Pachyderm Enterprise OIDC/Dex Authentication
Pachyderm
Enterprise authentication guide with sequence diagram
Sequence diagram as the primary teaching tool — OIDC authentication through Dex involves five actors, optional flows, and a precise callback sequence that's easy to misconfigure. The diagram was validated by engineers and covers the complete round-trip without simplifying it.
The situation
Enterprise customers needed to configure OIDC authentication via Dex for Pachyderm. The topic requires getting multiple moving parts right simultaneously — connector config format, Helm values, proxy integration, and user revocation.
The task
Build an enterprise authentication guide that works for the setup case and the debugging case, as sole technical writer.
What I did
Used Auth0 as a concrete worked example while keeping the structure generalizable. Provided connector configuration in both JSON and YAML. Documented both Helm and pachctl setup paths. Added explicit proxy-specific callouts for the new proxy architecture. Designed the sequence diagram covering the complete authentication round-trip — End User, Web Browser, Dex, OpenID Provider, and Pachd — including the optional authentication block and every callback.
What happened
Complex enterprise auth made accessible. The sequence diagram was validated by engineers — every step in the round-trip covered correctly, including the optional authentication block and all callbacks.
Enterprise authentication documentationOIDC/Dex architectureSequence diagram designSecurity protocol depth