What is OpenAM used for?

OpenAM is an open-source Java access management platform offering single sign-on, federation, authentication and policy-based authorization. It is a good fit for centralized SSO for enterprise apps; and protecting web, mobile and cloud applications.

Is OpenAM open source?

Yes. OpenAM is open source under a custom licence. Its source code is on GitHub at OpenIdentityPlatform/OpenAM and is written mainly in Java.

Yes. OpenAM is open source, so the software itself is free to use under the terms of its own licence.

Can I self-host OpenAM?

Yes. OpenAM can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.

What is OpenAM an alternative to?

OpenAM is an open-source alternative to Ping Identity, Microsoft Entra ID, OneLogin and Okta. Other open-source alternatives to Ping Identity include WSO2 Identity Server, Keycloak and Authentik.

Is OpenAM actively maintained?

Yes. The most recent commit to OpenAM was on 1 October 2026, and the latest release is 16.1.3, published on 18 September 2026. The project has 897 stars on GitHub.

OpenAM: open-source alternative to Ping Identity

About OpenAM

OpenAM, from the Open Identity Platform community, is an access management solution that covers authentication, single sign-on, authorization, federation, entitlements and web services security. It is meant for organizations that want to own and protect their users' digital identities rather than hand them to an outside provider.

Cross-domain single sign-on, SAML 2.0, OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect let it integrate with legacy, custom and cloud applications without changing them. Authentication can combine methods such as password, OTP, saved cookie and QR, and third-party identity providers can be used through SAML, OAuth2, NTLM and Kerberos. Policies can be role-, attribute- or authentication-level-based and can be scripted, using OpenIG or the OpenAM Policy Agent.

OpenAM's pluggable architecture allows custom authentication modules, user data sources, session data sources and post-authentication logic. It is written in Java and licensed under the Common Development and Distribution License; distribution packages are available for download. Because it is software you deploy yourself, you run and operate it on your own infrastructure.

Key features

Single sign-on across domains
SAML 2.0, OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect
Multiple authentication methods and OTP
Role- and attribute-based access policies
Federation as identity or service provider
Pluggable custom modules
Kerberos and NTLM identity provider support

Good fit for

→Centralized SSO for enterprise apps
→Protecting web, mobile and cloud applications

Built with: Java
Tags: sso; access-management; oauth2; oidc; saml; java; identity; federation

OpenAM: questions and answers

What is OpenAM used for?: OpenAM is an open-source Java access management platform offering single sign-on, federation, authentication and policy-based authorization. It is a good fit for centralized SSO for enterprise apps; and protecting web, mobile and cloud applications.
Is OpenAM open source?: Yes. OpenAM is open source under a custom licence. Its source code is on GitHub at OpenIdentityPlatform/OpenAM and is written mainly in Java.
Is OpenAM free?: Yes. OpenAM is open source, so the software itself is free to use under the terms of its own licence.
Can I self-host OpenAM?: Yes. OpenAM can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.
What is OpenAM an alternative to?: OpenAM is an open-source alternative to Ping Identity, Microsoft Entra ID, OneLogin and Okta. Other open-source alternatives to Ping Identity include WSO2 Identity Server, Keycloak and Authentik.
Is OpenAM actively maintained?: Yes. The most recent commit to OpenAM was on 1 October 2026, and the latest release is 16.1.3, published on 18 September 2026. The project has 897 stars on GitHub.