-prompt \
 --trustAll
  

By default, both the Rest2ldap endpoint and also the REST to LDAP gateway allow HTTP Basic authentication and HTTP header-based authentication in the style of OpenIDM. The authentication mechanisms translate HTTP authentication to LDAP authentication to the directory server.

When you install OpenDJ either with generated sample user entries or with data from Example.ldif, the relative distinguished name (DN) attribute for sample user entries is the user ID (uid) attribute. For example, the DN and user ID for Babs Jensen are:

dn: uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
uid: bjensen
  

Given this pattern in the user entries, the default REST to LDAP configuration translates the HTTP user name to the LDAP user ID. User entries are found directly under ou=People,dc=example,dc=com.^[1] In other words, Babs Jensen authenticates as bjensen (password: hifalutin) over HTTP. The corresponding LDAP bind DN is uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com.

HTTP Basic authentication works as shown in the following example:

$ curl \
 --user bjensen:hifalutin \
 http://opendj.example.com:8080/api/users/bjensen
{
  "_rev" : "000000009ce6c3c3",
  ...
}
  

The alternative HTTP Basic username:password@ form in the URL works as shown in the following example:

$ curl \
 http://bjensen:hifalutin@opendj.example.com:8080/api/users/bjensen
{
  "_rev" : "000000009ce6c3c3",
  ...
}
  

HTTP header based authentication works as shown in the following example:

$ curl \
 --header "X-OpenIDM-Username: bjensen" \
 --header "X-OpenIDM-Password: hifalutin" \
 http://opendj.example.com:8080/api/users/bjensen
{
  "_rev" : "000000009ce6c3c3",
  ...
}
  

If the directory data is laid out differently or if the user names are email addresses rather than user IDs, for example, then you must update the configuration in order for authentication to work.

The REST to LDAP gateway can also translate HTTP user name and password authentication to LDAP PLAIN SASL authentication. Likewise, the gateway falls back to proxied authorization as necessary, using a root DN authenticated connection to LDAP servers. See "REST to LDAP Configuration" in the Reference for details on all configuration choices.

To read a resource, perform an HTTP GET as shown in the following example:

$ curl \
 --request GET \
 --user kvaughan:bribery \
 http://opendj.example.com:8080/api/users/newuser
{
  "_id": "newuser",
  "_rev": "0000000023257469",
  "_schema": "frapi:opendj:rest2ldap:user:1.0",
  "_meta": {
    "created": "2016-06-24T12:20:45Z"
  },
  "userName": "newuser@example.com",
  "displayName": ["New User"],
  "name": {
    "givenName": "User",
    "familyName": "New"
  },
  "contactInformation": {
    "telephoneNumber": "+1 408 555 1212",
    "emailAddress": "newuser@example.com"
  },
  "manager": {
    "_id": "kvaughan",
    "displayName": "Kirsten Vaughan"
  }
}
  

To update a resource, perform an HTTP PUT with the changes to the resource. Use an If-Match header to ensure the resource already exists. For read-only fields, either include unmodified versions, or omit them from your updated version.

To update a resource regardless of the revision, use an If-Match: * header. The following example writes a new entry with an additional display name for Sam Carter:

$ curl \
 --request PUT \
 --user kvaughan:bribery \
 --header "Content-Type: application/json" \
 --header "If-Match: *" \
 --data '{
   "contactInformation": {
     "telephoneNumber": "+1 408 555 4798",
     "emailAddress": "scarter@example.com"
   },
   "name": {
     "familyName": "Carter",
     "givenName": "Sam"
   },
   "userName": "scarter@example.com",
   "displayName": ["Sam Carter", "Samantha Carter"],
   "groups": [
     {
       "_id": "Accounting Managers"
     }
   ],
   "manager": {
     "_id": "trigden",
     "displayName": "Torrey Rigden"
   },
  "uidNumber": 1002,
  "gidNumber": 1000,
  "homeDirectory": "/home/scarter"
 }' \
 http://opendj.example.com:8080/api/users/scarter
{
  "_id": "scarter",
  "_rev": "00000000e77ccae6",
  "_schema": "frapi:opendj:rest2ldap:posixUser:1.0",
  "_meta": {
    "lastModified": "2016-06-24T12:35:53Z"
  },
  "userName": "scarter@example.com",
  "displayName": ["Sam Carter", "Samantha Carter"],
  "name": {
    "givenName": "Sam",
    "familyName": "Carter"
  },
  "contactInformation": {
    "telephoneNumber": "+1 408 555 4798",
    "emailAddress": "scarter@example.com"
  },
  "uidNumber": 1002,
  "gidNumber": 1000,
  "homeDirectory": "/home/scarter",
  "groups": [{
    "_id": "Accounting Managers"
  }],
  "manager": {
    "_id": "trigden",
    "displayName": "Torrey Rigden"
  }
}
  

To update a resource only if the resource matches a particular version, use an If-Match: revision header as shown in the following example:

$ curl \
 --user kvaughan:bribery \
 http://opendj.example.com:8080/api/users/scarter?_fields=_rev
{"_id":"scarter","_rev":"revision"}

$ curl \
 --request PUT \
 --user kvaughan:bribery \
 --header "If-Match: revision" \
 --header "Content-Type: application/json" \
 --data '{
   "contactInformation": {
     "telephoneNumber": "+1 408 555 4798",
     "emailAddress": "scarter@example.com"
   },
   "name": {
     "familyName": "Carter",
     "givenName": "Sam"
   },
   "userName": "scarter@example.com",
   "displayName": ["Sam Carter", "Samantha Carter"],
   "groups": [
     {
       "_id": "Accounting Managers"
     }
   ],
   "manager": {
     "_id": "trigden",
     "displayName": "Torrey Rigden"
   },
  "uidNumber": 1002,
  "gidNumber": 1000,
  "homeDirectory": "/home/scarter"
 }' \
 http://opendj.example.com:8080/api/users/scarter
{
  "_id": "scarter",
  "_rev": "new-revision",
  "_schema": "frapi:opendj:rest2ldap:posixUser:1.0",
  "_meta": {
    "lastModified": "2016-06-24T12:35:53Z"
  },
  "userName": "scarter@example.com",
  "displayName": ["Sam Carter", "Samantha Carter"],
  "name": {
    "givenName": "Sam",
    "familyName": "Carter"
  },
  "contactInformation": {
    "telephoneNumber": "+1 408 555 4798",
    "emailAddress": "scarter@example.com"
  },
  "uidNumber": 1002,
  "gidNumber": 1000,
  "homeDirectory": "/home/scarter",
  "groups": [{
    "_id": "Accounting Managers"
  }],
  "manager": {
    "_id": "trigden",
    "displayName": "Torrey Rigden"
  }
}
  

To delete a resource, perform an HTTP DELETE on the resource URL. The operation returns the resource you deleted as shown in the following example:

$ curl \
 --request DELETE \
 --user kvaughan:bribery \
 http://opendj.example.com:8080/api/users/newuser
{
  "_id": "newuser",
  "_rev": "0000000023257469",
  "_schema": "frapi:opendj:rest2ldap:user:1.0",
  "_meta": {
    "created": "2016-06-24T12:20:45Z"
  },
  "userName": "newuser@example.com",
  "displayName": ["New User"],
  "name": {
    "givenName": "User",
    "familyName": "New"
  },
  "contactInformation": {
    "telephoneNumber": "+1 408 555 1212",
    "emailAddress": "newuser@example.com"
  },
  "manager": {
    "_id": "kvaughan",
    "displayName": "Kirsten Vaughan"
  }
}
  

To delete a resource only if the resource matches a particular version, use an If-Match: revision header as shown in the following example:

$ curl \
 --user kvaughan:bribery \
 http://opendj.example.com:8080/api/users/newuser?_fields=_rev
{"_id":"newuser","_rev":"revision"}

$ curl \
 --request DELETE \
 --user kvaughan:bribery \
 --header "If-Match: revision" \
 http://opendj.example.com:8080/api/users/newuser
{
  "_id": "newuser",
  "_rev": "revision",
  "_schema": "frapi:opendj:rest2ldap:user:1.0",
  "_meta": {
    "created": "2016-06-24T12:20:45Z"
  },
  "userName": "newuser@example.com",
  "displayName": ["New User"],
  "name": {
    "givenName": "User",
    "familyName": "New"
  },
  "contactInformation": {
    "telephoneNumber": "+1 408 555 1212",
    "emailAddress": "newuser@example.com"
  },
  "manager": {
    "_id": "kvaughan",
    "displayName": "Kirsten Vaughan"
  }
}
  

$ ldapsearch --port 1389 --baseDN uid=nbohr,ou=people,dc=example,dc=com "(&)" dn
dn: uid=nbohr,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com

dn: cn=quantum dot,uid=nbohr,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com

dn: cn=qubit generator,uid=nbohr,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
   

OpenDJ lets you patch JSON resources, updating part of the resource rather than replacing it. For example, you could change Babs Jensen's email address by issuing an HTTP PATCH request as in the following example:

$ curl \
 --user kvaughan:bribery \
 --request PATCH \
 --header "Content-Type: application/json" \
 --data '[
  {
    "operation": "replace",
    "field": "/contactInformation/emailAddress",
    "value": "babs@example.com"
  }
 ]' \
 http://opendj.example.com:8080/api/users/bjensen
{
  "_id": "bjensen",
  "_rev": "000000005253e02b",
  "_schema": "frapi:opendj:rest2ldap:posixUser:1.0",
  "_meta": {
    "lastModified": "2016-06-24T12:41:59Z"
  },
  "userName": "babs@example.com",
  "displayName": ["Barbara Jensen", "Babs Jensen"],
  "name": {
    "givenName": "Barbara",
    "familyName": "Jensen"
  },
  "description": "Original description",
  "contactInformation": {
    "telephoneNumber": "+1 408 555 1862",
    "emailAddress": "babs@example.com"
  },
  "uidNumber": 1076,
  "gidNumber": 1000,
  "homeDirectory": "/home/bjensen",
  "manager": {
    "_id": "trigden",
    "displayName": "Torrey Rigden"
  }
}
  

Notice in the example that the data sent specifies the type of patch operation, the field to change, and a value that depends on the field you change and on the operation. A single-valued field takes an object, boolean, string, or number depending on its type, whereas a multi-valued field takes an array of values. Getting the type wrong results in an error. Also notice that the patch data is itself an array. This makes it possible to patch more than one part of the resource by using a set of patch operations in the same request.

One key nuance in how a patch works with OpenDJ concerns multi-valued fields. Although JSON resources represent multi-valued fields as arrays, OpenDJ treats those values as sets. In other words, values in the field are unique, and the ordering of an array of values is not meaningful in the context of patch operations. If you reference array values by index, OpenDJ returns an error.^[2]

Perform patch operations as if arrays values were sets. The following example includes Barbara Jensen in a group by adding her to the set of members:

$ curl \
 --user kvaughan:bribery \
 --request PATCH \
 --header "Content-Type: application/json" \
 --data '[
  {
    "operation": "add",
    "field": "/members",
    "value": [
      {
        "_id": "bjensen"
      }
    ]
  }
 ]' \
 http://opendj.example.com:8080/api/groups/Directory%20Administrators
{
  "_id": "Directory Administrators",
  "_rev": "000000002d1087d8",
  "_schema": "frapi:opendj:rest2ldap:group:1.0",
  "_meta": {
    "lastModified": "2016-06-24T12:43:30Z"
  },
  "displayName": "Directory Administrators",
  "members": [{
    "_id": "kvaughan",
    "displayName": "Kirsten Vaughan"
  }, {
    "_id": "bjensen",
    "displayName": ["Barbara Jensen", "Babs Jensen"]
  }, {
    "_id": "rdaugherty",
    "displayName": "Robert Daugherty"
  }, {
    "_id": "hmiller",
    "displayName": "Harry Miller"
  }]
}
  

The following example removes Barbara Jensen from the group:

$ curl \
 --user kvaughan:bribery \
 --request PATCH \
 --header "Content-Type: application/json" \
 --data '[
  {
    "operation": "remove",
    "field": "/members",
    "value": [
      {
        "_id": "bjensen"
      }
    ]
  }
 ]' \
 http://opendj.example.com:8080/api/groups/Directory%20Administrators
{
  "_id": "Directory Administrators",
  "_rev": "000000008977793d",
  "_schema": "frapi:opendj:rest2ldap:group:1.0",
  "_meta": {
    "lastModified": "2016-06-24T12:44:35Z"
  },
  "displayName": "Directory Administrators",
  "members": [{
    "_id": "kvaughan",
    "displayName": "Kirsten Vaughan"
  }, {
    "_id": "rdaugherty",
    "displayName": "Robert Daugherty"
  }, {
    "_id": "hmiller",
    "displayName": "Harry Miller"
  }]
}
  

To change the value of more than one attribute in a patch operation, include multiple operations in the body of the JSON patch, as shown in the following example:

$ curl \
 --user kvaughan:bribery \
 --request PATCH \
 --header "Content-Type: application/json" \
 --data '[
  {
    "operation": "replace",
    "field": "/contactInformation/telephoneNumber",
    "value": "+1 408 555 9999"
  },
  {
    "operation": "add",
    "field": "/contactInformation/emailAddress",
    "value": "barbara.jensen@example.com"
  }
 ]' \
 http://opendj.example.com:8080/api/users/bjensen
{
  "_id": "bjensen",
  "_rev": "00000000c5a6e425",
  "_schema": "frapi:opendj:rest2ldap:posixUser:1.0",
  "_meta": {
    "lastModified": "2016-06-24T12:45:58Z"
  },
  "userName": "barbara.jensen@example.com",
  "displayName": ["Barbara Jensen", "Babs Jensen"],
  "name": {
    "givenName": "Barbara",
    "familyName": "Jensen"
  },
  "description": "Original description",
  "contactInformation": {
    "telephoneNumber": "+1 408 555 9999",
    "emailAddress": "barbara.jensen@example.com"
  },
  "uidNumber": 1076,
  "gidNumber": 1000,
  "homeDirectory": "/home/bjensen",
  "manager": {
    "_id": "trigden",
    "displayName": "Torrey Rigden"
  }
}
  

Notice that for a multi-valued attribute, the value field takes an array, whereas the value field takes a single value for a single-valued field. Also notice that for single-valued fields, an add operation has the same effect as a replace operation.

You can use resource revision numbers in If-Match: revision headers to patch the resource only if the resource matches a particular version, as shown in the following example:

$ curl \
 --user kvaughan:bribery \
 http://opendj.example.com:8080/api/users/bjensen?_fields=_rev
{"_id":"bjensen","_rev" : "revision"}

$ curl \
 --user kvaughan:bribery \
 --request PATCH \
 --header "If-Match: revision" \
 --header "Content-Type: application/json" \
 --data '[
  {
    "operation": "add",
    "field": "/contactInformation/emailAddress",
    "value": "babs@example.com"
  }
 ]' \
 http://opendj.example.com:8080/api/users/bjensen
{
  "_id": "bjensen",
  "_rev": "new-revision",
  "_schema": "frapi:opendj:rest2ldap:posixUser:1.0",
  "_meta": {
    "lastModified": "2016-06-24T12:45:58Z"
  },
  "userName": "barbara.jensen@example.com",
  "displayName": ["Barbara Jensen", "Babs Jensen"],
  "name": {
    "givenName": "Barbara",
    "familyName": "Jensen"
  },
  "description": "Original description",
  "contactInformation": {
    "telephoneNumber": "+1 408 555 9999",
    "emailAddress": "babs@example.com"
  },
  "uidNumber": 1076,
  "gidNumber": 1000,
  "homeDirectory": "/home/bjensen",
  "manager": {
    "_id": "trigden",
    "displayName": "Torrey Rigden"
  }
}
  

The resource revision changes when the patch is successful.

OpenDJ REST to LDAP implements the actions described in this section.

$ curl \
 --request POST \
 --user kvaughan:bribery \
 --header "Content-Type: application/json" \
 --data '{
  "_id": "newuser",
  "contactInformation": {
    "telephoneNumber": "+1 408 555 1212",
    "emailAddress": "newuser@example.com"
  },
  "name": {
    "familyName": "New",
    "givenName": "User"
  },
  "displayName": "New User",
  "manager": [
    {
      "_id": "kvaughan",
      "displayName": "Kirsten Vaughan"
    }
  ]
 }' \
 http://opendj.example.com:8080/api/users
{
  "_id": "newuser",
  "_rev": "000000000ace733a",
  "_schema": "frapi:opendj:rest2ldap:user:1.0",
  "_meta": {
    "created": "2016-06-24T12:51:25Z"
  },
  "userName": "newuser@example.com",
  "displayName": ["New User"],
  "name": {
    "givenName": "User",
    "familyName": "New"
  },
  "contactInformation": {
    "telephoneNumber": "+1 408 555 1212",
    "emailAddress": "newuser@example.com"
  },
  "manager": {
    "_id": "kvaughan",
    "displayName": "Kirsten Vaughan"
  }
}
   

$ curl \
 --request POST \
 --cacert server-cert.pem \
 --user bjensen:hifalutin \
 --header "Content-Type: application/json" \
 --data '{"oldPassword": "hifalutin", "newPassword": "password"}' \
 https://opendj.example.com:8443/users/bjensen?_action=modifyPassword
{}
    

$ curl \
 --request POST \
 --cacert server-cert.pem \
 --user kvaughan:bribery \
 --header "Content-Type: application/json" \
 --data '{}' \
 https://opendj.example.com:8443/users/bjensen?_action=passwordModify
{"generatedPassword":"qno66vyz"}
    

To query resource collections, perform an HTTP GET with a _queryFilter=expression parameter in the query string. For details about the query filter expression, see "Query".

The _queryId, _sortKeys, and _totalPagedResultsPolicy parameters described in "Query" are not used in OpenDJ software at present.

The following table shows some LDAP search filters with corresponding examples of query filter expressions.

The following example demonstrates how paged results are used:

# Request five results per page, and retrieve the first page.
$ curl \
 --user bjensen:hifalutin \
 "http://opendj.example.com:8080/api/users?_queryFilter=true&_fields=userName&_pageSize=5"
{
  "result": [{
    "_id": "abarnes",
    "_rev": "000000002e13a516",
    "userName": "abarnes@example.com"
  }, {
    "_id": "abergin",
    "_rev": "00000000bf829aed",
    "userName": "abergin@example.com"
  }, {
    "_id": "achassin",
    "_rev": "00000000309da2e7",
    "userName": "achassin@example.com"
  }, {
    "_id": "ahall",
    "_rev": "00000000f3b39d13",
    "userName": "ahall@example.com"
  }, {
    "_id": "ahel",
    "_rev": "0000000066f49b88",
    "userName": "ahel@example.com"
  }],
  "resultCount": 5,
  "pagedResultsCookie": "AAAAAAAAAA8=",
  "totalPagedResultsPolicy": "NONE",
  "totalPagedResults": -1,
  "remainingPagedResults": -1
}

# Provide the cookie to request the next five results.
$ curl \
 --user bjensen:hifalutin \
 "http://opendj.example.com:8080/api/users?_queryFilter=true&_fields=userName&_pageSize=5\
&_pagedResultsCookie=AAAAAAAAAA8="
{
  "result": [{
    "_id": "ahunter",
    "_rev": "0000000097c4a2ec",
    "userName": "ahunter@example.com"
  }, {
    "_id": "ajensen",
    "_rev": "000000004f02a83b",
    "userName": "ajensen@example.com"
  }, {
    "_id": "aknutson",
    "_rev": "0000000008ababe4",
    "userName": "aknutson@example.com"
  }, {
    "_id": "alangdon",
    "_rev": "00000000fce1a809",
    "userName": "alangdon@example.com"
  }, {
    "_id": "alutz",
    "_rev": "000000003bbfa434",
    "userName": "alutz@example.com"
  }],
  "resultCount": 5,
  "pagedResultsCookie": "AAAAAAAAABQ=",
  "totalPagedResultsPolicy": "NONE",
  "totalPagedResults": -1,
  "remainingPagedResults": -1
}

# Request the tenth page of five results.
$ curl \
 --user bjensen:hifalutin \
 "http://opendj.example.com:8080/api/users?_queryFilter=true&_fields=userName\
&_pageSize=5&_pagedResultsOffset=10"
{
  "result": [{
    "_id": "ewalker",
    "_rev": "000000007aaea177",
    "userName": "ewalker@example.com"
  }, {
    "_id": "eward",
    "_rev": "00000000bd8e9e65",
    "userName": "eward@example.com"
  }, {
    "_id": "falbers",
    "_rev": "000000004a35a1ee",
    "userName": "falbers@example.com"
  }, {
    "_id": "gfarmer",
    "_rev": "00000000535fa1cb",
    "userName": "gfarmer@example.com"
  }, {
    "_id": "gjensen",
    "_rev": "00000000d180a393",
    "userName": "gjensen@example.com"
  }],
  "resultCount": 5,
  "pagedResultsCookie": "AAAAAAAAAEE=",
  "totalPagedResultsPolicy": "NONE",
  "totalPagedResults": -1,
  "remainingPagedResults": -1
}
  

OpenDJ generally maps JSON resources to LDAP entries. Some resources such as profile photos, however, are best expressed with other MIME types. ForgeRock common REST lets your applications make HTTP multipart requests, so you can work with other MIME types differently from regular JSON resources. This is done using the _mimeType parameter described in "Read".

When you first try to read a resource that can be read as an LDAP entry with an anonymous search, you learn that you must authenticate as shown in the following example:

$ curl http://opendj.example.com:8080/users/bjensen
{
  "code" : 401,
  "reason" : "Unauthorized",
  "message" : "Unauthorized"
}
  

HTTP status code 401 indicates that the request requires user authentication.

To prevent OpenDJ directory server from requiring authentication, set the HTTP connection handler property authentication-required to false, as in the following example:

$ dsconfig \
 set-connection-handler-prop \
 --hostname opendj.example.com \
 --port 4444 \
 --bindDN "cn=Directory Manager" \
 --bindPassword password \
 --handler-name "HTTP Connection Handler" \
 --set authentication-required:false \
 --no-prompt \
 --trustAll
  

By default, both the HTTP connection handler and also the REST to LDAP gateway allow HTTP Basic authentication and HTTP header-based authentication in the style of OpenIDM. The authentication mechanisms translate HTTP authentication to LDAP authentication to the directory server.

When you install OpenDJ either with generated sample user entries or with data from Example.ldif, the relative distinguished name (DN) attribute for sample user entries is the user ID (uid) attribute. For example, the DN and user ID for Babs Jensen are:

dn: uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
uid: bjensen
  

Given this pattern in the user entries, the default REST to LDAP configuration translates the HTTP user name to the LDAP user ID. User entries are found directly under ou=People,dc=example,dc=com.^[3] In other words, Babs Jensen authenticates as bjensen (password: hifalutin) over HTTP. The corresponding LDAP bind DN is uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com.

HTTP Basic authentication works as shown in the following example:

$ curl \
 --user bjensen:hifalutin \
 http://opendj.example.com:8080/users/bjensen
{
  "_rev" : "0000000016cbb68c",
  ...
}
  

The alternative HTTP Basic username:password@ form in the URL works as shown in the following example:

$ curl \
 http://bjensen:hifalutin@opendj.example.com:8080/users/bjensen
{
  "_rev" : "0000000016cbb68c",
  ...
}
  

HTTP header based authentication works as shown in the following example:

$ curl \
 --header "X-OpenIDM-Username: bjensen" \
 --header "X-OpenIDM-Password: hifalutin" \
 http://opendj.example.com:8080/users/bjensen
{
  "_rev" : "0000000016cbb68c",
  ...
}
  

If the directory data is laid out differently or if the user names are email addresses rather than user IDs, for example, then you must update the configuration in order for authentication to work.

The REST to LDAP gateway can also translate HTTP user name and password authentication to LDAP PLAIN SASL authentication. Likewise, the gateway falls back to proxied authorization as necessary, using a root DN authenticated connection to LDAP servers. See "REST to LDAP Configuration (3.0)" in the Reference for details on all configuration choices.

To read a resource, perform an HTTP GET as shown in the following example:

$ curl \
 --request GET \
 --user kvaughan:bribery \
 http://opendj.example.com:8080/users/newuser
{
  "_rev" : "000000005b337348",
  "schemas" : [ "urn:scim:schemas:core:1.0" ],
  "contactInformation" : {
    "telephoneNumber" : "+1 408 555 1212",
    "emailAddress" : "newuser@example.com"
  },
  "_id" : "newuser",
  "name" : {
    "familyName" : "New",
    "givenName" : "User"
  },
  "userName" : "newuser@example.com",
  "displayName" : "New User",
  "meta" : {
    "created" : "2013-04-11T09:58:27Z"
  },
  "manager" : [ {
    "_id" : "kvaughan",
    "displayName" : "Kirsten Vaughan"
  } ]
}
  

To update a resource, perform an HTTP PUT with the changes to the resource. Use an If-Match header to ensure the resource already exists. For read-only fields, either include unmodified versions, or omit them from your updated version.

To update a resource regardless of the revision, use an If-Match: * header. The following example adds a manager for Sam Carter:

$ curl \
 --request PUT \
 --user kvaughan:bribery \
 --header "Content-Type: application/json" \
 --header "If-Match: *" \
 --data '{
   "contactInformation": {
     "telephoneNumber": "+1 408 555 4798",
     "emailAddress": "scarter@example.com"
   },
   "name": {
     "familyName": "Carter",
     "givenName": "Sam"
   },
   "userName": "scarter@example.com",
   "displayName": "Sam Carter",
   "groups": [
     {
       "_id": "Accounting Managers"
     }
   ],
   "manager": [
     {
       "_id": "trigden",
       "displayName": "Torrey Rigden"
     }
   ]
 }' \
 http://opendj.example.com:8080/users/scarter
{
  "_rev" : "00000000a1923db2",
  "schemas" : [ "urn:scim:schemas:core:1.0" ],
  "contactInformation" : {
    "telephoneNumber" : "+1 408 555 4798",
    "emailAddress" : "scarter@example.com"
  },
  "_id" : "scarter",
  "name" : {
    "familyName" : "Carter",
    "givenName" : "Sam"
  },
  "userName" : "scarter@example.com",
  "displayName" : "Sam Carter",
  "manager" : [ {
    "_id" : "trigden",
    "displayName" : "Torrey Rigden"
  } ],
  "meta" : {
    "lastModified" : "2015-09-29T10:24:01Z"
  },
  "groups" : [ {
    "_id" : "Accounting Managers"
  } ]
}
  

To update a resource only if the resource matches a particular version, use an If-Match: revision header as shown in the following example:

$ curl \
 --user kvaughan:bribery \
 http://opendj.example.com:8080/users/scarter?_fields=_rev
{"_id":"scarter","_rev":"revision"}

$ curl \
 --request PUT \
 --user kvaughan:bribery \
 --header "If-Match: revision" \
 --header "Content-Type: application/json" \
 --data '{
   "contactInformation": {
     "telephoneNumber": "+1 408 555 1212",
     "emailAddress": "scarter@example.com"
   },
   "name": {
     "familyName": "Carter",
     "givenName": "Sam"
   },
   "userName": "scarter@example.com",
   "displayName": "Sam Carter",
   "groups": [
     {
       "_id": "Accounting Managers"
     }
   ],
   "manager": [
     {
       "_id": "trigden",
       "displayName": "Torrey Rigden"
     }
   ]
 }' \
 http://opendj.example.com:8080/users/scarter
{
  "_rev" : "00000000a1ee3da3",
  "schemas" : [ "urn:scim:schemas:core:1.0" ],
  "contactInformation" : {
    "telephoneNumber" : "+1 408 555 1212",
    "emailAddress" : "scarter@example.com"
  },
  "_id" : "scarter",
  "name" : {
    "familyName" : "Carter",
    "givenName" : "Sam"
  },
  "userName" : "scarter@example.com",
  "displayName" : "Sam Carter",
  "meta" : {
    "lastModified" : "2015-09-29T10:23:27Z"
  },
  "groups" : [ {
    "_id" : "Accounting Managers"
  } ],
  "manager" : [ {
    "_id" : "trigden",
    "displayName" : "Torrey Rigden"
  } ]
}
  

To delete a resource, perform an HTTP DELETE on the resource URL. The operation returns the resource you deleted as shown in the following example:

$ curl \
 --request DELETE \
 --user kvaughan:bribery \
 http://opendj.example.com:8080/users/newuser
{
  "_rev" : "000000003a5f3cb2",
  "schemas" : [ "urn:scim:schemas:core:1.0" ],
  "contactInformation" : {
    "telephoneNumber" : "+1 408 555 1212",
    "emailAddress" : "newuser@example.com"
  },
  "_id" : "newuser",
  "name" : {
    "familyName" : "New",
    "givenName" : "User"
  },
  "userName" : "newuser@example.com",
  "displayName" : "New User",
  "meta" : {
    "created" : "2013-04-11T09:58:27Z"
  },
  "manager" : [ {
    "_id" : "kvaughan",
    "displayName" : "Kirsten Vaughan"
  } ]
}
  

To delete a resource only if the resource matches a particular version, use an If-Match: revision header as shown in the following example:

$ curl \
 --user kvaughan:bribery \
 http://opendj.example.com:8080/users/newuser?_fields=_rev
{"_id":"newuser","_rev":"revision"}

$ curl \
 --request DELETE \
 --user kvaughan:bribery \
 --header "If-Match: revision" \
 http://opendj.example.com:8080/users/newuser
{
  "_rev" : "00000000383f3cae",
  "schemas" : [ "urn:scim:schemas:core:1.0" ],
  "contactInformation" : {
    "telephoneNumber" : "+1 408 555 1212",
    "emailAddress" : "newuser@example.com"
  },
  "_id" : "newuser",
  "name" : {
    "familyName" : "New",
    "givenName" : "User"
  },
  "userName" : "newuser@example.com",
  "displayName" : "New User",
  "meta" : {
    "created" : "2013-04-11T12:48:48Z"
  },
  "manager" : [ {
    "_id" : "kvaughan",
    "displayName" : "Kirsten Vaughan"
  } ]
}
  

$ ldapsearch --port 1389 --baseDN uid=nbohr,ou=people,dc=example,dc=com "(&)" dn
dn: uid=nbohr,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com

dn: cn=quantum dot,uid=nbohr,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com

dn: cn=qubit generator,uid=nbohr,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
   

OpenDJ lets you patch JSON resources, updating part of the resource rather than replacing it. For example, you could change Babs Jensen's email address by issuing an HTTP PATCH request as in the following example:

$ curl \
 --user kvaughan:bribery \
 --request PATCH \
 --header "Content-Type: application/json" \
 --data '[
  {
    "operation": "replace",
    "field": "/contactInformation/emailAddress",
    "value": "babs@example.com"
  }
 ]' \
 http://opendj.example.com:8080/users/bjensen
{
  "_rev" : "00000000f3fdd370",
  "schemas" : [ "urn:scim:schemas:core:1.0" ],
  "contactInformation" : {
    "telephoneNumber" : "+1 408 555 1862",
    "emailAddress" : "babs@example.com"
  },
  "_id" : "bjensen",
  "name" : {
    "familyName" : "Jensen",
    "givenName" : "Barbara"
  },
  "userName" : "babs@example.com",
  "displayName" : "Barbara Jensen",
  "meta" : {
    "lastModified" : "2013-05-13T14:35:31Z"
  },
  "manager" : [ {
    "_id" : "trigden",
    "displayName" : "Torrey Rigden"
  } ]
}
  

Notice in the example that the data sent specifies the type of patch operation, the field to change, and a value that depends on the field you change and on the operation. A single-valued field takes an object, boolean, string, or number depending on its type, whereas a multi-valued field takes an array of values. Getting the type wrong results in an error. Also notice that the patch data is itself an array. This makes it possible to patch more than one part of the resource by using a set of patch operations in the same request.

One key nuance in how a patch works with OpenDJ concerns multi-valued fields. Although JSON resources represent multi-valued fields as arrays, OpenDJ treats those values as sets. In other words, values in the field are unique, and the ordering of an array of values is not meaningful in the context of patch operations. If you reference array values by index, OpenDJ returns an error.^[4]

Perform patch operations as if arrays values were sets. The following example includes Barbara Jensen in a group by adding her to the set of members:

$ curl \
 --user kvaughan:bribery \
 --request PATCH \
 --header "Content-Type: application/json" \
 --data '[
  {
    "operation": "add",
    "field": "/members",
    "value": [
      {
        "_id": "bjensen"
      }
    ]
  }
 ]' \
 http://opendj.example.com:8080/groups/Directory%20Administrators
{
  "_rev" : "00000000b70c881a",
  "schemas" : [ "urn:scim:schemas:core:1.0" ],
  "_id" : "Directory Administrators",
  "displayName" : "Directory Administrators",
  "meta" : {
    "lastModified" : "2013-05-13T16:40:23Z"
  },
  "members" : [ {
    "_id" : "kvaughan",
    "displayName" : "Kirsten Vaughan"
  }, {
    "_id" : "rdaugherty",
    "displayName" : "Robert Daugherty"
  }, {
    "_id" : "bjensen",
    "displayName" : "Barbara Jensen"
  }, {
    "_id" : "hmiller",
    "displayName" : "Harry Miller"
  } ]
}
  

The following example removes Barbara Jensen from the group:

$ curl \
 --user kvaughan:bribery \
 --request PATCH \
 --header "Content-Type: application/json" \
 --data '[
  {
    "operation": "remove",
    "field": "/members",
    "value": [
      {
        "_id": "bjensen"
      }
    ]
  }
 ]' \
 http://opendj.example.com:8080/groups/Directory%20Administrators
{
  "_rev" : "00000000e241797e",
  "schemas" : [ "urn:scim:schemas:core:1.0" ],
  "_id" : "Directory Administrators",
  "displayName" : "Directory Administrators",
  "meta" : {
    "lastModified" : "2013-05-13T16:40:55Z"
  },
  "members" : [ {
    "_id" : "kvaughan",
    "displayName" : "Kirsten Vaughan"
  }, {
    "_id" : "rdaugherty",
    "displayName" : "Robert Daugherty"
  }, {
    "_id" : "hmiller",
    "displayName" : "Harry Miller"
  } ]
}
  

To change the value of more than one attribute in a patch operation, include multiple operations in the body of the JSON patch, as shown in the following example:

$ curl \
 --user kvaughan:bribery \
 --request PATCH \
 --header "Content-Type: application/json" \
 --data '[
  {
    "operation": "replace",
    "field": "/contactInformation/telephoneNumber",
    "value": "+1 408 555 9999"
  },
  {
    "operation": "add",
    "field": "/contactInformation/emailAddress",
    "value": "barbara.jensen@example.com"
  }
 ]' \
 http://opendj.example.com:8080/users/bjensen
{
    "contactInformation": {
        "emailAddress": "barbara.jensen@example.com",
        "telephoneNumber": "+1 408 555 9999"
    },
    "displayName": "Barbara Jensen",
    "manager": [
        {
            "displayName": "Torrey Rigden",
            "_id": "trigden"
        }
    ],
    "meta": {
        "lastModified": "2015-04-07T10:19:41Z"
    },
    "schemas": [
        "urn:scim:schemas:core:1.0"
    ],
    "_rev": "00000000e68ef438",
    "name": {
        "givenName": "Barbara",
        "familyName": "Jensen"
    },
    "_id": "bjensen",
    "userName": "barbara.jensen@example.com"
}
  

Notice that for a multi-valued attribute, the value field takes an array, whereas the value field takes a single value for a single-valued field. Also notice that for single-valued fields, an add operation has the same effect as a replace operation.

You can use resource revision numbers in If-Match: revision headers to patch the resource only if the resource matches a particular version, as shown in the following example:

$ curl \
 --user kvaughan:bribery \
 http://opendj.example.com:8080/users/bjensen?_fields=_rev
{"_id":"bjensen","_rev" : "revision"}

$ curl \
 --user kvaughan:bribery \
 --request PATCH \
 --header "If-Match: revision" \
 --header "Content-Type: application/json" \
 --data '[
  {
    "operation": "add",
    "field": "/contactInformation/emailAddress",
    "value": "babs@example.com"
  }
 ]' \
 http://opendj.example.com:8080/users/bjensen
{
  "_rev" : "00000000f946d377",
  "schemas" : [ "urn:scim:schemas:core:1.0" ],
  "contactInformation" : {
    "telephoneNumber" : "+1 408 555 1862",
    "emailAddress" : "babs@example.com"
  },
  "_id" : "bjensen",
  "name" : {
    "familyName" : "Jensen",
    "givenName" : "Barbara"
  },
  "userName" : "babs@example.com",
  "displayName" : "Barbara Jensen",
  "meta" : {
    "lastModified" : "2013-05-13T16:56:33Z"
  },
  "manager" : [ {
    "_id" : "trigden",
    "displayName" : "Torrey Rigden"
  } ]
}
  

The resource revision changes when the patch is successful.

OpenDJ REST to LDAP implements the actions described in this section.

$ curl \
 --request POST \
 --user kvaughan:bribery \
 --header "Content-Type: application/json" \
 --data '{
  "_id": "newuser",
  "contactInformation": {
    "telephoneNumber": "+1 408 555 1212",
    "emailAddress": "newuser@example.com"
  },
  "name": {
    "familyName": "New",
    "givenName": "User"
  },
  "displayName": "New User",
  "manager": [
    {
      "_id": "kvaughan",
      "displayName": "Kirsten Vaughan"
    }
  ]
 }' \
 http://opendj.example.com:8080/users?_action=create
{
  "_rev" : "0000000034a23ca7",
  "schemas" : [ "urn:scim:schemas:core:1.0" ],
  "contactInformation" : {
    "telephoneNumber" : "+1 408 555 1212",
    "emailAddress" : "newuser@example.com"
  },
  "_id" : "newuser",
  "name" : {
    "familyName" : "New",
    "givenName" : "User"
  },
  "userName" : "newuser@example.com",
  "displayName" : "New User",
  "meta" : {
    "created" : "2013-04-11T11:19:08Z"
  },
  "manager" : [ {
    "_id" : "kvaughan",
    "displayName" : "Kirsten Vaughan"
  } ]
}
   

$ curl \
 --request POST \
 --cacert server-cert.pem \
 --user bjensen:hifalutin \
 --header "Content-Type: application/json" \
 --data '{"oldPassword": "hifalutin", "newPassword": "password"}' \
 https://opendj.example.com:8443/users/bjensen?_action=passwordModify
{}
   

$ curl \
 --request POST \
 --cacert server-cert.pem \
 --user kvaughan:bribery \
 --header "Content-Type: application/json" \
 --data '{}' \
 https://opendj.example.com:8443/users/bjensen?_action=passwordModify
{"generatedPassword":"qno66vyz"}
   

To query resource collections, perform an HTTP GET with a _queryFilter=expression parameter in the query string. For details about the query filter expression, see "Query".

The _queryId, _sortKeys, and _totalPagedResultsPolicy parameters described in "Query" are not used in OpenDJ software at present.

The following table shows some LDAP search filters with corresponding examples of query filter expressions.

The following example demonstrates how paged results are used:

# Request five results per page, and retrieve the first page.
$ curl \
 --user bjensen:hifalutin \
 "http://opendj.example.com:8080/users?_queryFilter=true&_fields=userName&_pageSize=5"
{
  "result" : [ {
    "_id" : "abarnes",
    "_rev" : "00000000b589a3d4",
    "userName" : "abarnes@example.com"
  }, {
    "_id" : "abergin",
    "_rev" : "00000000131199bd",
    "userName" : "abergin@example.com"
  }, {
    "_id" : "achassin",
    "_rev" : "00000000aaf8a2ac",
    "userName" : "achassin@example.com"
  }, {
    "_id" : "ahall",
    "_rev" : "0000000023e19cdc",
    "userName" : "ahall@example.com"
  }, {
    "_id" : "ahel",
    "_rev" : "0000000033309a22",
    "userName" : "ahel@example.com"
  } ],
  "resultCount" : 5,
  "pagedResultsCookie" : "AAAAAAAAAA8=",
  "totalPagedResultsPolicy" : "NONE",
  "totalPagedResults" : -1,
  "remainingPagedResults" : -1
}

# Provide the cookie to request the next five results.
$ curl \
 --user bjensen:hifalutin \
 "http://opendj.example.com:8080/users?_queryFilter=true&_fields=userName&_pageSize=5\
&_pagedResultsCookie=AAAAAAAAAA8="
{
  "result" : [ {
    "_id" : "ahunter",
    "_rev" : "00000000ec1aa3bb",
    "userName" : "ahunter@example.com"
  }, {
    "_id" : "ajensen",
    "_rev" : "00000000d4b9a728",
    "userName" : "ajensen@example.com"
  }, {
    "_id" : "aknutson",
    "_rev" : "000000002135ab65",
    "userName" : "aknutson@example.com"
  }, {
    "_id" : "alangdon",
    "_rev" : "000000009bc5a8e3",
    "userName" : "alangdon@example.com"
  }, {
    "_id" : "alutz",
    "_rev" : "0000000060b9a4bd",
    "userName" : "alutz@example.com"
  } ],
  "resultCount" : 5,
  "pagedResultsCookie" : "AAAAAAAAABQ=",
  "totalPagedResultsPolicy" : "NONE",
  "totalPagedResults" : -1,
  "remainingPagedResults" : -1
}

# Request the tenth page of five results.
$ curl \
 --user bjensen:hifalutin \
 "http://opendj.example.com:8080/users?_queryFilter=true&_fields=userName\
&_pageSize=5&_pagedResultsOffset=10"
{
  "result" : [ {
    "_id" : "ewalker",
    "_rev" : "00000000848ea196",
    "userName" : "ewalker@example.com"
  }, {
    "_id" : "eward",
    "_rev" : "000000004ca19dc5",
    "userName" : "eward@example.com"
  }, {
    "_id" : "falbers",
    "_rev" : "0000000026d9a211",
    "userName" : "falbers@example.com"
  }, {
    "_id" : "gfarmer",
    "_rev" : "00000000e1bda2b1",
    "userName" : "gfarmer@example.com"
  }, {
    "_id" : "gjensen",
    "_rev" : "00000000ce6fa415",
    "userName" : "gjensen@example.com"
  } ],
  "resultCount" : 5,
  "pagedResultsCookie" : "AAAAAAAAAEE=",
  "totalPagedResultsPolicy" : "NONE",
  "totalPagedResults" : -1,
  "remainingPagedResults" : -1
}
  

Before you try the examples in this guide, set your PATH to include the OpenDJ directory server tools. The location of the tools depends on the operating environment and on the packages used to install OpenDJ. "Paths To Administration Tools" indicates where to find the tools.

You find the installation and upgrade tools, setup, upgrade, and uninstall, in the parent directory of the other tools, as these tools are not used for everyday administration. For example, if the path to most tools is /path/to/opendj/bin you can find these tools in /path/to/opendj. For instructions on how to use the installation and upgrade tools, see the Installation Guide.

All OpenDJ command-line tools take the --help option.

All commands call Java programs and therefore involve starting a JVM.

"Tools and Server Constraints" indicates the constraints, if any, that apply when using a command-line tool with a directory server.

Searching the directory is akin to searching for a phone number in a paper phone book. You can look up a phone number because you know the last name of a subscriber's entry. In other words, you use the value of one attribute of the entry to find entries that have another attribute you want.

Whereas a paper phone book has only one index (alphabetical order by name), the directory has many indexes. When performing a search, you always specify which index to use, by specifying which attribute(s) you are using to lookup entries.

Your paper phone book might be divided into white pages for residential subscribers and yellow pages for businesses. If you are looking up an individual's phone number, you limit your search to the white pages. Directory services divide entries in various ways, often to separate organizations, and to separate groups from user entries from printers, for example, but potentially in other ways. When searching you therefore also specify where in the directory to search.

The ldapsearch command, described in ldapsearch(1) in the Reference, thus takes at minimum a search base DN option and an LDAP filter. The search base DN identifies where in the directory to search for entries that match the filter. For example, if you are looking for printers, you might specify the base DN as ou=Printers,dc=example,dc=com. Perhaps you are visiting the GNB00 office and are looking for a printer as shown in the following example:

$ ldapsearch --baseDN ou=Printers,dc=example,dc=com "(printerLocation=GNB00)"
  

In the example, the LDAP filter indicates to the directory that you want to look up printer entries where the printerLocation attribute is equal to GNB00.

You also specify the host and port to access directory services, and the type of protocol to use (for example, LDAP/SSL, or StartTLS to protect communication). If the directory service does not allow anonymous access to the data you want to search, you also identify who is performing the search and provide their credentials, such as a password or certificate. Finally, you can specify a list of attributes to return. If you do not specify attributes, then the search returns all user attributes for the entry.

$ ldapsearch --port 1389 --baseDN dc=example,dc=com "(uid=*jensen*)" uid
dn: uid=ajensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
uid: ajensen

dn: uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
uid: bjensen

dn: uid=gjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
uid: gjensen

dn: uid=jjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
uid: jjensen

dn: uid=kjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
uid: kjensen

dn: uid=rjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
uid: rjensen

dn: uid=tjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
uid: tjensen


Result Code:  0 (Success)
   

$ ldapsearch \
 --port 1389 \
 --baseDN ou=people,dc=example,dc=com \
 "(&(uid=*jensen*)(l=San Francisco))" \
 @person
dn: uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
sn: Jensen
cn: Barbara Jensen
cn: Babs Jensen
objectClass: top
objectClass: inetOrgPerson
objectClass: posixAccount
objectClass: organizationalPerson
objectClass: person
description: Original description
telephoneNumber: +1 408 555 9999

dn: uid=rjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
sn: Jensen
cn: Richard Jensen
objectClass: top
objectClass: inetOrgPerson
objectClass: posixAccount
objectClass: organizationalPerson
objectClass: person
telephoneNumber: +1 408 555 5957

$ ldapsearch --port 1389 --baseDN dc=example,dc=com uid=bjensen +
dn: uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
modifyTimestamp: 20160608165444Z
modifiersName: uid=kvaughan,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
entryUUID: 887732e8-3db2-31bb-b329-20cd6fcecc05
subschemaSubentry: cn=schema
hasSubordinates: false
numSubordinates: 0
etag: 0000000086c6e3b5
structuralObjectClass: inetOrgPerson
entryDN: uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
   

$ ldapsearch --port 1389 --baseDN dc=example,dc=com uid=bjensen @person
dn: uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
objectClass: person
objectClass: organizationalPerson
objectClass: inetOrgPerson
objectClass: posixAccount
objectClass: top
cn: Barbara Jensen
cn: Babs Jensen
telephoneNumber: +1 408 555 1862
sn: Jensen
   

$ dsconfig \
 set-backend-index-prop \
 --port 4444 \
 --hostname opendj.example.com \
 --bindDN "cn=Directory Manager" \
 --bindPassword password \
 --backend-name userRoot \
 --index-name sn \
 --set index-type:approximate \
 --trustAll \
 --no-prompt

$ rebuild-index \
 --port 4444 \
 --hostname opendj.example.com \
 --bindDN "cn=Directory Manager" \
 --bindPassword password \
 --baseDN dc=example,dc=com \
 --index sn \
 --start 0 \
 --trustAll
   

$ ldapsearch \
 --port 1389 \
 --baseDN dc=example,dc=com \
 "(sn~=jansen)" \
 sn
dn: uid=ajensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
sn: Jensen

dn: uid=bjense2,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
sn: Jensen

dn: uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
sn: Jensen

dn: uid=ejohnson,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
sn: Johnson

dn: uid=gjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
sn: Jensen

dn: uid=jjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
sn: Jensen

dn: uid=kjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
sn: Jensen

dn: uid=rjense2,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
sn: Jensen

dn: uid=rjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
sn: Jensen

dn: uid=tjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
sn: Jensen

   

$ ldapsearch --port 1389 --baseDN dc=example,dc=com \
 "(description=\28*\5c*\2a\29)" description
dn: uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
description: (A \great\ description*)
   

$ ldapmodify \
 --port 1389 \
 --hostname opendj.example.com \
 --bindDN "cn=Directory Manager" \
 --bindPassword password
dn: cn=schema
changetype: modify
add: attributeTypes
attributeTypes: ( lastLoginTime-oid
  NAME 'lastLoginTime'
  DESC 'Last time the user logged in'
  EQUALITY generalizedTimeMatch
  ORDERING generalizedTimeOrderingMatch
  SYNTAX 1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.24
  SINGLE-VALUE
  NO-USER-MODIFICATION
  USAGE directoryOperation
  X-ORIGIN 'OpenDJ example documentation' )

Processing MODIFY request for cn=schema
MODIFY operation successful for DN cn=schema
   

$ dsconfig \
 set-password-policy-prop \
 --port 4444 \
 --hostname opendj.example.com \
 --bindDN "cn=Directory Manager" \
 --bindPassword password \
 --policy-name "Default Password Policy" \
 --set last-login-time-attribute:lastLoginTime \
 --set last-login-time-format:"yyyyMMddHH'Z'" \
 --trustAll \
 --no-prompt
   

$ dsconfig \
 create-backend-index \
 --port 4444 \
 --hostname opendj.example.com \
 --bindDN "cn=Directory Manager" \
 --bindPassword password \
 --backend-name userRoot \
 --set index-type:extensible \
 --set index-extensible-matching-rule:1.3.6.1.4.1.26027.1.4.5 \
 --set index-extensible-matching-rule:1.3.6.1.4.1.26027.1.4.6 \
 --set index-extensible-matching-rule:1.3.6.1.4.1.26027.1.4.7 \
 --index-name lastLoginTime \
 --trustAll \
 --no-prompt
   

$ ldapsearch \
 --port 1389 \
 --bindDN uid=bjensen,ou=people,dc=example,dc=com \
 --bindPassword hifalutin \
 --baseDN dc=example,dc=com \
 "(uid=bjensen)" \
 sn
dn: uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
sn: Jensen

$ ldapsearch \
 --port 1389 \
 --bindDN uid=kvaughan,ou=people,dc=example,dc=com \
 --bindPassword bribery \
 --baseDN dc=example,dc=com \
 "(uid=bjensen)" \
 sn
dn: uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
sn: Jensen

   

$ ldapsearch \
 --port 1389 \
 --bindDN "cn=Directory Manager" \
 --bindPassword password \
 --baseDN dc=example,dc=com \
 "(lastLoginTime:1.3.6.1.4.1.26027.1.4.6:=13w)" \
 mail
dn: uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
mail: bjensen@example.com

dn: uid=kvaughan,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
mail: kvaughan@example.com
   

$ ldapsearch \
 --port 1389 \
 --bindDN "cn=Directory Manager" \
 --bindPassword password \
 --baseDN dc=example,dc=com \
 "(lastLoginTime:1.3.6.1.4.1.26027.1.4.7:=2016Y05M)" \
 mail
dn: uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
mail: bjensen@example.com

dn: uid=kvaughan,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
mail: kvaughan@example.com
   

SEARCH operation failed
Result Code:  12 (Unavailable Critical Extension)
Additional Information:  The request control with Object Identifier (OID)
  "2.16.840.1.113730.3.4.3" cannot be used due to insufficient access rights
   

$ ldapmodify \
 --port 1389 \
 --bindDN "cn=Directory Manager" \
 --bindPassword password
dn: dc=example,dc=com
changetype: modify
add: aci
aci: (targetcontrol = "2.16.840.1.113730.3.4.3")(version 3.0;acl
 "Request Persistent Search"; allow (read)(userdn =
 "ldap:///cn=My App,ou=Apps,dc=example,dc=com");)

Processing MODIFY request for dc=example,dc=com
MODIFY operation successful for DN dc=example,dc=com
   

$ ldapsearch \
 --port 1389 \
 --bindDN "cn=My App,ou=Apps,dc=example,dc=com" \
 --bindPassword password \
 --baseDN dc=example,dc=com \
 --persistentSearch ps:all:true:false \
 "(&)"
   

$ ldapmodify \
 --port 1389 \
 --bindDN "uid=kvaughan,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com" \
 --bindPassword bribery
dn: uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
changetype: modify
replace: description
description: Updated description
-
add: description
description: Additional description

Processing MODIFY request for uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
MODIFY operation successful for DN uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
   

dn: uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
objectClass: posixAccount
objectClass: top
objectClass: organizationalPerson
objectClass: person
objectClass: inetOrgPerson
mail: bjensen@example.com
roomNumber: 0209
preferredLanguage: en, ko;q=0.8
manager: uid=trigden, ou=People, dc=example,dc=com
ou: Product Development
ou: People
givenName: Barbara
telephoneNumber: +1 408 555 1862
sn: Jensen
cn: Barbara Jensen
cn: Babs Jensen
homeDirectory: /home/bjensen
facsimileTelephoneNumber: +1 408 555 1992
gidNumber: 1000
userPassword: {SSHA}S5pMziC+j1j09EnWyhj0okSSSX6howVvu1OdwQ==
uidNumber: 1076
description: Updated description
description: Additional description
uid: bjensen
l: San Francisco

dn: dc=example,dc=com
objectClass: top
objectClass: domain
dc: example

$ ldapdelete \
 --port 1389 \
 --bindDN "uid=kvaughan,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com" \
 --bindPassword bribery \
 uid=tpierce,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
Processing DELETE request for uid=tpierce,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
DELETE operation successful for DN uid=tpierce,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
   

dn: uid=tpierce,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
objectClass: top
objectClass: inetOrgPerson
objectClass: posixAccount
objectClass: organizationalPerson
objectClass: person
mail: tpierce@example.com
roomNumber: 1383
manager: uid=scarter, ou=People, dc=example,dc=com
ou: Accounting
ou: People
givenName: Tobias
telephoneNumber: +1 408 555 1531
sn: Pierce
cn: Tobias Pierce
homeDirectory: /home/tpierce
facsimileTelephoneNumber: +1 408 555 9332
gidNumber: 1000
userPassword: {SSHA}Ydw21vOP9GuYdt1nkkV8L+3sGDBa6TYL5JFC/A==
uidNumber: 1042
uid: tpierce
l: Bristol
departmentNumber: 1000
preferredLanguage: en-gb
street: 60 Queen Square

dn: dc=example,dc=com
objectClass: top
objectClass: domain
dc: example

$ ldapsearch \
 --port 1389 \
 --baseDN dc=example,dc=com \
 "(givenName:fr:=Fréderique)" cn\;lang-fr
dn: uid=fdupont,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
cn;lang-fr:: RnJlZMOpcmlxdWUgRHVwb250

$ base64 decode -d RnJlZMOpcmlxdWUgRHVwb250
Fredérique Dupont
   

The following table describes the operators you can use in LDAP search filters.

The compare operation checks whether an attribute value you specify matches the attribute value stored on one or more directory entries.

$ ldapcompare \
 --port 1389 \
 --bindDN "uid=kvaughan,ou=people,dc=example,dc=com" \
 --bindPassword bribery \
 'authPassword:MD5$dFHgpDxXUT8=$qlC4xMXvmVlusJLz9/WJ5Q==' \
 uid=kvaughan,ou=people,dc=example,dc=com
Comparing type authPassword with value
 MD5$dFHgpDxXUT8=$qlC4xMXvmVlusJLz9/WJ5Q== in entry
 uid=kvaughan,ou=people,dc=example,dc=com
Compare operation returned true for entry
 uid=kvaughan,ou=people,dc=example,dc=com
   

Authorized users can change directory data using the LDAP add, modify, modify DN, and delete operations. You can use the ldapmodify command to make changes. For details see ldapmodify(1) in the Reference.

$ cat new-users.ldif
dn: cn=Arsene Lupin,ou=Special Users,dc=example,dc=com
objectClass: person
objectClass: top
cn: Arsene Lupin
telephoneNumber: +33 1 23 45 67 89
sn: Lupin

dn: cn=Horace Velmont,ou=Special Users,dc=example,dc=com
objectClass: person
objectClass: top
cn: Horace Velmont
telephoneNumber: +33 1 12 23 34 45
sn: Velmont

$ ldapmodify \
 --defaultAdd \
 --port 1389 \
 --bindDN "uid=kvaughan,ou=people,dc=example,dc=com" \
 --bindPassword bribery \
 --filename new-users.ldif
Processing ADD request for cn=Arsene Lupin,ou=Special Users,dc=example,dc=com
ADD operation successful for DN
 cn=Arsene Lupin,ou=Special Users,dc=example,dc=com
Processing ADD request for cn=Horace Velmont,ou=Special Users,dc=example,dc=com
ADD operation successful for DN
 cn=Horace Velmont,ou=Special Users,dc=example,dc=com
   

$ cat scarter-mods.ldif
dn: uid=scarter,ou=people,dc=example,dc=com
changetype: modify
add: description
description: Accounting Manager
-
add: jpegphoto
jpegphoto:<file:///tmp/Samantha-Carter.jpg

$ ldapmodify \
 --port 1389 \
 --bindDN "uid=kvaughan,ou=people,dc=example,dc=com" \
 --bindPassword bribery \
 --filename scarter-mods.ldif
Processing MODIFY request for uid=scarter,ou=people,dc=example,dc=com
MODIFY operation successful for DN uid=scarter,ou=people,dc=example,dc=com
   

$ cat scarter-newdesc.ldif
dn: uid=scarter,ou=people,dc=example,dc=com
changetype: modify
replace: description
description: Accounting Director

$ ldapmodify \
 --port 1389 \
 --bindDN "uid=kvaughan,ou=people,dc=example,dc=com" \
 --bindPassword bribery \
 --filename scarter-newdesc.ldif
Processing MODIFY request for uid=scarter,ou=people,dc=example,dc=com
MODIFY operation successful for DN uid=scarter,ou=people,dc=example,dc=com
   

$ cat /path/to/scarter-deljpeg.ldif
dn: uid=scarter,ou=people,dc=example,dc=com
changetype: modify
delete: jpegphoto

$ ldapmodify \
 --port 1389 \
 --bindDN "uid=kvaughan,ou=people,dc=example,dc=com" \
 --bindPassword bribery \
 --filename scarter-deljpeg.ldif
Processing MODIFY request for uid=scarter,ou=people,dc=example,dc=com
MODIFY operation successful for DN uid=scarter,ou=people,dc=example,dc=com
   

dn: uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
telephoneNumber: +1 408 555 1862
roomNumber: 0209
l: San Francisco
ETag: 000000007a1999df

dn: uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
description: Updated by Alice
telephoneNumber: +47 2108 1746
roomNumber: 1389
l: San Francisco
ETag: 00000000aec2c1e9

$ cat /path/to/bobs.ldif
dn: uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
changetype: modify
replace: l
l: Grenoble
-
add: description
description: Employee of the Month

$ ldapmodify \
 --bindDN "cn=Directory Manager" \
 --bindPassword password \
 --port 1389 \
 --filename /path/to/bobs.ldif \
 --assertionFilter "(ETag=000000007a1999df)"
Processing MODIFY request for uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
MODIFY operation failed
Result Code:  122 (Assertion Failed)
Additional Information:  Entry uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
 cannot be modified because the request contained an LDAP assertion control
 and the associated filter did not match the contents of the that entry
    

dn: uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
description: Employee of the Month
telephoneNumber: +47 2108 1746
roomNumber: 1389
l: Grenoble
ETag: 00000000e882c35e

$ dsconfig \
 create-plugin \
 --port 4444 \
 --hostname opendj.example.com \
 --bindDN "cn=Directory Manager" \
 --bindPassword password \
 --type attribute-cleanup \
 --plugin-name "Rename email to mail" \
 --set enabled:true \
 --set rename-inbound-attributes:email:mail \
 --trustAll \
 --no-prompt
    

$ cat email.ldif
dn: uid=newuser,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
uid: newuser
objectClass: person
objectClass: organizationalPerson
objectClass: inetOrgPerson
objectClass: top
cn: New User
sn: User
ou: People
email: newuser@example.com
userPassword: changeme

$ ldapmodify \
 --port 1389 \
 --bindDN "cn=Directory Manager" \
 --bindPassword password \
 --defaultAdd \
 --filename email.ldif
Processing ADD request for uid=newuser,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
ADD operation successful for DN uid=newuser,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com

$ ldapsearch --port 1389 --baseDN dc=example,dc=com uid=newuser mail
dn: uid=newuser,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
mail: newuser@example.com
    

$ dsconfig \
 create-plugin \
 --port 4444 \
 --hostname opendj.example.com \
 --bindDN "cn=Directory Manager" \
 --bindPassword password \
 --type attribute-cleanup \
 --plugin-name "Remove attrs" \
 --set enabled:true \
 --set remove-inbound-attributes:creatorsName \
 --set remove-inbound-attributes:createTimestamp \
 --set remove-inbound-attributes:modifiersName \
 --set remove-inbound-attributes:modifyTimestamp \
 --trustAll \
 --no-prompt
    

$ cat badattrs.ldif
dn: uid=badattr,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
uid: newuser
objectClass: person
objectClass: organizationalPerson
objectClass: inetOrgPerson
objectClass: top
cn: Bad Attr
sn: Attr
ou: People
mail: badattr@example.com
userPassword: changeme
creatorsName: cn=Bad Attr
createTimestamp: Never in a million years.
modifiersName: cn=Directory Manager,cn=Root DNs,cn=config
modifyTimestamp: 20110930164937Z

$ ldapmodify \
 --port 1389 \
 --bindDN "cn=Directory Manager" \
 --bindPassword password \
 --defaultAdd \
 --filename badattrs.ldif
Processing ADD request for uid=badattr,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
ADD operation successful for DN uid=badattr,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com

$ ldapsearch --port 1389 --baseDN dc=example,dc=com uid=badattr +
dn: uid=badattr,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
numSubordinates: 0
structuralObjectClass: inetOrgPerson
pwdPolicySubentry: cn=Default Password Policy,cn=Password Policies,cn=config
subschemaSubentry: cn=schema
hasSubordinates: false
entryDN: uid=badattr,ou=people,dc=example,dc=com
entryUUID: 35e5cb0e-e929-49d8-a50f-2df036d60db9
pwdChangedTime: 20110930165959.135Z
creatorsName: cn=Directory Manager,cn=Root DNs,cn=config
createTimestamp: 20110930165959Z
    

$ cat /path/to/scarter-sjensen.ldif
dn: uid=scarter,ou=people,dc=example,dc=com
changetype: modrdn
newrdn: uid=sjensen
deleteoldrdn: 1

dn: uid=sjensen,ou=people,dc=example,dc=com
changetype: modify
replace: cn
cn: Sam Jensen
-
replace: sn
sn: Jensen
-
replace: homeDirectory
homeDirectory: /home/sjensen
-
replace: mail
mail: sjensen@example.com

$ ldapmodify \
 --port 1389 \
 --bindDN "uid=kvaughan,ou=people,dc=example,dc=com" \
 --bindPassword bribery \
 --filename /path/to/scarter-sjensen.ldif
Processing MODIFY DN request for uid=scarter,ou=people,dc=example,dc=com
MODIFY DN operation successful for DN uid=scarter,ou=people,dc=example,dc=com
Processing MODIFY request for uid=sjensen,ou=people,dc=example,dc=com
MODIFY operation successful for DN uid=sjensen,ou=people,dc=example,dc=com
    

$ cat move-customers.ldif
dn: ou=Customers,dc=example,dc=com
changetype: modrdn
newrdn: ou=People
deleteoldrdn: 1
newsuperior: dc=example,dc=com

$ ldapmodify \
 --port 1389 \
 --bindDN "cn=Directory Manager" \
 --bindPassword password \
 --filename move-customers.ldif
Processing MODIFY DN request for ou=Customers,dc=example,dc=com
MODIFY DN operation successful for DN ou=Customers,dc=example,dc=com

$ cat move-employees.pl
#!/usr/bin/perl -w

# For each employee, construct a spec to move under ou=People.
while (<>)
{
    # Next line folded for readability only. Should not be split.
    $_ =~ s/dn: (.*?)(,.*)/dn: $1$2\nchangetype: moddn\nnewrdn: $1\n
     deleteoldrdn: 0\nnewsuperior: ou=People,dc=example,dc=com/;
    print;
}

$ ldapsearch --port 1389 --baseDN ou=Employees,dc=example,dc=com uid=* - \
 | move-employees.pl > /tmp/move-employees.ldif

$ head -n 6 /tmp/move-employees.ldif
dn: uid=abarnes,ou=Employees,dc=example,dc=com
changetype: moddn
newrdn: uid=abarnes
deleteoldrdn: 0
newsuperior: ou=People,dc=example,dc=com

$ ldapmodify \
 --port 1389 \
 --bindDN "cn=Directory Manager" \
 --bindPassword password \
 --filename /tmp/move-employees.ldif
Processing MODIFY DN request for uid=abarnes,ou=Employees,dc=example,dc=com
MODIFY DN operation successful for DN uid=abarnes,ou=Employees,dc=example,dc=com
Processing MODIFY DN request for uid=abergin,ou=Employees,dc=example,dc=com
MODIFY DN operation successful for DN uid=abergin,ou=Employees,dc=example,dc=com
...
Processing MODIFY DN request for uid=wlutz,ou=Employees,dc=example,dc=com
MODIFY DN operation successful for DN uid=wlutz,ou=Employees,dc=example,dc=com

$ ldapdelete \
 --port 1389 \
 --bindDN "cn=Directory Manager" \
 --bindPassword password \
 ou=Employees,dc=example,dc=com
Processing DELETE request for ou=Employees,dc=example,dc=com
DELETE operation successful for DN ou=Employees,dc=example,dc=com
    

$ ldapdelete \
 --port 1389 \
 --bindDN "cn=Directory Manager" \
 --bindPassword password \
 --deleteSubtree "ou=Special Users,dc=example,dc=com"
Processing DELETE request for ou=Special Users,dc=example,dc=com
DELETE operation successful for DN ou=Special Users,dc=example,dc=com
    

With the ldappasswordmodify command, described in ldappasswordmodify(1) in the Reference, authorized users can change and reset user passwords.

$ ldappasswordmodify \
 --useStartTLS \
 --port 1389 \
 --bindDN "uid=kvaughan,ou=people,dc=example,dc=com" \
 --bindPassword bribery \
 --authzID "dn:uid=scarter,ou=people,dc=example,dc=com" \
 --newPassword ChangeMe
The LDAP password modify operation was successful
   

$ manage-account \
 set-password-is-reset \
 --bindDN "cn=Directory Manager" \
 --bindPassword password \
 --targetDN uid=scarter,ou=people,dc=example,dc=com \
 --operationValue true
Password Is Reset:  true

$ ldappasswordmodify \
 --port 1389 \
 --authzID "dn:uid=bjensen,ou=people,dc=example,dc=com" \
 --currentPassword hifalutin \
 --newPassword secret12
The LDAP password modify operation was successful
   

$ ldappasswordmodify \
 --port 1389 \
 --authzID "dn:cn=Directory Manager" \
 --currentPassword password \
 --newPassword secret12
The LDAP password modify operation was successful
   

$ echo $LANG
en_US.utf8

$ ldappasswordmodify \
 --port 1389 \
 --bindDN uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com \
 --bindPassword hifalutin \
 --currentPassword hifalutin \
 --newPassword pàsswȏrd
The LDAP password modify operation was successful

$ ldapsearch \
 --port 1389 \
 --bindDN uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com \
 --bindPassword pàsswȏrd \
 --baseDN dc=example,dc=com \
 "(uid=bjensen)" cn
dn: uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
userPassword: {SSHA}k0eEeCxj9YRXUp8yJn0Z/mwqe+wrcFb1N1gg2g==
cn: Barbara Jensen
cn: Babs Jensen
   

You can use ~/.opendj/tools.properties to set the defaults for bind DN, host name, and port number as in the following example:

hostname=directory.example.com
port=1389
bindDN=uid=kvaughan,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com

ldapcompare.port=1389
ldapdelete.port=1389
ldapmodify.port=1389
ldappasswordmodify.port=1389
ldapsearch.port=1389

The location on Windows is %UserProfile%/.opendj/tools.properties.

Authentication is the act of confirming the identity of a principal. Authorization is the act of determining whether to grant or to deny access to a principal. Authentication is performed to make authorization decisions.

As explained in "Configuring Privileges and Access Control" in the Administration Guide, OpenDJ directory server implements fine-grained access control for authorization. Authorization for an operation depends on who is requesting the operation. In LDAP, directory servers must therefore authenticate a principal before they can authorize or deny access for particular operations. In LDAP, the bind operation authenticates the principal. The first LDAP operation in every LDAP session is generally a bind.

Clients bind by providing both a means to find their principal's entry in the directory and also by providing some credentials that the directory server can check against their entry.

In the simplest bind operation, the client provides a zero-length name and a zero-length password. This results in an anonymous bind, meaning the client is authenticated as an anonymous user of the directory. In the simplest examples in "Searching the Directory", notice that no authentication information is provided. The examples work because the client commands default to requesting anonymous binds when no credentials are provided, and because access controls for the sample data allow anonymous clients to read, search, and compare some directory data.

In a simple bind operation, the client provides an LDAP name, such as the DN identifying its entry, and the corresponding password stored on the userPassword attribute of the entry. In "Updating the Directory", notice that to change directory data, the client provides the bind DN and bind password of a user who has permission to change directory data. The commands do not work with a bind DN and bind password because access controls for the sample data only let authorized users change directory data.

Users rarely provide client applications with DNs, however. Instead, users might provide a client application with an identity string like a user ID or an email address. Depending on how the DNs are constructed, the client application can either build the DN directly from the user's identity string, or use a session where the bind has been performed with some other identity to search for the user entry based on the user's identity string. Given the DN constructed or found, the client application can then perform a simple bind.

For example, suppose Babs Jensen enters her email address, bjensen@example.com, and her password in order to log in. The client application might search for the entry matching (mail=bjensen@example.com) under base DN dc=example,dc=com. Alternatively, the client application might know to extract the user ID bjensen from the address, then build the corresponding DN, uid=bjensen,ou=people,dc=example,dc=com in order to bind.

When an identifier string provided by the user can be readily mapped to the user's entry DN, OpenDJ directory server can translate between the identifier string and the entry DN. This translation is the job of a component called an identity mapper. Identity mappers are used to perform PLAIN SASL authentication (with a user name and password), SASL GSSAPI authentication (Kerberos V5), SASL CRAM MD5, and DIGEST MD5 authentication. They also handle authorization IDs during password modify extended operations and proxied authorization.

One use of PLAIN SASL is to translate user names from HTTP Basic authentication to LDAP authentication. The following example shows PLAIN SASL authentication using the default Exact Match identity mapper. In this (contrived) example, Babs Jensen reads the hashed value of her password. (According to the access controls in the example data, Babs must authenticate to read her password.) Notice the authentication ID is her user ID, u:bjensen, rather than the DN of her entry:

$ ldapsearch \
 --port 1389 \
 --useStartTLS \
 --baseDN dc=example,dc=com \
 --saslOption mech=PLAIN \
 --saslOption authid=u:bjensen \
 --bindPassword hifalutin \
 "(cn=Babs Jensen)" cn userPassword
dn: uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
cn: Barbara Jensen
cn: Babs Jensen
userPassword: {SSHA}7S4Si+vPE513cYQ7otiqb8hjiCzU7XNTv0RPBA==
  

The Exact Match identity mapper searches for a match between the string provided (here, bjensen) and the value of a specified attribute (by default the uid attribute). If you know users are entering their email addresses, you could create an exact match identity mapper for email addresses, then use that for PLAIN SASL authentication as in the following example:

$ dsconfig \
 create-identity-mapper \
 --hostname opendj.example.com \
 --port 4444 \
 --bindDN "cn=Directory Manager" \
 --bindPassword password \
 --mapper-name "Email Mapper" \
 --type exact-match \
 --set match-attribute:mail \
 --set enabled:true \
 --no-prompt

$ dsconfig \
 set-sasl-mechanism-handler-prop \
 --hostname opendj.example.com \
 --port 4444 \
 --bindDN "cn=Directory Manager" \
 --bindPassword password \
 --handler-name PLAIN \
 --set identity-mapper:"Email Mapper" \
 --no-prompt

$ ldapsearch \
 --port 1389 \
 --useStartTLS \
 --baseDN dc=example,dc=com \
 --saslOption mech=PLAIN \
 --saslOption authid=u:bjensen@example.com \
 --bindPassword hifalutin \
 "(cn=Babs Jensen)" cn userPassword
dn: uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
cn: Barbara Jensen
cn: Babs Jensen
userPassword: {SSHA}7S4Si+vPE513cYQ7otiqb8hjiCzU7XNTv0RPBA==
  

OpenDJ directory server's Regular Expression identity mapper uses a regular expression to extract a substring from the string provided, then searches for a match between the substring and the value of a specified attribute. In the case of example data where an email address is user ID + @ + domain, you can use the default Regular Expression identity mapper in the same way as the email mapper from the previous example. The default regular expression pattern is ^([^@]+)@.+$, and the part of the identity string matching ([^@]+) is used to find the entry by user ID:

$ dsconfig \
 set-sasl-mechanism-handler-prop \
 --hostname opendj.example.com \
 --port 4444 \
 --bindDN "cn=Directory Manager" \
 --bindPassword password \
 --handler-name PLAIN \
 --set identity-mapper:"Regular Expression" \
 --no-prompt

$ ldapsearch \
 --port 1389 \
 --useStartTLS \
 --baseDN dc=example,dc=com \
 --saslOption mech=PLAIN \
 --saslOption authid=u:bjensen@example.com \
 --bindPassword hifalutin \
 "(cn=Babs Jensen)" cn userPassword
dn: uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
cn: Barbara Jensen
cn: Babs Jensen
userPassword: {SSHA}7S4Si+vPE513cYQ7otiqb8hjiCzU7XNTv0RPBA==
  

Try the dsconfig command interactively to experiment with match-pattern and replace-pattern settings for the Regular Expression identity mapper. The match-pattern can be any regular expression supported by javax.util.regex.Pattern.

Proxied authorization provides a standard control as defined in RFC 4370 (and an earlier Internet-Draft) for binding with the user credentials of a proxy, who carries out LDAP operations on behalf of other users. You might use proxied authorization, for example, to bind your application with its credentials, then carry out operations as the users who login to the application.

Proxied authorization is similar to the UNIX sudo command. The proxied operation is performed as if it were requested not by the user who did the bind, but by the proxied user. "Whether Proxy Authorization Allows an Operation on the Target" shows how this affects permissions.

Suppose you have an administrative directory client application that has an entry in the directory with DN cn=My App,ou=Apps,dc=example,dc=com. You can give that application the access rights and privileges to use proxied authorization. The default access control for OpenDJ lets authenticated users use the proxied authorization control.

Suppose also that when directory administrator, Kirsten Vaughan, logs in to your application to change Babs Jensen's entry, your application looks up Kirsten's entry, and finds that she has DN uid=kvaughan,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com. For the example commands in "To Configure Proxied Authorization", My App uses proxied authorization to make a change to Babs's entry as Kirsten.

If you need to map authorization identifiers using the u: form rather than using dn:, you can set the identity mapper with the global configuration setting, proxied-authorization-identity-mapper. For example, if you get user ID values from the client, such as bjensen, you can configure OpenDJ directory server to use the exact match identity mapper to match those to DNs based on an attribute of the entry. Use the dsconfig command interactively to determine the settings you need.

One alternative to simple binds with user name/password combinations consists of storing a digital certificate on the user entry, then using the certificate as credentials during the bind. You can use this mechanism, for example, to let applications bind without using passwords.

By setting up a secure connection with a certificate, the client is in effect authenticating to the server. The server must close the connection if it cannot trust the client certificate. However, the process of establishing a secure connection does not in itself identify the client to OpenDJ directory server.

Instead, when binding with a certificate, the client must request the SASL External mechanism by which OpenDJ directory server maps the certificate to the client entry in the directory. When it finds a match, OpenDJ sets the authorization identity for the connection to that of the client, and the bind is successful.

For the whole process of authenticating with a certificate to work smoothly, OpenDJ and the client must trust each others' certificates, the client certificate must be stored on the client entry in the directory, and OpenDJ must be configured to map the certificate to the client entry.

$ echo changeit > keystore.pin
$ chmod 400 keystore.pin
   

$ keytool \
 -export \
 -alias server-cert \
 -file server-cert.crt \
 -keystore /path/to/opendj/config/keystore \
 -storepass `cat /path/to/opendj/config/keystore.pin`

$ keytool \
 -import \
 -trustcacerts \
 -alias server-cert \
 -file server-cert.crt \
 -keystore keystore \
 -storepass `cat keystore.pin`
   

$ keytool \
 -import \
 -trustcacerts \
 -alias ca-cert \
 -file ca-cert.crt \
 -keystore keystore \
 -storepass `cat keystore.pin`
   

$ ldapsearch \
 --port 1389 \
 --hostname opendj.example.com \
 --baseDN dc=example,dc=com \
 --useStartTLS \
 --trustStorePath keystore \
 --trustStorePasswordFile keystore.pin \
 "(cn=My App)" userPassword
dn: cn=My App,ou=Apps,dc=example,dc=com
   

$ ldapsearch \
 --port 1389 \
 --hostname opendj.example.com \
 --baseDN dc=example,dc=com \
 --useStartTLS \
 --useSASLExternal \
 --certNickName myapp-cert \
 --keyStorePath keystore \
 --keyStorePasswordFile keystore.pin \
 --trustStorePath keystore \
 --trustStorePasswordFile keystore.pin \
 "(cn=My App)" userPassword
dn: cn=My App,ou=Apps,dc=example,dc=com
userPassword: {SSHA}vy/vTthOQoV/wH3MciTOBKKR4OX+0dSN/a09Ew==
   

# Fingerprint mapper
$ dsconfig \
 set-sasl-mechanism-handler-prop \
 --port 4444 \
 --hostname opendj.example.com \
 --bindDN "cn=Directory Manager" \
 --bindPassword password \
 --handler-name External \
 --set certificate-mapper:"Fingerprint Mapper" \
 --no-prompt

$ ldapsearch \
 --port 1389 \
 --hostname opendj.example.com \
 --baseDN dc=example,dc=com \
 --useStartTLS \
 --useSASLExternal \
 --certNickName myapp-cert \
 --keyStorePath keystore \
 --keyStorePasswordFile keystore.pin \
 --trustStorePath keystore \
 --trustStorePasswordFile keystore.pin \
 "(cn=My App)" userPassword
dn: cn=My App,ou=Apps,dc=example,dc=com
userPassword: {SSHA}vy/vTthOQoV/wH3MciTOBKKR4OX+0dSN/a09Ew==

# Subject Attribute to User Attribute mapper
$ dsconfig \
 set-sasl-mechanism-handler-prop \
 --port 4444 \
 --hostname opendj.example.com \
 --bindDN "cn=Directory Manager" \
 --bindPassword password \
 --handler-name External \
 --set certificate-mapper:"Subject Attribute to User Attribute" \
 --no-prompt

$ ldapsearch \
 --port 1389 \
 --hostname opendj.example.com \
 --baseDN dc=example,dc=com \
 --useStartTLS \
 --useSASLExternal \
 --certNickName myapp-cert \
 --keyStorePath keystore \
 --keyStorePasswordFile keystore.pin \
 --trustStorePath keystore \
 --trustStorePasswordFile keystore.pin \
 "(cn=My App)" userPassword
dn: cn=My App,ou=Apps,dc=example,dc=com
userPassword: {SSHA}vy/vTthOQoV/wH3MciTOBKKR4OX+0dSN/a09Ew==

# Subject DN to User Attribute mapper
$ dsconfig \
 set-sasl-mechanism-handler-prop \
 --port 4444 \
 --hostname opendj.example.com \
 --bindDN "cn=Directory Manager" \
 --bindPassword password \
 --handler-name External \
 --set certificate-mapper:"Subject DN to User Attribute" \
 --no-prompt

$ ldapsearch \
 --port 1389 \
 --hostname opendj.example.com \
 --baseDN dc=example,dc=com \
 --useStartTLS \
 --useSASLExternal \
 --certNickName myapp-cert \
 --keyStorePath keystore \
 --keyStorePasswordFile keystore.pin \
 --trustStorePath keystore \
 --trustStorePasswordFile keystore.pin \
 "(cn=My App)" userPassword
dn: cn=My App,ou=Apps,dc=example,dc=com
userPassword: {SSHA}vy/vTthOQoV/wH3MciTOBKKR4OX+0dSN/a09Ew==
   

Directory servers publish information about services they provide as operational attributes of the root DSE. The root DSE is the entry with an empty string DN, "". DSE is an acronym for DSA-Specific Entry. DSA is an acronym for Directory System Agent. The DSE differs by server, but is generally nearly identical for replicas.

OpenDJ directory server publishes the DN of the entry holding schema definitions as the value of the attribute subschemaSubentry as shown in "Finding the Schema Entry".

$ ldapsearch --port 1389 --baseDN "" --searchScope base "(&)" subschemaSubentry
dn:
subschemaSubentry: cn=schema
   

$ ldapsearch \
 --port 1389 \
 --baseDN "cn=schema" \
 --searchScope base \
 --dontWrap \
 "(&)" \
 objectClasses \
 | grep \'person\'
 objectClasses: ( 2.5.6.6 NAME 'person' SUP top STRUCTURAL MUST ( sn $ cn )
  MAY ( userPassword $ telephoneNumber $ seeAlso $ description )
  X-ORIGIN 'RFC 4519' )
   

The object class defines which attributes an entry of that object class must have and which attributes the entry may optionally have. A person entry must have a cn and an sn attribute. A person entry may optionally have userPassword, telephoneNumber, seeAlso, and description attributes.

To determine definitions of those attributes, read the LDAP schema as demonstrated in "Reading Schema Definitions for an Attribute".

$ ldapsearch \
 --port 1389 \
 --baseDN "cn=schema" \
 --searchScope base \
 --dontWrap \
 "(&)" \
 attributeTypes \
 | grep \'cn\'
 attributeTypes: ( 2.5.4.3 NAME ( 'cn' 'commonName' ) SUP name X-ORIGIN 'RFC 4519' )
   

$ ldapsearch \
 --port 1389 \
 --baseDN "cn=schema" \
 --searchScope base \
 --dontWrap \
 "(&)" \
 attributeTypes \
 | grep \'name\'
attributeTypes: ( 2.5.4.41 NAME 'name' EQUALITY caseIgnoreMatch
  SUBSTR caseIgnoreSubstringsMatch
  SYNTAX 1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.15{32768} X-ORIGIN 'RFC 4519' )
   

$ ldapsearch \
 --port 1389 \
 --baseDN "cn=schema" \
 --searchScope base \
 --dontWrap \
 "(&)" \
 ldapSyntaxes \
 | grep 1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.15
ldapSyntaxes: ( 1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.15 DESC 'Directory String' )
   

For the sake of interoperability and to avoid polluting directory data, scripts and applications should respect LDAP schema. In the simplest case, scripts and applications can use the schemas already defined.

OpenDJ directory server does accept updates to schema definitions over LDAP while the server is running. This means that when a new application calls for attributes that are not yet defined by existing directory schemas, the directory administrator can easily add them as described in "Updating Directory Schema" in the Administration Guide as long as the new definitions do not conflict with existing definitions.

General purpose applications handle many different types of data. Such applications must manage schema compliance at run time. Software development kits such as the Java-based OpenDJ LDAP SDK provide mechanisms for reading schema definitions at run time and checking whether entry data is valid according to the schema definitions.

When you encounter an error, take the time to read the additional information. The additional information from OpenDJ directory server often suffices to allow you to resolve the problem directly.

"Object Class Violations" and "Invalid Attribute Syntax" show some common problems that can result from schema violations.

$ ldapmodify \
 --port 1389 \
 --bindDN "uid=kvaughan,ou=people,dc=example,dc=com" \
 --bindPassword bribery
dn: uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
changetype: modify
add: undefined
undefined: This attribute is not defined.

Processing MODIFY request for uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
MODIFY operation failed
Result Code:  65 (Object Class Violation)
Additional Information:  Entry uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com cannot
  be modified because the resulting entry would have violated the server schema:
  Entry uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com violates
  the Directory Server schema configuration because
  it includes attribute undefined which is not allowed
  by any of the objectclasses defined in that entry
   

$ ldapmodify \
 --port 1389 \
 --bindDN "uid=kvaughan,ou=people,dc=example,dc=com" \
 --bindPassword bribery
dn: uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
changetype: modify
add: objectClass
objectClass: organizationalUnit

Processing MODIFY request for uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
MODIFY operation failed
Result Code:  65 (Object Class Violation)
Additional Information:  Entry uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com cannot
  be modified because the resulting entry would have violated the server schema:
  Entry uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com violates
  the Directory Server schema configuration because
  it includes multiple conflicting structural objectclasses
  inetOrgPerson and organizationalUnit.
  Only a single structural objectclass is allowed in an entry
   

$ ldapmodify \
 --port 1389 \
 --bindDN "uid=kvaughan,ou=people,dc=example,dc=com" \
 --bindPassword bribery
dn: uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
changetype: modify
add: cn
cn:

Processing MODIFY request for uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
MODIFY operation failed
Result Code:  21 (Invalid Attribute Syntax)
Additional Information:  When attempting to modify entry
 uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com to add one or more values
 for attribute cn, value "" was found to be invalid
 according to the associated syntax:
 The operation attempted to assign a zero-length value to an attribute
 with the directory string syntax
   

When it is not possible to respect the schema definitions, you can sometimes work around LDAP schema constraints without changing OpenDJ directory server configuration. The schema defines an extensibleObject object class. The extensibleObject object class is auxiliary. It effectively allows entries to hold any user attribute, even attributes that are not defined in the schema.

$ ldapmodify \
 --port 1389 \
 --bindDN "uid=kvaughan,ou=people,dc=example,dc=com" \
 --bindPassword bribery
dn: uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
changetype: modify
add: objectClass
objectClass: extensibleObject
-
add: undefined
undefined: This attribute is not defined in the LDAP schema.
-
add: serialNumber
serialNumber: This attribute is not allowed according to the object classes.

Processing MODIFY request for uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
MODIFY operation successful for DN uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
   

A static group is expressed as an entry that enumerates all the entries that belong to the group. Static group entries grow as their membership increases.

Static group entries can take the standard object class groupOfNames where each member attribute value is a distinguished name of an entry, or groupOfUniqueNames where each uniqueMember attribute value has Name and Optional UID syntax.^[6] Like other LDAP attributes, member and uniqueMember attributes take sets of unique values.

Static group entries can also have the object class groupOfEntries, which is like groupOfNames except that it is designed to allow groups not to have members.

When creating a group entry, use groupOfNames or groupOfEntries where possible.

To create a static group, add a group entry such as the following to the directory:

$ cat static.ldif
dn: cn=My Static Group,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
cn: My Static Group
objectClass: groupOfNames
objectClass: top
ou: Groups
member: uid=ahunter,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=tmorris,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com


$ ldapmodify \
 --port 1389 \
 --bindDN "cn=Directory Manager" \
 --bindPassword password \
 --defaultAdd \
 --filename static.ldif
Processing ADD request for cn=My Static Group,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
ADD operation successful for DN cn=My Static Group,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
  

To change group membership, modify the values of the membership attribute:

$ cat add2grp.ldif
dn: cn=My Static Group,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
changetype: modify
add: member
member: uid=scarter,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com


$ ldapmodify \
 --port 1389 \
 --bindDN "cn=Directory Manager" \
 --bindPassword password \
 --filename add2grp.ldif
Processing MODIFY request for cn=My Static Group,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
MODIFY operation successful for DN
 cn=My Static Group,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com

$ ldapsearch \
 --port 1389 \
 --baseDN dc=example,dc=com \
 "(cn=My Static Group)"
dn: cn=My Static Group,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
ou: Groups
objectClass: groupOfNames
objectClass: top
member: uid=ahunter,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=tmorris,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=scarter,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
cn: My Static Group
  

RFC 4519 says a groupOfNames entry must have at least one member. Although OpenDJ allows you to create a groupOfNames without members, strictly speaking, that behavior is not standard. Alternatively, you can use the groupOfEntries object class as shown in the following example:

$ cat group-of-entries.ldif
dn: cn=Initially Empty Static Group,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
cn: Initially Empty Static Group
objectClass: groupOfEntries
objectClass: top
ou: Groups

$ ldapmodify \
 --port 1389 \
 --bindDN "cn=Directory Manager" \
 --bindPassword password \
 --defaultAdd \
 --filename group-of-entries.ldif
Processing ADD request for
 cn=Initially Empty Static Group,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
ADD operation successful for DN
 cn=Initially Empty Static Group,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com

$ cat add-members.ldif
# Now add some members to the group.
dn: cn=Initially Empty Static Group,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
changetype: modify
add: member
member: uid=ahunter,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=tmorris,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=scarter,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com

$ ldapmodify \
 --port 1389 \
 --bindDN "cn=Directory Manager" \
 --bindPassword password \
 --filename add-members.ldif
Processing MODIFY request for
 cn=Initially Empty Static Group,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
MODIFY operation successful for DN
 cn=Initially Empty Static Group,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
  

A dynamic group specifies members using LDAP URLs. Dynamic groups entries can stay small even as their membership increases.

Dynamic group entries take the groupOfURLs object class, with one or more memberURL values specifying LDAP URLs to identify group members.

To create a dynamic group, add a group entry such as the following to the directory.

The following example builds a dynamic group of entries, effectively matching the filter "(l=San Francisco)" (users whose location is San Francisco). Change the filter if your data is different, and so no entries have l: San Francisco:

$ cat dynamic.ldif
dn: cn=My Dynamic Group,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
cn: My Dynamic Group
objectClass: top
objectClass: groupOfURLs
ou: Groups
memberURL: ldap:///ou=People,dc=example,dc=com??sub?l=San Francisco

$ ldapmodify \
 --port 1389 \
 --bindDN "cn=Directory Manager" \
 --bindPassword password \
 --defaultAdd \
 --filename dynamic.ldif
Processing ADD request for cn=My Dynamic Group,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
ADD operation successful for DN cn=My Dynamic Group,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
  

Group membership changes dynamically as entries change to match the memberURL values:

$ ldapsearch \
 --port 1389 \
 --baseDN dc=example,dc=com \
 "(&(uid=*jensen)(isMemberOf=cn=My Dynamic Group,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com))" \
 mail
dn: uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
mail: bjensen@example.com

dn: uid=rjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
mail: rjensen@example.com

$ ldapmodify \
 --port 1389 \
 --bindDN "cn=Directory Manager" \
 --bindPassword password
dn: uid=ajensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
changetype: modify
replace: l
l: San Francisco

Processing MODIFY request for uid=ajensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
MODIFY operation successful for DN uid=ajensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
^D
$ ldapsearch \
 --port 1389 \
 --baseDN dc=example,dc=com \
 "(&(uid=*jensen)(isMemberOf=cn=My Dynamic Group,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com))" \
 mail
dn: uid=ajensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
mail: ajensen@example.com

dn: uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
mail: bjensen@example.com

dn: uid=rjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
mail: rjensen@example.com
  

OpenDJ lets you create virtual static groups, which let applications see dynamic groups as what appear to be static groups.

The virtual static group takes auxiliary object class ds-virtual-static-group. Virtual static groups also take either the object class groupOfNames, or groupOfUniqueNames, but instead of having member or uniqueMember attributes, have ds-target-group-dn attributes pointing to other groups.

Generating the list of members can be resource-intensive for large groups, so by default, you cannot retrieve the list of members. You can change this with the dsconfig command by setting the Virtual Static member or Virtual Static uniqueMember property:

$ dsconfig \
 set-virtual-attribute-prop \
 --port 4444 \
 --hostname opendj.example.com \
 --bindDN "cn=Directory Manager" \
 --bindPassword password \
 --name "Virtual Static member" \
 --set allow-retrieving-membership:true \
 --trustAll \
 --no-prompt
  

The following example creates a virtual static group, and reads the group entry with all members:

$ cat virtual.ldif
dn: cn=Virtual Static,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
cn: Virtual Static
objectclass: top
objectclass: groupOfNames
objectclass: ds-virtual-static-group
ds-target-group-dn: cn=My Dynamic Group,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com

$ ldapmodify \
 --port 1389 \
 --bindDN "cn=Directory Manager" \
 --bindPassword password \
 --defaultAdd \
 --filename virtual.ldif
Processing ADD request for cn=Virtual Static,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
ADD operation successful for DN cn=Virtual Static,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com

$ ldapsearch --port 1389 --baseDN dc=example,dc=com "(cn=Virtual Static)"
dn: cn=Virtual Static,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
objectClass: groupOfNames
objectClass: ds-virtual-static-group
objectClass: top
member: uid=jwalker,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=jmuffly,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=tlabonte,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=dakers,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=jreuter,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=rfisher,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=pshelton,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=rjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=jcampaig,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=mjablons,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=mlangdon,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=aknutson,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=bplante,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=awalker,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=smason,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=ewalker,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=dthorud,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=btalbot,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=tcruse,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=kcarter,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=aworrell,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=ajensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=cwallace,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=mwhite,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=kschmith,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=mtalbot,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=tschmith,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=gfarmer,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=speterso,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=prose,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=jbourke,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=mtyler,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=abergin,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=mschneid,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
cn: Virtual Static
ds-target-group-dn: cn=My Dynamic Group,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
  

OpenDJ lets you look up which groups a user belongs to by using the isMemberOf attribute:

$ ldapsearch \
 --port 1389 \
 --baseDN dc=example,dc=com \
 uid=bjensen \
 isMemberOf
dn: uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
isMemberOf: cn=My Static Group,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
isMemberOf: cn=Virtual Static,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
isMemberOf: cn=My Dynamic Group,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
  

You must request isMemberOf explicitly.

OpenDJ directory server lets you nest groups. The following example shows a group of groups of managers and administrators:

$ cat /path/to/the-big-shots.ldif
dn: cn=The Big Shots,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
cn: The Big Shots
objectClass: groupOfNames
objectClass: top
ou: Groups
member: cn=Accounting Managers,ou=groups,dc=example,dc=com
member: cn=Directory Administrators,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
member: cn=HR Managers,ou=groups,dc=example,dc=com
member: cn=PD Managers,ou=groups,dc=example,dc=com
member: cn=QA Managers,ou=groups,dc=example,dc=com

$ ldapmodify \
 --port 1389 \
 --bindDN "cn=Directory Manager" \
 --bindPassword password \
 --defaultAdd \
 --filename /path/to/the-big-shots.ldif
Processing ADD request for cn=The Big Shots,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
ADD operation successful for DN cn=The Big Shots,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
  

Although not shown in the example above, OpenDJ lets you nest groups within nested groups, too.

OpenDJ lets you create dynamic groups of groups. The following example shows a group of other groups. The members of this group are themselves groups, not users:

$ cat /path/to/group-of-groups.ldif
dn: cn=Group of Groups,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
cn: Group of Groups
objectClass: top
objectClass: groupOfURLs
ou: Groups
memberURL: ldap:///ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com??sub?ou=Groups

$ ldapmodify \
 --port 1389 \
 --bindDN "cn=Directory Manager" \
 --bindPassword password \
 --defaultAdd \
 --filename /path/to/group-of-groups.ldif
Processing ADD request for cn=Group of Groups,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
ADD operation successful for DN cn=Group of Groups,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
  

Use the isMemberOf attribute to determine what groups a member belongs to, as described in "Looking Up Group Membership". The following example requests groups that Kirsten Vaughan belongs to:

$ ldapsearch \
 --port 1389 \
 --baseDN dc=example,dc=com \
 uid=kvaughan \
 isMemberOf
dn: uid=kvaughan,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
isMemberOf: cn=Directory Administrators,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
isMemberOf: cn=HR Managers,ou=groups,dc=example,dc=com
isMemberOf: cn=The Big Shots,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
  

Notice that Kirsten is a member of the group of groups of managers and administrators.

Notice also that Kirsten does not belong to the group of groups. The members of that group are groups, not users. The following example requests the groups that the directory administrators group belongs to:

$ ldapsearch \
 --port 1389 \
 --baseDN dc=example,dc=com \
 "(cn=Directory Administrators)" \
 isMemberOf
dn: cn=Directory Administrators,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
isMemberOf: cn=Group of Groups,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
isMemberOf: cn=The Big Shots,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
  

The following example shows which groups each group belong to:

$ ldapsearch \
 --port 1389 \
 --baseDN dc=example,dc=com \
 ou=Groups \
 isMemberOf
dn: ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com

dn: cn=Accounting Managers,ou=groups,dc=example,dc=com
isMemberOf: cn=Group of Groups,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
isMemberOf: cn=The Big Shots,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com

dn: cn=Directory Administrators,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
isMemberOf: cn=Group of Groups,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
isMemberOf: cn=The Big Shots,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com

dn: cn=HR Managers,ou=groups,dc=example,dc=com
isMemberOf: cn=Group of Groups,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
isMemberOf: cn=The Big Shots,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com

dn: cn=PD Managers,ou=groups,dc=example,dc=com
isMemberOf: cn=Group of Groups,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
isMemberOf: cn=The Big Shots,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com

dn: cn=QA Managers,ou=groups,dc=example,dc=com
isMemberOf: cn=Group of Groups,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
isMemberOf: cn=The Big Shots,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com

dn: cn=My Static Group,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
isMemberOf: cn=Group of Groups,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com

dn: cn=My Dynamic Group,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com

dn: cn=The Big Shots,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
isMemberOf: cn=Group of Groups,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com

dn: cn=Group of Groups,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
  

Notice that the group of groups is not a member of itself.

When you delete or rename an entry that belongs to static groups, that entry's DN must be removed or changed in the list of each group to which it belongs. You can configure OpenDJ to resolve membership on your behalf after the change operation succeeds by enabling referential integrity.

Referential integrity functionality is implemented as a plugin. The referential integrity plugin is disabled by default. To enable the plugin, use the dsconfig command:

$ dsconfig \
 set-plugin-prop \
 --port 4444 \
 --hostname opendj.example.com \
 --bindDN "cn=Directory Manager" \
 --bindPassword password \
 --plugin-name "Referential Integrity" \
 --set enabled:true \
 --trustAll \
 --no-prompt
  

With the plugin enabled, you can see OpenDJ referential integrity resolving group membership automatically:

$ ldapsearch --port 1389 --baseDN dc=example,dc=com "(cn=My Static Group)"
dn: cn=My Static Group,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
ou: Groups
objectClass: groupOfNames
objectClass: top
member: uid=ahunter,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=tmorris,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=scarter,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
cn: My Static Group

$ ldapdelete \
 --port 1389 \
 --bindDN "cn=Directory Manager" \
 --bindPassword password \
 uid=scarter,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
Processing DELETE request for uid=scarter,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
DELETE operation successful for DN uid=scarter,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com

$ ldapsearch --port 1389 --baseDN dc=example,dc=com "(cn=My Static Group)"
dn: cn=My Static Group,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com
ou: Groups
objectClass: groupOfNames
objectClass: top
cn: My Static Group
member: uid=ahunter,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
member: uid=tmorris,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
  

By default, the referential integrity plugin is configured to manage member and uniqueMember attributes. These attributes take values that are DNs, and are indexed for equality by default for the default backend. Before you add an additional attribute to manage, make sure that it has DN syntax and that it is indexed for equality. OpenDJ directory server requires that the attribute be indexed because an unindexed search for integrity would potentially consume too many of the server's resources. Attribute syntax is explained in "Managing Schema" in the Administration Guide. For instructions on indexing attributes, see "Configuring and Rebuilding Indexes" in the Administration Guide.

You can also configure the referential integrity plugin to check that new entries added to groups actually exist in the directory by setting the check-references property to true. You can specify additional criteria once you have activated the check. To ensure that entries added must match a filter, set the check-references-filter-criteria to identify the attribute and the filter. For example, you can specify that group members must be person entries by setting check-references-filter-criteria to member:(objectclass=person). To ensure that entries must be located in the same naming context, set check-references-scope-criteria to naming-context.

Virtual attributes augment directory entries with attribute values that OpenDJ directory server computes or obtains dynamically. Virtual attribute values do not exist in persistent storage. They help to limit the amount of data that needs to be stored and are great for some uses, such as determining the groups a users belongs to or adding an ETag to an entry.

Do not index virtual attributes. Virtual attribute values generated by the server when they are read. They are not designed to be stored in a persistent index.

Since you do not index virtual attributes, searching on a virtual attribute can result in an unindexed search. For an unindexed search OpenDJ directory server potentially has to go through all entries to look for candidate matches. Looking through all entries is resource-intensive for large directories. By default, OpenDJ directory server allows only the Directory Manager superuser to perform unindexed searches. Generally avoid searches that use a simple filter with a virtual attribute. Instead, consider the alternatives. You can assign a password policy to a group as described in "To Assign a Password Policy to a Group" in the Administration Guide. The procedure uses a virtual attribute only in a subtree specification filter. If you must use a virtual attribute in a search filter, use it in a complex search filter after narrowing the search by filtering on an indexed attribute. For example, the following filter first narrows the search based on the user's ID before checking group membership. Make sure that the user performing the search has access to read isMemberOf in the results:

(&(uid=user-id)(isMemberOf=group-dn))
  

Two virtual attributes, entryDN and isMemberOf, can also be used in simple equality filters. The following example shows how to add access to read isMemberOf and then run a search that returns the common names for members of a group:

$ ldapmodify \
 --hostname opendj.example.com \
 --port 1389 \
 --bindDN "cn=Directory Manager" \
 --bindPassword password
dn: dc=example,dc=com
changetype: modify
add: aci
aci: (targetattr="isMemberOf")(version 3.0;
  acl "See isMemberOf"; allow (read,search,compare) groupdn=
  "ldap:///cn=Directory Administrators,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com";)

Processing MODIFY request for dc=example,dc=com
MODIFY operation successful for DN dc=example,dc=com
$ ldapsearch \
 --hostname opendj.example.com \
 --port 1389 \
 --baseDN dc=example,dc=com \
 --bindDN uid=kvaughan,ou=people,dc=example,dc=com \
 --bindPassword bribery \
 "(isMemberOf=cn=Directory Administrators,ou=Groups,dc=example,dc=com)" \
 cn
dn: uid=hmiller,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
cn: Harry Miller

dn: uid=kvaughan,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
cn: Kirsten Vaughan

dn: uid=rdaugherty,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
cn: Robert Daugherty

  

OpenDJ defines the following virtual attributes by default:

These virtual attributes are typically operational, so you get them back from a search only when you request them:

$ ldapsearch --port 1389 --baseDN dc=example,dc=com dc=example
dn: dc=example,dc=com
dc: example
objectClass: domain
objectClass: top

$ ldapsearch --port 1389 --baseDN dc=example,dc=com dc=example numSubordinates
dn: dc=example,dc=com
numSubordinates: 12
   

You can use the existing virtual attribute types to create your own virtual attributes, and you can also use the user-defined type to create your own virtual attribute types. The virtual attribute is defined by the server configuration, which is not replicated:

$ dsconfig \
 create-virtual-attribute \
 --hostname opendj.example.com \
 --port 4444 \
 --bindDN "cn=Directory Manager" \
 --bindPassword password \
 --name "Served By Description" \
 --type user-defined \
 --set enabled:true \
 --set attribute-type:description \
 --set base-dn:dc=example,dc=com \
 --set value:"Served by OpenDJ.Example.com" \
 --trustAll \
 --no-prompt

$ ldapsearch --port 1389 --baseDN dc=example,dc=com uid=bjensen description
dn: uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
description: Served by OpenDJ.Example.com
  

Collective attributes cover many use cases better than virtual attributes.

Collective attributes provide a standard mechanism for defining attributes that appear on all the entries in a subtree potentially filtered by object class. Standard collective attribute type names have the prefix c-.

OpenDJ extends collective attributes to make them easier to use. You can define any OpenDJ attribute as collective using the ;collective attribute option. You can use LDAP filters in your subtree specification for fine-grained control over which entries have the collective attributes.

You can have entries inherit attributes from other entries through collective attributes. You establish the relationship between entries either by indicating the attribute holding the DN of the entry from which to inherit the attributes, or by specifying how to construct the RDN of the entry from which to inherit the attributes.

$ cat quotas.ldif
dn: cn=schema
changetype: modify
add: attributeTypes
attributeTypes: ( example-class-of-service-attribute-type NAME 'classOfService
 ' EQUALITY caseIgnoreMatch ORDERING caseIgnoreOrderingMatch SUBSTR caseIgnore
 SubstringsMatch SYNTAX 1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.15 SINGLE-VALUE USAGE user
 Applications X-ORIGIN 'OpenDJ Documentation Examples' )
-
add: attributeTypes
attributeTypes: ( example-class-of-service-disk-quota NAME 'diskQuota
 ' EQUALITY caseIgnoreMatch ORDERING caseIgnoreOrderingMatch SUBSTR case
 IgnoreSubstringsMatch SYNTAX 1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.15 USAGE user
 Applications X-ORIGIN 'OpenDJ Documentation Examples' )
-
add: attributeTypes
attributeTypes: ( example-class-of-service-mail-quota NAME 'mailQuota
 ' EQUALITY caseIgnoreMatch ORDERING caseIgnoreOrderingMatch SUBSTR case
 IgnoreSubstringsMatch SYNTAX 1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.15 USAGE user
 Applications X-ORIGIN 'OpenDJ Documentation Examples' )
-
add: objectClasses
objectClasses: ( example-class-of-service-object-class NAME 'cos' SUP top AUX
 ILIARY MAY ( classOfService $ diskQuota $ mailQuota ) X-ORIGIN 'OpenDJ Doc
 umentation Examples' )

$ ldapmodify \
 --port 1389 \
 --bindDN "cn=Directory Manager" \
 --bindPassword password \
 --filename quotas.ldif
Processing MODIFY request for cn=schema
MODIFY operation successful for DN cn=schema
    

# cos.ldif: quotas by class of service
dn: cn=Bronze Class of Service,dc=example,dc=com
objectClass: collectiveAttributeSubentry
objectClass: extensibleObject
objectClass: subentry
objectClass: top
cn: Bronze Class of Service
diskQuota;collective: 10 GB
mailQuota;collective: 1 GB
subtreeSpecification: { base "ou=People", specificationFilter "(classOfService=
 bronze)" }

dn: cn=Silver Class of Service,dc=example,dc=com
objectClass: collectiveAttributeSubentry
objectClass: extensibleObject
objectClass: subentry
objectClass: top
cn: Silver Class of Service
diskQuota;collective: 50 GB
mailQuota;collective: 5 GB
subtreeSpecification: { base "ou=People", specificationFilter "(classOfService=
 silver)" }

dn: cn=Gold Class of Service,dc=example,dc=com
objectClass: collectiveAttributeSubentry
objectClass: extensibleObject
objectClass: subentry
objectClass: top
cn: Gold Class of Service
diskQuota;collective: 100 GB
mailQuota;collective: 10 GB
subtreeSpecification: { base "ou=People", specificationFilter "(classOfService=
 gold)" }
    

$ ldapmodify \
 --port 1389 \
 --bindDN "cn=Directory Manager" \
 --bindPassword password \
 --defaultAdd \
 --filename cos.ldif
Processing ADD request for cn=Bronze Class of Service,dc=example,dc=com
ADD operation successful for DN cn=Bronze Class of Service,dc=example,dc=com
Processing ADD request for cn=Silver Class of Service,dc=example,dc=com
ADD operation successful for DN cn=Silver Class of Service,dc=example,dc=com
Processing ADD request for cn=Gold Class of Service,dc=example,dc=com
ADD operation successful for DN cn=Gold Class of Service,dc=example,dc=com
    

$ ldapsearch \
 --port 1389 \
 --baseDN dc=example,dc=com \
 uid=bjensen \
 classOfService mailQuota diskQuota
dn: uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
mailQuota: 1 GB
classOfService: bronze
diskQuota: 10 GB

$ ldapsearch \
 --port 1389 \
 --baseDN dc=example,dc=com \
 uid=kvaughan \
 classOfService mailQuota diskQuota
dn: uid=kvaughan,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
mailQuota: 5 GB
classOfService: silver
diskQuota: 50 GB

$ ldapsearch \
 --port 1389 \
 --baseDN dc=example,dc=com \
 uid=scarter \
 classOfService mailQuota diskQuota
dn: uid=scarter,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
mailQuota: 10 GB
classOfService: gold
diskQuota: 100 GB
    

dn: cn=Inherit Department Number From Manager,dc=example,dc=com
objectClass: top
objectClass: subentry
objectClass: inheritedCollectiveAttributeSubentry
objectClass: inheritedFromDNCollectiveAttributeSubentry
cn: Inherit Department Number From Manager
subtreeSpecification: { base "ou=People" }
inheritFromDNAttribute: manager
inheritAttribute: departmentNumber

   

dn: uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
manager: uid=trigden, ou=People, dc=example,dc=com
   

dn: uid=trigden,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
departmentNumber: 3001
   

$ ldapsearch --port 1389 --baseDN dc=example,dc=com uid=bjensen departmentNumber
dn: uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
departmentNumber: 3001
   

dn: cn=Inherit From Locality,dc=example,dc=com
objectClass: top
objectClass: subentry
objectClass: inheritedCollectiveAttributeSubentry
objectClass: inheritedFromRDNCollectiveAttributeSubentry
cn: Inherit From Locality
subtreeSpecification: { base "ou=People" }
inheritFromBaseRDN: ou=Locations
inheritFromRDNAttribute: l
inheritFromRDNType: l
inheritAttribute: preferredLanguage
inheritAttribute: street
collectiveConflictBehavior: real-overrides-virtual

   

dn: l=Bristol,ou=Locations,dc=example,dc=com
objectClass: top
objectClass: locality
objectClass: extensibleObject
l: Bristol
street: 60 Queen Square
preferredLanguage: en-gb

   

collectiveConflictBehavior: real-overrides-virtual

dn: uid=scarter,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
l: Bristol
   

$ ldapsearch --port 1389 --baseDN dc=example,dc=com uid=scarter \
 preferredLanguage street
dn: uid=scarter,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
preferredLanguage: en-gb
street: 60 Queen Square
   

dn: uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
preferredLanguage: en, ko;q=0.8
l: San Francisco
   

$ ldapsearch --port 1389 --baseDN dc=example,dc=com uid=bjensen \
 preferredLanguage street
dn: uid=bjensen,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
preferredLanguage: en, ko;q=0.8
street: 500 3rd Street
   

Referrals are implemented as entries with LDAP URL ref attribute values that point elsewhere. The ref attribute type is required by the referral object class. The referral object class is structural, however, and therefore cannot by default be added to an entry that already has a structural object class defined. When adding a ref attribute type to an existing entry, you can use the extensibleObject auxiliary object class.

When a referral is set, OpenDJ returns the referral to client applications requesting the affected entry or child entries. Client applications must be capable of following the referral returned. When the directory server responds, for example, to your search with referrals to one or more LDAP URLs, your client then constructs new searches from the LDAP URLs returned, and tries again.

To create an LDAP referral, either create a referral entry, or add the extensibleObject object class and the ref attribute with an LDAP URL to an existing entry. This section demonstrates use of the latter approach:

$ cat referral.ldif
dn: ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
changetype: modify
add: objectClass
objectClass: extensibleObject
-
add: ref
ref: ldap://opendj.example.com:2389/ou=People,dc=example,dc=com

$ ldapmodify \
 --port 1389 \
 --bindDN "cn=Directory Manager" \
 --bindPassword password \
 --filename referral.ldif
Processing MODIFY request for ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
MODIFY operation successful for DN ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
  

The example above adds a referral to ou=People,dc=example,dc=com. OpenDJ can now return a referral for operations under the People organizational unit:

$ ldapsearch --port 1389 --baseDN dc=example,dc=com uid=bjensen description

SearchReference(referralURLs=
 {ldap://opendj.example.com:2389/ou=People,dc=example,dc=com??sub?})

$ ldapsearch --port 1389 --baseDN dc=example,dc=com ou=people

SearchReference(referralURLs=
 {ldap://opendj.example.com:2389/ou=People,dc=example,dc=com??sub?})
  

To access the entry instead of the referral, use the Manage DSAIT control:

$ ldapsearch \
 --port 1389 \
 --baseDN dc=example,dc=com \
 --control ManageDSAIT:true \
 ou=people \
 ref
dn: ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
ref: ldap://opendj.example.com:2389/ou=People,dc=example,dc=com

$ cat people.ldif
dn: ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
changetype: modify
delete: ref
ref: ldap://opendj.example.com:2389/ou=People,dc=example,dc=com

$ ldapmodify \
 --port 1389 \
 --bindDN "cn=Directory Manager" \
 --bindPassword password \
 --filename people.ldif
Processing MODIFY request for ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
MODIFY operation successful for DN ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
A referral entry ou=People,dc=example,dc=com indicates that the operation must
 be processed at a different server
[ldap://opendj.example.com:2389/ou=People,dc=example,dc=com]

$ ldapmodify \
 --port 1389 \
 --bindDN "cn=Directory Manager" \
 --bindPassword password \
 --control ManageDSAIT \
 --filename people.ldif
Processing MODIFY request for ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
MODIFY operation successful for DN ou=People,dc=example,dc=com

$ ldapsearch --port 1389 --baseDN dc=example,dc=com ou=people
dn: ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
ou: People
objectClass: organizationalunit
objectClass: extensibleObject
objectClass: top
  

The example above shows how to remove the referral using the Manage DSAIT control with the ldapmodify command.

OpenDJ directory server plugins are Java libraries compiled against the OpenDJ Java API. Plugins are built to be configured as part of the server and to be invoked at specific points in the lifecycle of a client request, or in the server process lifecycle.

The example plugin is bundled with OpenDJ directory server as example-plugin.zip, which holds a Maven-based project. The example plugin is a startup plugin that displays a "Hello World" message when the directory server starts. For general information about OpenDJ directory server plugins, read "About OpenDJ Directory Server Plugins". For more specific information, read "About the Example Plugin Project Files".

The example plugin project builds a server plugin that displays a "Hello World" message when OpenDJ directory server starts, as shown in "Trying the Example Server Plugin". This section describes the example plugin project. For general information about OpenDJ directory server plugins, read "About OpenDJ Directory Server Plugins" instead.