# Authentik

14 Hacker News commenters recommended Authentik and 0 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 11 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Open-source single sign-on server that people self-host with Docker and use for their apps. One critic says Pangolin is a better fit.

## Why people recommend it

- Easy to self-host with Docker (3 comments): "some of which are as easy to setup as a simple docker run cmd with an open port" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46400266)) "It's pretty easy to self host. I have been doing it for a small site for years" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46003361)) "You can host authentik with one click in docker. It's super easy to set up" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45917823))
- Single sign-on for own apps (2 comments): "proxy everything through it and hand out usernames to people I want" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46589062)) "It's great. We use it for all of our apps." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45931162))
- Feature-rich and customizable with Python (2 comments): "You guys have a super solid product full of features and a decent founder." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46004700)) "it does allow custom python code in a lot of places" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46005190))
- People are happy with it (2 comments): "I am aware of Authentik and do like it." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47085915)) "I am pretty happy with the results" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49132553))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Keycloak](https://hackerapproved.com/p/keycloak.md): 44 recommend
- [FreeIPA](https://hackerapproved.com/p/freeipa.md): 14 recommend
- [Okta](https://hackerapproved.com/p/okta.md): 11 recommend
- [Microsoft Entra](https://hackerapproved.com/p/microsoft-entra.md): 8 recommend
- [Ory](https://hackerapproved.com/p/ory.md): 8 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Authentik", https://hackerapproved.com/p/authentik/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).