Introduction

SCIM makes managing user identities in cloud-based applications and services easier.

The System for Cross-domain Identity Management (SCIM) specification suite builds on experience with existing schemas and deployments, placing specific emphasis on simplicity of development and integration, while applying existing authentication, authorization, and privacy models. Its intent is to reduce the cost and complexity of user management operations by providing a common user schema and extension model, as well as binding documents to provide patterns for exchanging this schema using standard protocols. In essence: make it fast, cheap, and easy to move users into, out of, and around the cloud.

How the specifications fit together

SCIM 2.0 is defined by three RFCs published by the IETF in September 2015. Each covers a different layer of the problem:

Core Schema RFC 7643

A platform-neutral schema and extension model for representing users and groups. This is where User, Group, and EnterpriseUser are defined. See Schema.

Protocol RFC 7644

An application-level REST protocol for provisioning and managing identity data on the web — the operations, filtering, and discovery endpoints. See Protocol.

Definitions, Overview, Concepts, and Requirements RFC 7642

The user scenarios and use cases that motivated the design. Useful background rather than something you implement against.

Where to go next