Symfony + Keycloak: Secure APIs with OAuth2, OpenID Connect & JWT

Regarding authentication and authorization, Keycloak stands out as a powerful open-source identity and access management solution. If you’re building a Symfony application and need a robust authentication system with Single Sign-On (SSO), multi-tenancy, role-based access control (RBAC), and federation with external identity providers, Keycloak is an excellent choice. But most tutorials only scratch the surface — how do you leverage Keycloak in a Symfony project for complex, real-world scenarios?

In this article, I will explain the advanced use of Keycloak in a Symfony project, covering real-world use cases, best practices, and practical implementations.

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What’s Keycloak and its main features❓

Symfony has its security system, but integrating Keycloak brings several advantages:

• ✔️Centralized Authentication — Manage users across multiple applications.
• ✔️SSO & OAuth2/OpenID Connect — Enable seamless authentication across services.
• ✔️Multi-Tenancy — Use realms to isolate different applications or clients.
• ✔️Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) — Fine-grained permission…