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@@ -0,0 +1,89 @@ += local-openid: Single User, Ephemeral OpenID Provider + +local-openid allows users with shell accounts on servers to authenticate +with OpenID consumers by editing a YAML file in their home directory +instead of authenticating through HTTP/HTTPS. + +1. Encounter a login page that accepts OpenID (the consumer) +2. Login into your own server (if you're not already logged in) +3. Start the local-openid app on your server +4. Login using your OpenID (on the consumer) + - you should be redirected to your local-openid application +5. edit ~/.local-openid/config.yml on your server to approve the consumer +6. Reload the local-openid page your browser was on. + - you should be logged in to the OpenID consumer site + - If not, check the error log (usually stderr) of local-openid +8. Shut down the local-openid application. + +== local-openid exists for the following reasons: + +1. Passwords and password managers feel clumsy to me on web browsers. + On the other hand; using ssh, editing text files, and running servers + are second nature. Clearly, local-openid is not for everyone. +2. Identity providers may not last. Companies die and business plans + change. I'd rather my online identity not be subject to those whims. +3. OpenID providers could be compromised without disclosure. With + local-openid, I have server logs to know if somebody is even trying + something fishy with my identity. The vector for compromising my + identity is greatly reduced because my local-openid instance has 99.999% + downtime. + +== Install + +The following command should install local-openid and all dependencies: + + gem install local-openid + +setup.rb is also provided for non-Rubygems users. + +== Requirements + +local-openid is a small Sinatra application. It requires the Ruby +OpenID library (2.x), Sinatra (1.0), Rack and any Rack-enabled +server. To be useful, it also depends on having a user account on a +machine with a publically-accessible IP and DNS name to use as your +OpenID identity. + +"local-openid" should be installed in your $PATH by RubyGems. +It is a Sinatra application and takes all the usual command-line +arguments. Run "local-openid -h" for help. + +== Hacking + +I don't have any plans for more development with local-openid. It was +after all, just a weekend hack. It does what I want it to and nothing +more. + +You can use the {mailing list}[mailto:local.openid@librelist.com] to +share ideas, patches, pull requests with other users. Remember, I +wrote local-openid because I find the web difficult to use. So I'll +only accept communication about local-openid via email :) + +Feel free to fork it and customize it to your needs. Of course, drop me +a line if you fix any bugs or notice any security holes in it. + +You can get the latest source via git from the following locations: + + git://git.bogomips.org/local-openid.git + http://git.bogomips.org/local-openid.git + git://repo.or.cz/local-openid.git (mirror) + http://repo.or.cz/r/local-openid.git (mirror) + +You may browse the code from the web and download the latest tarballs here: + +* http://git.bogomips.org/cgit/local-openid.git +* http://repo.or.cz/w/local-openid.git (gitweb mirror) + +== Disclaimer + +There is NO WARRANTY whatsoever, implied or otherwise. OpenID may not +be the best choice for dealing with security-sensitive data, and this +application is just a weekend hack with no real security auditing. On +the other hand, it's quite hard for somebody to steal your OpenID +credentials when your provider implementation has 99.999% downtime :) + +== Contact + +* Original author: Eric Wong, normalperson@yhbt.net +* OpenID: http://e.yhbt.net/ +* mailing list: local.openid@librelist.com |