Dex

Spec sheet

Purpose

Dex is a federated OpenID Connect identity service that lets applications use OIDC while Dex connects to upstream identity providers.Read 5 Oct 2026 · dexidp.io

Deployment

Dex can be installed as a container image, deployed with a Helm chart, or built from source, and the site says it runs anywhere Go runs.Read 5 Oct 2026 · dexidp.io

Integrations

Documented connectors include LDAP, GitHub, SAML 2.0, GitLab, OpenID Connect, OAuth 2.0, Google, LinkedIn, Microsoft, AuthProxy, Bitbucket Cloud, OpenShift, Atlassian Crowd, Gitea, and OpenStack Keystone.Read 5 Oct 2026 · dexidp.io

Security

Dex’s storage documentation says its backing storage can contain signing keys and bcrypt-hashed passwords and recommends transport security and database access controls.Read 5 Oct 2026 · dexidp.io

Support

Dex directs users to file issues for bugs and feature requests and offers general discussion through CNCF Slack and GitHub Discussions.Read 5 Oct 2026 · dexidp.io

Connector limitation

The SAML connector does not issue refresh tokens, which can prevent offline access for clients such as kubectl.Read 5 Oct 2026 · dexidp.io

Features

Dex provides a single authentication layer so teams can add upstream providers without changing their application code.Read 5 Oct 2026 · dexidp.io

Governance

The official site identifies Dex as a CNCF Sandbox project developed under CNCF governance.Read 5 Oct 2026 · dexidp.io

Kubernetes

Dex offers a lightweight binary and official Helm chart for use alongside Kubernetes workloads.Read 5 Oct 2026 · dexidp.io

Machine authentication

Dex documents OAuth2 token exchange for exchanging an existing access or ID token for a Dex-issued token, including for CI and other automated processes.Read 5 Oct 2026 · dexidp.io

Security reporting

Dex says GitHub and mailing lists are not appropriate for vulnerability reports and links to a security disclosure process.Read 5 Oct 2026 · dexidp.io

Storage

Dex supports etcd, Kubernetes custom resources, SQLite3, Postgres, and MySQL for persistent state.Read 5 Oct 2026 · dexidp.io

Token claims

Dex supports scopes and claims including email, profile, groups, federated identity, and offline access, subject to connector capabilities.Read 5 Oct 2026 · dexidp.io

Plans and prices

Every Dex plan and price →

Where Specifiction places it

• OAuth Server Software#19 of 327.9