This page discusses creating and using an email-based Authentication Method in Akeyless.

Email Authentication allows human users to authenticate directly to the Akeyless Console using their email address and password. It is typically used for standalone accounts, administrators, or environments where SAML or OIDC federation is not required.

Email authentication is intended for interactive human access and is not recommended for machine or workload authentication.

Creating an Email Authentication Method

Email authentication is available by default for Akeyless accounts. No additional configuration is required. This action is distinct from creating a new Akeyless account: it creates an additonal email-based Authentication Method for an existing account.

Creating an Email Authentication Method with the Console

To create a new email-based Authentication Method with the Console:

  1. In the Console, under Administration, navigate to Users & Auth Methods.
  2. Select + New. This opens the Create Authentication Method form.
  3. On the Type selection screen, select Email, then Next →.
  4. Enter a name for the Authentication Method, such as My Email User 1 in the Name field, then select Next →.
  5. Supply the designated email address in the Email field. Optionally, configure Two-Factor Authentication.
  6. Select Finish.

An email prompting to set a password and activate the Authentication Method will be sent to the specified email address. Be sure to associate the email Authentication Method with one or more Roles.

Creating an Email Authentication Method with the CLI

To create an email-based Authentication Method with the CLI:

akeyless auth-method create email \
  --name <Email Auth Method Name> \
  --email [email protected]

An email prompting to set a password and activate the Authentication Method will be sent to the specified email address. Be sure to associate the email Authentication Method with one or more Roles.

Read about more parameters available when creating an email-based Authentication Method.

Using an Email Authentication Method

Using an Email Authentication Method with the Console

To use an email-based Authentication Method with the Console:

  1. Open the Akeyless Console: https://console.akeyless.io.
  2. Enter the email address used, then select Sign in.
  3. Enter the password used, then select Sign in again.

Using an Email Authentication Method with the CLI

To authenticate with an email address and password with the CLI, run the following command:

akeyless auth \
  --admin-email [email protected] \
  --admin-password <Password>

Optional Features

  • Two-Factor Authentication: When creating an email-based Authentication Method, Two-Factor Authentication can be optionally enabled. The second factor can use either Email or Google Authenticator. Only Google Authenticator is supported as an Authenticator App. The Two-Factor Authentication configuration can be enabled, edited, or disabled on an existing email-based Authentication Method.

  • Expiration Date: Select an access expiration date. This parameter is optional. Leave it empty for access to continue without an expiration date.

  • Allowed Client IPs: Enter a comma-separated list of CIDR blocks from which the client can issue calls to the proxy. By "client," we mean cURL, SDKs, and so on. This parameter is optional. Leave it empty for unrestricted access.

  • Allowed Trusted Gateway IPs: Comma separated CIDR blocks. If specified, the Gateway using this IP range will be trusted to forward the original client IP. If empty, the Gateway's IP address will be used.

  • Audit Log Sub-Claims: Include the following sub-claims values in Audit Logs.

  • Allowed Client Type: Select the allowed client type that will be authorized to use this authentication method. For example, CLI, Web UI, SDK, Gateway Admin, Mobile, Extension.

  • JWT TTL (in minutes): The time span from acceptance of the invitation to the JWT expiration.


What’s Next

Make sure to associate your new Authentication Method with an Access Role to grant the relevant permissions within Akeyless.

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