---
title: Full development environment
sidebar_label: Full development
tags:
    - development
    - contributor
    - backend
    - frontend
    - docker
---

import TabItem from "@theme/TabItem";
import Tabs from "@theme/Tabs";

## Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following tools installed. You can run the [provided script](#3-installing-platform-specific-dependencies) below in **Installing platform-specific dependencies** to install these required tools.

- [Python](https://www.python.org/) (3.14)
- [uv](https://docs.astral.sh/uv/getting-started/installation/) (Latest stable release)
- [Rust](https://rust-lang.org/learn/get-started/) (We provide a `rust-toolchain.toml` file for the correct version, and we use the nightly toolchain to run formatting with rustfmt.)
- [Go](https://go.dev/) (1.26 or later)
- [Node.js](https://nodejs.org/en) (24 or later)
- [PostgreSQL](https://www.postgresql.org/) (16 or later)
- [Docker](https://www.docker.com/) (Latest Community Edition or Docker Desktop)
- [Docker Compose](https://docs.docker.com/compose/) (Compose v2)
- [Make](https://www.gnu.org/software/make/) (3 or later)

### Understanding the architecture

authentik is primarily a Django application running under gunicorn, proxied by a Go application that serves static files. Most functions and classes have type hints and docstrings. For better code navigation, we recommend installing a Python type-checking extension in your IDE.

## 1. Prepare your local working repository

Verify that you have a local working repository of authentik and that it is initialized and up-to-date with the [authentik repository](https://github.com/goauthentik/authentik).

Unless otherwise specified, all commands described below should be run from the project root of your local authentik repository.

## 2. Set up required services

authentik depends on several external services:

- [PostgreSQL](https://www.postgresql.org/) for database storage
- [Zenko CloudServer (S3)](https://www.zenko.io/cloudserver/) for object storage
- [Sentry Spotlight](https://spotlightjs.com/) for error tracking and visualization

The easiest way to set up these services is using the provided Docker Compose configuration:

```shell
docker compose -f scripts/compose.yml up -d
```

## 3. Installing platform-specific dependencies

<Tabs defaultValue="macOS">
<TabItem value="macOS">

Install the required native dependencies on macOS using Homebrew. You can edit the following command if you already have some of these and want to skip installing them again, or run `brew install --dry-run` to preview the changes:

```shell
brew install \
libxmlsec1 \
libpq \
pkg-config \
uv \
postgresql \
node@24 \
golangci-lint \
krb5
```

</TabItem>
<TabItem value="Linux">

For Debian/Ubuntu-based distributions (you can edit the following command if you already have some of these and want to skip installing them again):

```shell
pip install uv
sudo apt-get install -y \
libgss-dev \
krb5-config \
libkrb5-dev \
libxml2 \
libxslt1-dev \
libxmlsec1 \
xmlsec1 \
postgresql-server-dev-all \
postgresql
```

For other distributions (Red Hat, SUSE, Arch), adjust the package names as needed.

Install `golangci-lint` by following the [official installation instructions](https://golangci-lint.run/welcome/install/#other-ci).

</TabItem>
<TabItem value="Windows">

We're currently seeking community input on running the full development environment on Windows. If you have experience with this setup, please consider contributing to this documentation.

</TabItem>
</Tabs>

:::warning

[aws-lc-rs](https://github.com/aws/aws-lc-rs) currently has an [issue](https://github.com/aws/aws-lc-rs/issues/569) building its FIPS module with GCC >= 14. If you encounter this issue, you have two options:

- Use an older version of GCC.
- Install [Clang](https://clang.llvm.org) and `export AWS_LC_FIPS_SYS_CC=clang`.

:::

## 4. Set up the backend

:::info
All `make` commands must be executed from the root directory of your local authentik Git repository.
:::

### Install dependencies

Install all required JavaScript and Python dependencies and create an isolated Python environment:

```shell
make install
```

### Generate development configuration

Create a local configuration file that uses the local databases for development:

```shell
make gen-dev-config
```

### Initialize the database

Run all migrations with the following command:

```shell
make migrate
```

:::info
If you ever want to start over, use `make dev-reset`, which drops and restores the authentik PostgreSQL database to the state it was in after you ran `make migrate`.
:::

## 5. Running authentik

Now that the backend has been set up and built, you can start authentik. Run the following command from the root of your installation directory:

```shell
make run
```

:::info
The very first time authentik runs, it might need some time to clear the initial task queue. Adjust [`AUTHENTIK_WORKER__THREADS`](../../../install-config/configuration/#authentik_worker__threads) as required.
:::

### Hot-reloading

When `AUTHENTIK_DEBUG` is set to `true` (the default for the development environment), the authentik server automatically reloads whenever changes are made to the code.

Install [watchexec](https://github.com/watchexec/watchexec), and run:

```shell
make run-watch
```

## 6. Build the frontend

Even if you're not planning to develop the UI, you need to build the frontend because no compiled bundle is included by default. Run the following command to build the authentik UI:

```shell
make web-build
```

For real-time feedback you can view the UI as you make changes. Run this command and then in your browser go to http://localhost:9000/.

```shell
make web-watch
```

## 7. Initial setup

After the frontend build completes, set a password for the default admin user (**akadmin**):

1. Navigate to http://localhost:9000 in your browser.
2. Follow the prompts to set up your admin account.

From now on, you can access authentik at http://localhost:9000 using the credentials you defined in Step 2.

## Troubleshooting

### Recovery key

If you can no longer log in or the authentication flow repeats (perhaps due to an incorrectly configured stage or a failed flow import), you can create a recovery key by running this command in your terminal:

`uv run ak create_recovery_key 10 akadmin`

Copy the generated recovery key and paste it into the URL, after the domain. For example:

`http://localhost:9000/recovery/use-token/ChFk2nJKJKJKY9OdIc8yv6RCgpGYp5rdndBhR6qHoHoJoWDdlvLuvU/`

## End-to-End (E2E) Setup

authentik ships two end-to-end test suites:

- The Django/Selenium suite under `tests/e2e/` — driven by Django's test runner. It is exercised in CI by the `test-e2e` job in `ci-main.yml`.
- The browser-side Playwright suite under `web/test/browser/` — driven by `web/playwright.config.js`. It is exercised in CI by the `e2e (playwright)` job in `ci-web.yml` and runs against a live authentik server.

### Django/Selenium suite

Start the E2E test services with the following command:

```shell
docker compose -f tests/e2e/compose.yml up -d
```

You can then view the Selenium Chrome browser via http://localhost:7900/ using the password: `secret`.

Alternatively, you can connect directly via VNC on port `5900` using the password: `secret`.

:::info
When using Docker Desktop, host networking needs to be enabled via **Docker Settings** > **Resources** > **Network** > **Enable host networking**.
:::

### Playwright suite

The Playwright suite assumes that:

- An authentik stack is reachable at `http://localhost:9000` (override with `AK_TEST_RUNNER_PAGE_URL`).
- The blueprint at `web/test/blueprints/test-admin-user.yaml` has been applied so that the `test-admin@goauthentik.io` user (password `test-runner`) can log in.

Both prerequisites are satisfied by the standard full development environment described above, plus a one-off blueprint apply. From the repository root:

```shell
# Make the test admin blueprint discoverable by the worker, then start authentik.
mkdir -p blueprints/local
cp web/test/blueprints/test-admin-user.yaml blueprints/local/test-admin-user.yaml

# In separate terminals:
make run-server
make run-worker
```

Once the worker has applied the blueprint, install Playwright's browsers (one-time) and run the suite — these are the same npm scripts CI runs:

```shell
corepack npm exec --prefix web -- playwright install --with-deps chromium
corepack npm run --prefix web test:e2e
```

After a failing run, open the HTML report to inspect traces, screenshots, and (in CI) videos:

```shell
corepack npm exec --prefix web -- playwright show-report
```

In CI, the same artifacts are uploaded under the `playwright-report` and `playwright-traces` artifact names on the failed workflow run.

## Contributing code

### Before submitting a pull request

Ensure your code meets our quality standards by running:

1. **Code linting**:

    ```shell
    make lint-fix
    make lint
    ```

2. **Generate updated API documentation**:

    ```shell
    make gen
    ```

3. **Format frontend code**:

    ```shell
    make web
    ```

4. **Run tests**:

    ```shell
    make test
    ```

You can run all these checks at once with:

```shell
make all
```

### Submitting your changes

After your code passes all checks, submit a pull request on [GitHub](https://github.com/goauthentik/authentik/pulls). Be sure to:

- Provide a clear description of your changes
- Reference any related issues
- Update any related documentation
- Follow our code and documentation [style guidelines](../../contributing/#style-guides)
- Include tests for your changes where appropriate

Thank you for contributing to authentik!
