Kigi-CLI/crates/codegen/kigi-tui/docs/user-guide/02-authentication.md

Authentication

Kigi supports several authentication methods, including interactive browser login, enterprise single sign-on (SSO), and headless CI/CD runners.

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Browser Login (Default)

On first launch, Kigi opens your browser to authenticate with kigi.com:

kigi

Kigi stores credentials in ~/.kigi/auth.json and reuses them across sessions. Kigi refreshes access tokens automatically in the background. When a token can't be refreshed, Kigi prompts you to sign in again. Credentials without a server-provided expiry fall back to a 30-day lifetime.

Re-authenticate

To switch accounts or resolve an authentication problem, run:

kigi login

Running kigi login starts the sign-in flow again, replacing your cached session. By default, it opens your browser and signs in through SpaceXAI OAuth at auth.x.ai. Pass a flag to select a different flow:

Flag	Description
--oauth	Sign in through SpaceXAI OAuth at auth.x.ai. This is the default, so the flag is optional.
--device-auth (alias --device-code)	Sign in with the device-code flow for headless or remote environments.

To sign out, run kigi logout. It takes no flags and clears your cached credentials.

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API Key

For CI/CD, automation, or environments without browser access, use an API key from console.x.ai:

export XAI_API_KEY="xai-..."
kigi

Kigi uses the API key as a fallback when no session token is active. If you have already signed in interactively, the stored session token takes precedence. To fall back to the API key, run kigi logout or delete ~/.kigi/auth.json.

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OIDC (Customer SSO)

Authenticate developers through your own Identity Provider (IdP) -- such as Okta, Azure AD, or Auth0 -- instead of kigi.com.

1. Register a public client in your IdP

• Grant type: Authorization Code with PKCE (Proof Key for Code Exchange)
• Redirect URI: http://127.0.0.1/callback -- a loopback address. Kigi binds a random port at sign-in time, and most IdPs treat the loopback redirect as port-agnostic per RFC 8252.
• No client secret. PKCE replaces it.

2. Configure the CLI

Via config file:

# ~/.kigi/config.toml
[kigi_com_config.oidc]
issuer = "https://acme.okta.com"
client_id = "0oa1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8i9"

Or via environment variables:

export KIGI_OIDC_ISSUER="https://acme.okta.com"
export KIGI_OIDC_CLIENT_ID="0oa1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8i9"

You can also override the API endpoint to point at your own proxy:

export KIGI_CLI_CHAT_PROXY_BASE_URL="https://kigi-proxy.acme.com/v1"

3. Run kigi

The CLI discovers endpoints via {issuer}/.well-known/openid-configuration, opens the IdP login page, and stores tokens in ~/.kigi/auth.json. Tokens auto-refresh silently via the stored refresh_token.

Optional fields

Field	Default	Notes
scopes	["openid", "profile", "email", "offline_access", "api:access"]	offline_access enables silent token refresh
audience	None	Required by some IdPs (e.g., Auth0)

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External Auth Provider

When browser-based login isn't possible -- for example, on sandboxed VMs, CI runners, or air-gapped networks -- delegate authentication to an external binary or script.

How It Works

+--------------+     sh -c     +------------------------+
|     Kigi     |-------------->|  your auth binary      |
|              |               |                        |
|  reads       |<-- stdout ----|  prints token          |
|  auth.json   |               |                        |
|              |   (stderr)    |  prints status/URLs    |--> surfaced to user
+--------------+               +------------------------+

1. Kigi runs your command via sh -c "<command>"
2. Your binary runs whatever auth flow it needs (SSO, device code, certificate exchange)
3. stderr carries human-readable output, such as login URLs and status messages. Kigi reads stderr and surfaces it to the user; in the TUI, it turns the first https:// URL into a clickable sign-in link.
4. stdout is captured by Kigi and saved as the access token
5. Exit 0 = success; exit non-zero = Kigi falls back to interactive login

The stdout / stderr Contract

Stream	What to print	Who sees it
stdout	The token -- nothing else	Kigi (parsed and stored in auth.json)
stderr	Login URLs, status messages, errors	The user (Kigi reads stderr and shows the sign-in URL as a clickable link in the TUI)

Do not print anything to stdout except the token. No progress messages, no debug output. Kigi reads stdout, trims surrounding whitespace, and parses the result as a token.

stdout Token Format

Bare string -- just the raw token:

eyJhbGciOiJSUzI1NiIs...

JSON -- with optional refresh token, expiry, and issuer:

{"access_token": "eyJhbGciOi...", "refresh_token": "ref-tok", "expires_in": 3600, "issuer": "https://idp.example.com"}

Use JSON if your tokens expire and you want Kigi to automatically re-run the binary before expiry.

JSON fields:

Field	Required	Meaning
access_token	yes	Bearer token Kigi sends to the xAI API
refresh_token	no	Stored for reference. Kigi refreshes by re-running your binary, not with an OAuth refresh grant
expires_in	no	Token lifetime in seconds; enables proactive refresh before expiry
issuer	no	Identifies the token's issuer

Configuration

Via config file:

# ~/.kigi/config.toml
[auth]
auth_provider_command = "/usr/local/bin/my-auth-provider"
auth_provider_label = "Acme Corp"   # optional -- customizes the TUI login button
auth_token_ttl = 3600               # optional -- token lifetime in seconds

Or via environment variables:

export KIGI_AUTH_PROVIDER_COMMAND="/usr/local/bin/my-auth-provider"
export KIGI_AUTH_PROVIDER_LABEL="Acme Corp"
export KIGI_AUTH_TOKEN_TTL=3600

Token Refresh

When Kigi needs to refresh an expired token, it re-runs your binary with KIGI_AUTH_EXPIRED=1 set in the environment. Each run fully replaces the stored credential, so emit the same JSON fields (such as issuer) on every invocation, including refreshes. Your binary can use this to take a faster silent-refresh path:

#!/bin/sh
if [ "$KIGI_AUTH_EXPIRED" = "1" ]; then
    echo "Refreshing token..." >&2
    TOKEN=$(my-company-auth --refresh --silent)
else
    echo "Authenticating via Acme Corp SSO..." >&2
    TOKEN=$(my-company-auth --login --interactive)
fi

if [ -z "$TOKEN" ]; then
    echo "Authentication failed" >&2
    exit 1
fi

echo "{\"access_token\": \"$TOKEN\", \"expires_in\": 3600}"

Environment Variables

Variable	Description
KIGI_AUTH_PROVIDER_COMMAND	Path to your auth binary
KIGI_AUTH_PROVIDER_LABEL	Display name on the TUI login screen (e.g., "Acme Corp")
KIGI_AUTH_TOKEN_TTL	Token lifetime in seconds (for bare-string tokens without expires_in)
KIGI_AUTH_EXPIRED	Set to 1 by Kigi when re-running the binary for token refresh
KIGI_AUTH_EARLY_INVALIDATION_SECS	Seconds before expiry to proactively refresh (default: 300)

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Device Code Flow

For headless environments (SSH sessions, Docker containers, remote VMs) where no browser is available locally:

kigi login --device-auth    # or: kigi login --device-code

This prints a URL and code to the terminal. Open the URL on any device, enter the code, and complete authentication. Kigi polls until the login is confirmed.

You can also implement the device-code flow through an External Auth Provider for full control.

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Automatic Credential Refresh

Kigi automatically refreshes expired credentials:

• Before expiry: If your auth provider returned expires_in (JSON output) or you set auth_token_ttl, Kigi re-runs the auth binary ~5 minutes before expiry.
• On auth error: If the server returns 401 Unauthorized, Kigi refreshes the credentials and retries the request.
• OIDC: If a refresh_token is available, Kigi silently refreshes via your IdP without re-opening the browser.

Tune the refresh buffer:

# Refresh 5 minutes before expiry (default)
export KIGI_AUTH_EARLY_INVALIDATION_SECS=300

# Disable the proactive buffer: refresh at expiry or on a 401 (set to 0)
export KIGI_AUTH_EARLY_INVALIDATION_SECS=0

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Hot Reload

Kigi picks up changes to ~/.kigi/auth.json automatically. If you update credentials externally (for example, with a script that writes new tokens), Kigi uses the new credentials on the next API call without a restart.

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Auth Precedence

Kigi resolves credentials for each request in this order, highest to lowest:

1. Per-model api_key or env_key -- set under [model.<name>] in config.toml. Wins whenever present.
2. Active session token -- obtained through browser, OIDC/OAuth2, or external-provider login and stored in ~/.kigi/auth.json.
3. XAI_API_KEY -- fallback when no session token is active.

When more than one login flow is configured, Kigi populates the session token from the first available source, highest to lowest:

1. External auth provider (auth_provider_command)
2. Enterprise OIDC -- when OIDC is configured, through [kigi_com_config.oidc] in config.toml or the KIGI_OIDC_ISSUER and KIGI_OIDC_CLIENT_ID environment variables
3. SpaceXAI OAuth2 browser login -- the default

During a session, the active method handles all mid-session refreshes.

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Troubleshooting

Debug logging

Set RUST_LOG to control the verbosity of the file log and headless stderr output. (The TUI's on-screen tracing pane uses a fixed filter and ignores RUST_LOG.) In the TUI, file logging defaults to DEBUG; in headless mode (-p), RUST_LOG defaults to off so only the answer is printed — set RUST_LOG=error (or broader) to see logs on stderr.

In the TUI, set KIGI_LOG_FILE to an absolute path to write logs to that file:

KIGI_LOG_FILE=/tmp/kigi.log RUST_LOG=debug kigi
tail -f /tmp/kigi.log

KIGI_LOG_FILE is treated as a literal file path. A relative value such as 1 writes a file named 1 in the current directory.

In headless mode, logs go to stderr. Redirect them to a file:

RUST_LOG=debug kigi -p "hello" 2> /tmp/kigi.log

Common log messages

Log message	What it means
auth: running external auth provider	Kigi is running your binary
auth: external auth provider returned fresh token	Kigi parsed and stored the token
auth: external auth provider failed	Binary exited non-zero or stdout was empty
auth: external auth provider timed out (likely needs interactive auth), killing	Binary did not exit before the timeout and was killed
auth: failed to start external auth provider	Command could not be spawned (binary not found)

Common fixes

• "Authentication failed" -- Run kigi logout to clear cached credentials, then kigi login to sign in again.
• Token expires too quickly -- Set auth_token_ttl or return expires_in in your auth provider's JSON output.
• OIDC redirect fails -- Ensure your IdP allows loopback redirect URIs (http://127.0.0.1/callback).
• External auth provider not found -- Check that the auth_provider_command path is correct and the binary is executable.