ZITADEL is an open-source Identity Management System (IAM) written in Go and Angular/React. It provides secure login, multi-tenancy, and audit trails.
- Read this file first.
- Read the nearest scoped
AGENTS.mdfor the area you edit. - If multiple scopes apply, use the most specific path.
apps/: Consumer-facing web applications.login: Next.js authentication UI. Seeapps/login/AGENTS.md.docs: Fumadocs documentation app. Seeapps/docs/AGENTS.md.api: Backend Nx app target. Seeapps/api/AGENTS.md.
console/: Angular Management Console. Seeconsole/AGENTS.md.internal/: Backend domain and service logic. Seeinternal/AGENTS.md.proto/: API definitions. Seeproto/AGENTS.md.packages/: Shared TypeScript packages. Seepackages/AGENTS.md.tests/functional-ui/: Cypress functional UI tests. Seetests/functional-ui/AGENTS.md.
- Orchestration: Nx is used for build and task orchestration.
- Package Manager: pnpm.
- Backend:
- Go Version Source of Truth: Inspect
go.modbefore Go work (goand optionaltoolchaindirectives). - Communication: For V2 APIs, connectRPC is the primary transport. gRPC and HTTP/JSON endpoints are also supported.
- Pattern: The backend is transitioning to a relational design. Events are still persisted in a separate table for history/audit, but events are not the system of record.
- Go Version Source of Truth: Inspect
- Frontend:
- Console: Angular + RxJS.
- Login/Docs: Next.js + React.
ZITADEL follows a strict hierarchical containment model. When generating code, logic, or translations, adhere to this structure:
- System (Installation): The entire ZITADEL deployment. Global settings are applied through runtime configuration files or environment variables. See
cmd/defaults.yaml. - Instance (The "Identity System"):
- Definition: A logical partition/virtual tenant. It is a "System inside a System."
- Isolation: Data and settings are strictly isolated between instances.
- Translation Rule: NEVER translate as "Example" or "Case." Use technical terms like "Tenant," "Environment," or the local equivalent of "Logical System Entity."
- Organization: A group within an Instance. It owns Users, Projects, and Roles.
- Project: A collection of Applications and Auth Policies within an Org.
- System User: Manages the entire Installation and creates Instances over the system API.
- Instance Admin: Manages Instance-wide policies (Password complexity, Identity Providers, Organizations).
- Organization Admin: Manages users and access within a specific Organization.
- Avoid Ambiguity: When referring to an 'Instance', the context is always infrastructure/tenancy.
- Technical Precision: In UI strings, prefer clarity over brevity if "Instance" is likely to be misinterpreted in the target language.
| Language | Technical Term (SaaS/Cloud) | Why this term? | "Avoid this (The ""Example"" Trap)" |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese (Simplified) | 实例 (Shílì) | Standard for a cloud resource/entity. | 例子 (Lìzi) |
| Japanese | インスタンス (Insutansu) | Katakana transliteration; industry standard. | 例 (Rei) |
| Korean | 인스턴스 (Inseuteonseu) | Hangul transliteration; industry standard. | 예 (Ye) |
| German | Instanz | Matches English but implies a technical occurrence. | Beispiel |
| French | Instance | "Standard but often requires ""de ZITADEL"" for clarity." | Exemple |
| Spanish | Instancia | Technical entity in software architecture. | Ejemplo |
| Portuguese | Instância | Standard technical terminology. | Exemplo |
| Russian | Инстанс (Instans) | Modern SaaS jargon (transliterated). | Пример (Primer) |
If a translation is requested for a language not listed above, follow these priority rules for the word 'Instance':
- Priority 1 (Transliteration): Use the phonetic transliteration into the local script (common in Japanese/Korean/Russian).
- Priority 2 (System Entity): Use a term that implies a "running process" or "logical environment."
- Priority 3 (Tenant): If 'Instance' is ambiguous, use the local word for 'Tenant' (e.g., 租户 in Chinese).
- Strict Ban: NEVER use words that mean "an illustration", "a case", "a sample", or "an example."
Run commands from the repository root.
- Use verified Nx targets only.
- If target availability is unclear, run
pnpm nx show project <project>. - Do not assume all projects have
test,lint,build, orgeneratetargets. - Known exception:
@zitadel/consolehas no configuredtesttarget.
@zitadel/api:prod,build,generate,generate-install,lint,test,test-unit,test-integration@zitadel/login:dev,build,lint,test,test-unit,test-integration@zitadel/docs:dev,build,generate,install-proto-plugins,check-links,check-types,test,lint@zitadel/console:dev,build,generate,install-proto-plugins,lint
All proto plugins are installed to .artifacts/bin/<GOOS>/<GOARCH>/ and Nx-cached. generate targets wire up the correct install dependency and prepend .artifacts/bin/ to $PATH — no manual install step is needed.
PR titles are validated by the Semantic PR app. Format:
<type>(<scope>): <short summary>
Types: must come from the list in .github/semantic.yml under types: — e.g. feat, fix, docs, refactor, perf, test, build, ci, chore, revert.
Scopes: optional, but if used must come from the list in .github/semantic.yml under scopes:. When in doubt, omit the scope — do not invent values not on that list.
- Human Guide: See
CONTRIBUTING.mdfor setup and contribution details. - API Design: See
API_DESIGN.mdfor API specific guidelines.