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Learn how to import user accounts from other systems to Ory

Ory allows you to import identities from any other system. The endpoint used is the same as when creating identities with the subtle difference that you also provide the credentials field.

Importing verified addresses​

Use the verifiable_addresses field to import a verified address like an email address.

danger

You must ensure that address verification is enabled and that the verifiable_address is present in the identity's traits. If the identity traits do not have the address set as the "verified address" type, the imported values will be deleted on the next identity update.

An exemplary payload for importing an identity with a verified address:

{
  "schema_id": "preset://email",
  "traits": {
    "email": "docs-verify@example.org"
  },
  "verifiable_addresses": [
    {
      "value": "docs-verify@example.org",
      "verified": true,
      "via": "email",
      "status": "completed"
    }
  ]
}

Test the above example with a cURL command:

curl --request POST -sL \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer ory_pat_xRKLsFEOUFQFVBjd6o3FQDifaLYhabGd" \
  --header "Content-Type: application/json" \
  --data '{
  "schema_id": "preset://email",
  "traits": {
    "email": "docs-verify@example.org"
  },
  "verifiable_addresses": [
    {
      "value": "docs-verify@example.org",
      "verified": true,
      "via": "email",
      "status": "completed"
    }
  ]
}' https://playground.projects.oryapis.com/admin/identities

The API then responds with the created identity:

{
  "id": "880052ae-d32c-4b56-b82d-0dc711080910",
  "schema_id": "preset://email",
  "schema_url": "http://localhost:4455/schemas/cHJlc2V0Oi8vZW1haWw",
  "state": "active",
  "state_changed_at": "2022-02-24T15:33:17.845589803Z",
  "traits": {
    "email": "docs-verify@example.org"
  },
  "verifiable_addresses": [
    {
      "id": "c3f67b59-ab58-410b-971a-06b80f38468a",
      "value": "docs-verify@example.org",
      "verified": true,
      "via": "email",
      "status": "completed",
      "created_at": "2022-02-24T15:33:17.848941Z",
      "updated_at": "2022-02-24T15:33:17.848941Z"
    }
  ],
  "recovery_addresses": [
    {
      "id": "819b53bf-79e3-452e-8a9b-0323ec9d193c",
      "value": "docs-verify@example.org",
      "via": "email",
      "created_at": "2022-02-24T15:33:17.849758Z",
      "updated_at": "2022-02-24T15:33:17.849758Z"
    }
  ],
  "created_at": "2022-02-24T15:33:17.848475Z",
  "updated_at": "2022-02-24T15:33:17.848475Z"
}

Importing recovery addresses​

It is possible to import a list of recovery_addresses - similar to verifiable_addresses. It is better to let the identity schema handle setting the appropriate fields since there is no status to set for this address type.

We do not recommend setting these fields as they will be overwritten anyways! For more information on account recovery please head over to the account recovery documentation.

Importing credentials​

Ory supports importing credentials for identities including passwords and social sign in. You can use all of these payloads with the curl command from above!

Clear text password​

To import a clear text password, provide the password in the JSON payload.

danger

Password imports do not use any password validation. Users have to update their password according to the policy themselves using self-service flows.

{
  "schema_id": "preset://email",
  "traits": {
    "email": "docs-cleartext@example.org"
  },
  "credentials": {
    "password": {
      "config": {
        "password": "the-password"
      }
    }
  }
}

The password the-password will then be hashed according to the configured password hashing algorithm and stored in the database. The identity will be able to sign in using docs-cleartext@example.org and the-password as credentials.

BCrypt, PKBDF2, Argon2, SCrypt family hashed password​

Besides clear text passwords it is possible to import password hashes. Currently, the following algorithms are supported:

  • SCrypt, for example: $scrypt$ln=16384,r=8,p=1$ZtQva9xCHzlSELH/mA7Kj5KjH2tCrkbwYzdxknkL0QQ=$pnTcXKaWVT+FwFDdk3vO1K0J7ZgOxdSU1tCJNYmn8zI=
  • Firebase SCrypt, for example: $firescrypt$ln=14,r=8,p=1$sPtDhWcd1MfdAw==$xbSou7FOl6mChCyzpCPIQ7tku7nsQMTFtyOZSXXd7tjBa4NtimOx7v42Gv2SfzPQu1oxM2/k4SsbOu73wlKe1A==$Bw==$YE0dO4bwD4JnJafh6lZZfkp1MtKzuKAXQcDCJNJNyeCHairWHKENOkbh3dzwaCdizzOspwr/FITUVlnOAwPKyw==
  • PKBDF2 family (HMAC-SHA1, HMAC-SHA256), for example: $pbkdf2-sha256$i=1000,l=128$e8/arsEf4cvQihdNgqj0Nw$5xQQKNTyeTHx2Ld5/JDE7A
  • Argon2 family (Argon2id, Argon2i, Argon2d), for example: $argon2id$v=19$m=16,t=2,p=1$bVI1aE1SaTV6SGQ3bzdXdw$fnjCcZYmEPOUOjYXsT92Cg
  • BCrypt, for example: $2a$10$ZsCsoVQ3xfBG/K2z2XpBf.tm90GZmtOqtqWcB5.pYd5Eq8y7RlDyq

Read this document to learn more.

{
  "schema_id": "preset://email",
  "traits": {
    "email": "docs-hash@example.org"
  },
  "credentials": {
    "password": {
      "config": {
        "hashed_password": "$2a$10$ZsCsoVQ3xfBG/K2z2XpBf.tm90GZmtOqtqWcB5.pYd5Eq8y7RlDyq"
      }
    }
  }
}

Social sign-in connections​

Similar to importing passwords it is possible to import social sign-in connections as well. If you do not have Social Sign In set up yet please head over to the social sign in documentation.

When importing social sign in connections, the provider refers to the provider ID you set in your Social Sign In configuration. The subject ID must be the ID of the user on the given platform. Usually, this is the sub claim of the OpenID Connect ID Token provider such as Google.

{
  "schema_id": "preset://email",
  "traits": {
    "email": "docs-oidc@example.org"
  },
  "credentials": {
    "oidc": {
      "config": {
        "providers": [
          {
            "provider": "github",
            "subject": "12345"
          },
          {
            "provider": "google",
            "subject": "12345"
          }
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}