Shibboleth Generic SAML

Introduction

This guide connects Shibboleth Generic to Paycux over SAML. Work through it once per organization — each customer gets their own connection, with its own values.

You configure two sides: the application inside the provider, and the connection inside the Paycux dashboard. Neither side is complete on its own, so keep both tabs open.

What Paycux provides

Paycux generates two values for every connection and shows them in the dashboard under the connection's settings. You paste these into the identity provider when you configure the application:

Both values are per connection. Do not reuse them across organizations — each organization gets its own connection and its own pair.

What you'll need

Before you start, make sure you have the following in place:

• A Paycux account with access to the project you are configuring.
• An API key for the environment you are working in. Staging keys start with sk_test_; production keys start with sk_live_.
• Admin access on the system you are connecting, so you can create the application and read its metadata.
• A redirect URI registered in the Paycux dashboard under Developer → Redirects.

Enter Service Provider Details

In Shibboleth Generic SAML, complete this step before moving on. The values Paycux generated for this connection are on the connection page in the dashboard — copy them from there rather than retyping.

Obtain Identity Provider Metadata

Paste the provider's metadata URL into the connection. Paycux reads the signing certificate and endpoints from it and re-reads them on a schedule, so a certificate rotation does not break the connection.

Configure Attribute Mapping

Paycux normalizes incoming attributes into a fixed profile shape, so your application reads the same fields no matter which provider the user came from.

Anything the provider sends beyond these fields is kept verbatim under raw_attributes, so you can map custom claims without waiting on us.

Role Assignment (optional)

Assign the users and groups who should have access. Anyone outside the assignment is rejected at the provider, before the request reaches Paycux.

Group names sync as-is. If you use groups to drive roles in your application, map them once in the dashboard under Authorization rather than branching on group names in code.

Upload Metadata File

Upload Metadata File applies specifically to Shibboleth Generic SAML. It behaves the same in both environments, and the values it depends on are visible in the dashboard for the environment you have selected.

If the behaviour you see does not match this description, check which environment your API key belongs to before anything else — a staging key against production data is the most common cause.

Verify the connection

Verify the setup end to end before you hand it to a customer. Run the flow from a private browser window so no existing session masks a broken step.

1. 1Open the connection in the dashboard and confirm its status reads Active.
2. 2Start the flow from your application, not from the provider, so the redirect URI is exercised.
3. 3Sign in as a test user and confirm the profile arrives with an email address.
4. 4Check the connection's event list — a successful sign-in appears within a few seconds.

Troubleshooting

If something does not work, check these first — they cover the large majority of failed setups:

• The values were pasted into the wrong environment. Staging and production hold separate configuration.
• A trailing slash or stray whitespace in the ACS URL or redirect URI. Both are matched exactly.
• The connection is saved but not activated. An inactive connection returns connection_inactive.
• Attribute names differ from what the mapping expects, so the user is created without an email address.

Every failed authentication is recorded with a reason on the connection's page in the dashboard. Start there before reading application logs.