# Authentication flows

## Introduction

There are three different ways users of Exivity can be authenticated. The default method is local authentication which uses local users managed through Exivity (either via the GUI or API). More options are available by navigating to *Settings > System > Single Sign-On*:

![Available authentication methods](/files/-MKuAz655QbeO8fCBOAx)

## Local authentication

Users logging in with local authentication use a combination of username and password.

![Local authentication flow](/files/-MKuDG9U6KjAyedKynVX)

## SAML authentication

Users logging in with our SAML SSO integration use an external SAML Identity Provider (IdP) to authenticate users. User attributes, usergroup and account access can be provisioned with user properties from the SAML SSO response.

![SAML authentication flow](/files/-MKuDIUE1znU8Exmazua)

## LDAP authentication

Users logging in with our LDAP SSO integration use an external LDAP server to authenticate users with a combination of username and password. User attributes and usergroup can be provisioned with user properties from the SAML SSO response.

![LDAP authentication flow](/files/-MKuDKprGfkIBYjfq55E)


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