> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://playground.e107sk.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://playground.e107sk.com/alt-auth-plugin/readme.md).

# alt\_auth

An e107 plugin that lets your visitors log in with credentials that live **somewhere other than this site's own user table** — a second e107 database, a foreign application database, an LDAP / Active Directory server, or a RADIUS server.

It also solves a second, related problem: a user table that was **imported** into e107 from another system and still holds passwords in that system's format. `alt_auth` can validate against those hashes and quietly re-hash them into e107's own format on first successful login.

## At a glance

|                        |                                                                                              |
| ---------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Requires               | e107 2.4, PDO enabled — see [Requirements](/alt-auth-plugin/getting-started/requirements.md) |
| Admin access           | Main administrator only (`getperms('P')`)                                                    |
| Authentication methods | `e107db`, `otherdb`, `importdb`, `ldap`, `radius`                                            |
| Own table              | `alt_auth` (parameter store)                                                                 |
| Front-end              | None — the plugin has no front-end pages, menus or shortcodes                                |

## What it does on a successful login

Whatever the method, the outcome is always the same: **the local e107 user record wins.** The external source is only asked *"is this username and password valid, and what else do you know about this person?"*. The answer is then written into the local `user` table — including the password, re-hashed the e107 way — so that the site keeps working normally afterwards.

See [How login works](/alt-auth-plugin/getting-started/how-login-works.md) for the exact sequence.

{% hint style="warning" %}
Connection details for the external source (server, database user, **password**) are stored in the site's own database, only lightly obfuscated — not encrypted. Read [Security](/alt-auth-plugin/reference/security.md) before pointing this plugin at anything you care about.
{% endhint %}