implementing-scim-provisioning

name	implementing-scim-provisioning
description	Implements SCIM user provisioning using Scalekit's Directory API and webhooks. Use when the user asks to add SCIM, directory sync, user provisioning, deprovisioning, or lifecycle management to their existing application.

SCIM Provisioning with Scalekit

Adds automated user lifecycle management (create, update, deactivate) via Scalekit's Directory API and real-time webhooks.

Workflow

Copy and track progress:

SCIM Implementation Progress:
- [ ] Step 1: Detect stack and install SDK
- [ ] Step 2: Configure environment credentials
- [ ] Step 3: Initialize Scalekit client
- [ ] Step 4: Add Directory API sync (polling/on-demand)
- [ ] Step 5: Add webhook endpoint (real-time)
- [ ] Step 6: Register webhook in Scalekit dashboard
- [ ] Step 7: Map directory events to local user operations
- [ ] Step 8: Validate end-to-end

---

Step 1: Detect stack and install SDK

Detect the project's language/framework from existing files (package.json, requirements.txt, go.mod, pom.xml) and install accordingly:

Stack	Install command
Node.js	npm install @scalekit-sdk/node
Python	pip install scalekit-sdk-python
Go	go get github.com/scalekit-inc/scalekit-sdk-go/v2
Java	Add com.scalekit:scalekit-sdk to pom.xml or build.gradle

---

Step 2: Environment credentials

Add to .env (never hardcode):

SCALEKIT_ENVIRONMENT_URL='https://<your-env>.scalekit.com'
SCALEKIT_CLIENT_ID='<CLIENT_ID>'
SCALEKIT_CLIENT_SECRET='<CLIENT_SECRET>'
SCALEKIT_WEBHOOK_SECRET='<WEBHOOK_SECRET>'

Credentials are found in Dashboard > Developers > Settings > API Credentials. Webhook secret is found in Dashboard > Webhooks after registering an endpoint.

---

Step 3: Initialize the Scalekit client

Insert initialization near the app's startup or service layer — match the project's existing patterns (singleton, DI, module export, etc.).

Node.js:

import { ScalekitClient } from '@scalekit-sdk/node';
const scalekit = new ScalekitClient(
  process.env.SCALEKIT_ENVIRONMENT_URL,
  process.env.SCALEKIT_CLIENT_ID,
  process.env.SCALEKIT_CLIENT_SECRET
);

Python:

from scalekit import ScalekitClient
scalekit_client = ScalekitClient(
    env_url=os.getenv("SCALEKIT_ENVIRONMENT_URL"),
    client_id=os.getenv("SCALEKIT_CLIENT_ID"),
    client_secret=os.getenv("SCALEKIT_CLIENT_SECRET")
)

For Go and Java patterns, follow the language-specific SDK docs in Scalekit API references.

---

Step 4: Directory API (on-demand sync)

Use for scheduled jobs, onboarding flows, or bulk imports. Integrate into existing user service/repository layer — do not create a parallel user management path.

Fetch users and sync:

// Node.js
const { directory } = await scalekit.directory.getPrimaryDirectoryByOrganizationId(orgId);
const { users } = await scalekit.directory.listDirectoryUsers(orgId, directory.id);

for (const user of users) {
  await upsertUser({ email: user.email, name: user.name, orgId });
}

# Python
directory = scalekit_client.directory.get_primary_directory_by_organization_id(org_id)
users = scalekit_client.directory.list_directory_users(org_id, directory.id)

for user in users:
    upsert_user(email=user.email, name=user.name, org_id=org_id)

Group sync for RBAC:

const { groups } = await scalekit.directory.listDirectoryGroups(orgId, directory.id);
for (const group of groups) {
  await syncGroupPermissions(group.id, group.name);
}

Plug upsertUser / syncGroupPermissions into the project's existing user/role management functions — identify them by searching for createUser, updateUser, or equivalent patterns in the codebase.

---

Step 5: Webhook endpoint (real-time provisioning)

Add a new route to the existing HTTP server/router. Match the framework pattern already in use (Express, FastAPI, Spring Boot, net/http, etc.).

ALWAYS verify the signature before processing. Return 400 on failure.

Node.js (Express):

app.post('/webhooks/scalekit', async (req, res) => {
  try {
    await scalekit.verifyWebhookPayload(
      process.env.SCALEKIT_WEBHOOK_SECRET,
      req.headers,
      req.body
    );
  } catch {
    return res.status(400).json({ error: 'Invalid signature' });
  }

  const { type, data } = req.body;
  try {
    await handleDirectoryEvent(type, data);
    res.status(201).json({ status: 'processed' });
  } catch (err) {
    res.status(500).json({ error: 'Processing failed' });
  }
});

Python (FastAPI):

@app.post("/webhooks/scalekit")
async def scalekit_webhook(request: Request):
    body = await request.json()
    valid = scalekit_client.verify_webhook_payload(
        secret=os.getenv("SCALEKIT_WEBHOOK_SECRET"),
        headers=request.headers,
        payload=json.dumps(body).encode()
    )
    if not valid:
        raise HTTPException(status_code=400, detail="Invalid signature")

    await handle_directory_event(body.get("type"), body.get("data", {}))
    return JSONResponse(status_code=201, content={"status": "processed"})

For Go and Java webhook patterns, follow the language-specific SDK docs in Scalekit API references.

---

Step 6: Event handler

Create a single dispatcher that routes to existing user operations. Map events to the project's existing create/update/deactivate functions:

async function handleDirectoryEvent(type, data) {
  switch (type) {
    case 'organization.directory.user_created':
      return createUser(data.email, data.name, data.organization_id);
    case 'organization.directory.user_updated':
      return updateUser(data.email, data.name);
    case 'organization.directory.user_deleted':
      return deactivateUser(data.email); // prefer deactivate over hard delete
    case 'organization.directory.group_created':
    case 'organization.directory.group_updated':
      return syncGroup(data);
    default:
      console.log(`Unhandled event: ${type}`);
  }
}

Prefer deactivation over deletion for user_deleted events unless the project explicitly hard-deletes users.

---

Step 7: Dashboard registration checklist

After deploying the webhook endpoint:

1. Go to Dashboard > Webhooks > +Add Endpoint
2. Enter the public HTTPS URL: https://your-app.com/webhooks/scalekit
3. Subscribe to events:
   • organization.directory.user_created
   • organization.directory.user_updated
   • organization.directory.user_deleted
   • organization.directory.group_created
   • organization.directory.group_updated
4. Copy the webhook secret into SCALEKIT_WEBHOOK_SECRET
5. Share the SCIM setup guide with the customer's IT admin for their IdP-specific directory sync steps.

---

Guardrails

• Never hardcode credentials — always process.env / os.getenv / System.getenv
• Idempotent operations — upsertUser must handle duplicate events safely
• Return 2xx quickly — offload heavy processing to a queue if needed; Scalekit retries on non-2xx with exponential backoff (up to 8 attempts over ~10 hours)
• Validate signatures — every webhook request, every time
• Deactivate, don't delete — unless codebase explicitly hard-deletes users

---

Reference files

• SCIM implementation guide → Directory SCIM quickstart
• Dashboard onboarding guide → SCIM integration guides
• Redirect and callback reference → redirects.md