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Nextcloud SSO with Nimbus

This guide connects Nextcloud to Nimbus as an OIDC identity provider using the Social Login or the official OpenID Connect Login app. After completing it, users log in to Nextcloud with their Nimbus credentials.

Prerequisites​

  • Nimbus running and accessible over HTTPS
  • Nextcloud ≥ 25
  • The OpenID Connect Login app installed in Nextcloud (nextcloud-oidc-login)

1. Register an OAuth2 client in Nimbus​

Via CLI:

nimbus iam client create \
  --name nextcloud \
  --redirect-uri "https://<nextcloud-host>/apps/oidc_login/oidc"

The output contains the Client ID and Client Secret — save the secret now, it cannot be retrieved again.

Via UI: navigate to IAM → OAuth2 Clients, click Create Client, and fill in the same values.

2. Create external scopes (optional)​

If you want to map Nimbus groups to Nextcloud admin status, register a scope in IAM → Scopes:

external:nextcloud:admin

Assign it to the Nimbus admin group.

3. Configure Nextcloud​

Add the following to config/config.php:

'oidc_login_provider_url' => 'https://<nimbus-host>',
'oidc_login_client_id' => '<client-id>',
'oidc_login_client_secret' => '<client-secret>',
'oidc_login_auto_redirect' => false,
'oidc_login_end_session_redirect' => false,
'oidc_login_button_text' => 'Sign in with Nimbus',
'oidc_login_hide_password_form' => false,
'oidc_login_use_id_token' => true,
'oidc_login_attributes' => [
    'id'            => 'sub',
    'name'          => 'name',
    'mail'          => 'email',
    'groups'        => 'groups',
],
'oidc_login_default_group' => 'oidc',
'oidc_login_scope' => 'openid profile email groups offline_access',
'oidc_login_use_external_storage' => false,
'oidc_login_tls_verify' => true,
note

The offline_access scope allows Nextcloud to refresh the session in the background. Without it, users must re-authenticate every hour.

4. Map admin scope (optional)​

To automatically grant Nextcloud admin rights to users with external:nextcloud:admin, add:

'oidc_login_admin_attribute' => 'groups',
'oidc_login_admin_groups' => ['admin'],

The value admin matches the permission leaf of the external:nextcloud:admin scope emitted by Nimbus in the groups claim.

5. Verify​

Clear Nextcloud's config cache and open the login page:

php occ maintenance:repair

You should see a Sign in with Nimbus button. After signing in, the user is provisioned automatically based on the OIDC claims.

Troubleshooting​

  • User not provisioned — check that oidc_login_attributes.id maps to a stable, non-empty claim. Nimbus always sets sub to the user's internal ID.
  • Groups not synced — ensure groups is in oidc_login_scope and that the user has external:nextcloud:* scopes assigned in Nimbus.
  • TLS errors — if Nimbus uses a self-signed cert, set oidc_login_tls_verify => false during testing and add the CA to the system trust store in production.