Network Working Group T. Drake, Ed.
Internet-Draft UnboundID
Intended status: Standards Track C. Mortimore
Expires: January 10, 2013 SalesForce
M. Ansari
Cisco
K. Grizzle
SailPoint
E. Wahlstroem
Technology Nexus
July 09, 2012
System for Cross-Domain Identity Management:Protocol 1.1
draft-scim-api-01
Abstract
The System for Cross-Domain Identity Management (SCIM) specification
is designed to make managing user identity in cloud based
applications and services easier. The specification suite seeks to
build upon experience with existing schemas and deployments, placing
specific emphasis on simplicity of development and integration, while
applying existing authentication, authorization, and privacy models.
It's 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 in to, out of, and around the cloud.
Status of this Memo
This Internet-Draft is submitted in full conformance with the
provisions of BCP 78 and BCP 79.
Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering
Task Force (IETF). Note that other groups may also distribute
working documents as Internet-Drafts. The list of current Internet-
Drafts is at http://datatracker.ietf.org/drafts/current/.
Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months
and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any
time. It is inappropriate to use Internet-Drafts as reference
material or to cite them other than as "work in progress."
This Internet-Draft will expire on January 10, 2013.
Copyright Notice
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Copyright (c) 2012 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
document authors. All rights reserved.
This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal
Provisions Relating to IETF Documents
(http://trustee.ietf.org/license-info) in effect on the date of
publication of this document. Please review these documents
carefully, as they describe your rights and restrictions with respect
to this document. Code Components extracted from this document must
include Simplified BSD License text as described in Section 4.e of
the Trust Legal Provisions and are provided without warranty as
described in the Simplified BSD License.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction and Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.1. Intended Audience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.2. Notational Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.3. Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2. Authentication and Authorization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
3. API . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.1. Creating Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3.2. Retrieving Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
3.2.1. Retrieving a known Resource . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
3.2.2. List/Query Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
3.3. Modifying Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
3.3.1. Modifying with PUT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
3.3.2. Modifying with PATCH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
3.4. Deleting Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
3.5. Bulk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
3.6. Data Input/Output Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
3.7. Additional retrieval query parameters . . . . . . . . . . 42
3.8. Attribute Notation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
3.9. HTTP Response Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
3.10. API Versioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
3.11. Versioning Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
3.12. HTTP Method Overloading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
4. Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
5. Contributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
6. Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Authors' Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
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1. Introduction and Overview
The SCIM Protocol is an application-level, REST protocol for
provisioning and managing identity data on the web. The protocol
supports creation, modification, retrieval, and discovery of core
identity Resources; i.e., Users and Groups, as well as custom
Resource extensions.
1.1. Intended Audience
This document is intended as a guide to SCIM API usage for both
identity Service Providers and Consumers.
1.2. Notational Conventions
The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
"SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this
document are to be interpreted as described in [RFC2119]. These
keywords are capitalized when used to unambiguously specify
requirements of the protocol or application features and behavior
that affect the interoperability and security of implementations.
When these words are not capitalized, they are meant in their
natural-language sense.
For purposes of readability examples are not URL encoded.
Implementers MUST percent encode URLs as described in RFC3896 2.1.
1.3. Definitions
Base URL: The SCIM REST API is always relative to a Base URL. The
Base URL MUST NOT contain a query string as Consumers may append
additional path information and query parameters as part of
forming the request. Example: https://example.com/scim/v1/
2. Authentication and Authorization
The SCIM protocol does not define a scheme for authentication and
authorization therefore implementers are free to choose mechanisms
appropriate to their use cases. The choice of authentication
mechanism will impact interoperability. It is RECOMMENDED that
clients be implemented in such a way that new authentication schemes
can be deployed. Implementers SHOULD support existing
authentication/authorization schemes. In particular, OAuth2 Bearer
Token [1] is RECOMMENDED. Appropriate security considerations of the
selected authentication and authorization schemes SHOULD be taken.
Because this protocol uses HTTP response status codes as the primary
means of reporting the result of a request, servers are advised to
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respond to unauthorized or unauthenticated requests using the 401
response code in accordance with section 10.4.2 of RFC2616.
All examples assume OAuth2 bearer token; e.g.,
GET /Users/2819c223-7f76-453a-919d-413861904646 HTTP/1.1
Host: example.com
Authorization: Bearer h480djs93hd8
The context of the request (i.e. the user for whom data is being
requested) MUST be inferred by Service Providers.
3. API
The SCIM protocol specifies well known endpoints and HTTP methods for
managing Resources defined in the core schema; i.e., User and Group
Resources correspond to /Users and /Groups respectively. Service
Providers that support extended Resources SHOULD define Resource
endpoints using the established convention; pluralize the Resource
name defined in the extended schema by appending an 's'. Given there
are cases where Resource pluralization is ambiguous; e.g., a Resource
named 'person' is legitimately 'persons' and 'people' Consumers
SHOULD discover Resource endpoints via the Schema Sub-Attribute
'endpoint'.
GET Retrieves a complete or partial Resource.
POST Create new Resource or bulk modify Resources.
PUT Modifies a Resource with a complete, Consumer specified Resource
(replace).
PATCH Modifies a Resource with a set of Consumer specified changes
(partial update).
DELETE Deletes a Resource.
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+------------+--------------------+---------------+-----------------+
| Resource | Endpoint | Operations | Description |
+------------+--------------------+---------------+-----------------+
| User | /Users | GET | Retrieve/Add/Mo |
| | | (Section 3.2. | dify Users |
| | | 1), POST | |
| | | (Section 3.1 | |
| | | ),PUT | |
| | | (Section 3. | |
| | | 3.1), PATCH | |
| | | (Section 3 | |
| | | .3.2), DELETE | |
| | | (Section | |
| | | 3.4) | |
| Group | /Groups | GET | Retrieve/Add/Mo |
| | | (Section 3.2. | dify Groups |
| | | 1), POST | |
| | | (Section 3.1 | |
| | | ),PUT | |
| | | (Section 3. | |
| | | 3.1), PATCH | |
| | | (Section 3 | |
| | | .3.2), DELETE | |
| | | (Section | |
| | | 3.4) | |
| Service | /ServiceProviderCo | GET | Retrieve the |
| Provider | nfigs | (Section 3.2. | Service |
| Configurat | | 1) | Provider's |
| ion | | | Configuration |
| Schema | /Schemas | GET | Retrieve a |
| | | (Section 3.2. | Resource's |
| | | 1) | Schema |
| Bulk | /Bulk | POST | Bulk modify |
| | | (Section 3.5) | Resources |
+------------+--------------------+---------------+-----------------+
Table 1: Defined endpoints
All requests to the Service Provider are made via HTTP operations on
a URL derived from the Base URL. Responses are returned in the body
of the HTTP response, formatted as JSON or XML, depending on what is
requested. Response and error codes SHOULD be transmitted via the
HTTP status code of the response (if possible), and SHOULD also be
specified in the body of the response.
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3.1. Creating Resources
To create new Resources, clients send POST requests to the Resource
endpoint; i.e., /Users or /Groups.
Successful Resource creation is indicated with a 201 ("Created")
response code. Upon successful creation, the response body MUST
contain the newly created Resource. Since the server is free to
alter and/or ignore POSTed content, returning the full representation
can be useful to the client, enabling it to correlate the client and
server views of the new Resource. When a Resource is created, its
URI must be returned in the response Location header.
If the Service Provider determines creation of the requested Resource
conflicts with existing resources; e.g., a User Resource with a
duplicate userName, the Service Provider MUST return a 409 error and
SHOULD indicate the conflicting attribute(s) in the body of the
response.
Below, the client sends a POST request containing a User
POST /Users HTTP/1.1
Host: example.com
Accept: application/json
Content-Type: application/json
Authorization: Bearer h480djs93hd8
Content-Length: ...
{
"schemas":["urn:scim:schemas:core:1.0"],
"userName":"bjensen",
"externalId":"bjensen",
"name":{
"formatted":"Ms. Barbara J Jensen III",
"familyName":"Jensen",
"givenName":"Barbara"
}
}
The server signals a successful creation with a status code of 201.
The response includes a Location header indicating the User URI, and
a representation of that User in the body of the response.
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HTTP/1.1 201 Created
Content-Type: application/json
Location: https://example.com/v1/Users/2819c223-7f76-453a-919d-413861904646
ETag: W/"e180ee84f0671b1"
{
"schemas":["urn:scim:schemas:core:1.0"],
"id":"2819c223-7f76-453a-919d-413861904646",
"externalId":"bjensen",
"meta":{
"created":"2011-08-01T21:32:44.882Z",
"lastModified":"2011-08-01T21:32:44.882Z",
"location":"https://example.com/v1/Users/2819c223-7f76-453a-919d-413861904646",
"version":"W\/\"e180ee84f0671b1\""
},
"name":{
"formatted":"Ms. Barbara J Jensen III",
"familyName":"Jensen",
"givenName":"Barbara"
},
"userName":"bjensen"
}
3.2. Retrieving Resources
Users and Group Resources are retrieved via opaque, unique URLs or
via Query. Service Providers MAY choose to respond with a sub-set of
Resource attributes, though MUST minimally return the Resource id and
meta attributes.
3.2.1. Retrieving a known Resource
To retrieve a known Resource, clients send GET requests to the
Resource endpoint; e.g., /Users/{id} or /Groups/{id}.
If the Resource exists the server responds with a status code of 200
and includes the result in the body of the response.
The below example retrieves a single User via the /Users endpoint.
GET /Users/2819c223-7f76-453a-919d-413861904646
Host: example.com
Accept: application/json
Authorization: Bearer h480djs93hd8
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The server responds with:
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Content-Type: application/json
Location: https://example.com/v1/Users/2819c223-7f76-453a-919d-413861904646
ETag: W/"f250dd84f0671c3"
{
"schemas":["urn:scim:schemas:core:1.0"],
"id":"2819c223-7f76-453a-919d-413861904646,
"externalId":"bjensen",
"meta":{
"created":"2011-08-01T18:29:49.793Z",
"lastModified":"2011-08-01T18:29:49.793Z",
"location":"https://example.com/v1/Users/2819c223-7f76-453a-919d-413861904646",
"version":"W\/\"f250dd84f0671c3\""
},
"name":{
"formatted":"Ms. Barbara J Jensen III",
"familyName":"Jensen",
"givenName":"Barbara"
},
"userName":"bjensen",
"phoneNumbers":[
{
"value":"555-555-8377",
"type":"work"
}
],
"emails":[
{
"value":"bjensen@example.com",
"type":"work"
}
]
}
3.2.2. List/Query Resources
SCIM defines a standard set of operations that can be used to filter,
sort, and paginate response results. The operations are specified by
adding query parameters to the Resource's endpoint. Service
Providers MAY support additional query parameters not specified here,
and Providers SHOULD ignore any query parameters they don't
recognize.
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The below example returns the userName for all Users:
GET /Users?attributes=userName
Host: example.com
Accept: application/json
Authorization: Bearer h480djs93hd8
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Content-Type: application/json
{
"totalResults":2,
"schemas":["urn:scim:schemas:core:1.0"],
"Resources":[
{
"userName":"bjensen"
},
{
"userName":"jsmith"
}
]
}
3.2.2.1. Filtering
Filtering is OPTIONAL. Consumers may request a subset of Resources
by specifying the 'filter' URL query parameter containing a filter
expression. When specified only those Resources matching the filter
expression SHALL be returned. The expression language that is used
in the filter parameter supports references to attributes and
literals. The literal values can be strings enclosed in double
quotes, numbers, date times enclosed in double quotes, and Boolean
values; i.e., true or false. String literals MUST be valid JSON
strings [2].
The attribute name and attribute operator are case insensitive. For
example, the following two expressions will evaluate to the same
logical value:
filter=userName Eq "john"
filter=Username eq "john"
The filter parameter MUST contain at least one valid Boolean
expression. Each expression MUST contain an attribute name followed
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by an attribute operator and optional value. Multiple expressions
MAY be combined using the two logical operators. Furthermore
expressions can be grouped together using "()".
The operators supported in the expression are listed in the following
table.
+----------+-------------+------------------------------------------+
| Operator | Description | Behavior |
+----------+-------------+------------------------------------------+
| eq | equal | The attribute and operator values must |
| | | be identical for a match. |
| co | contains | The entire operator value must be a |
| | | substring of the attribute value for a |
| | | match. |
| sw | starts with | The entire operator value must be a |
| | | substring of the attribute value, |
| | | starting at the beginning of the |
| | | attribute value. This criterion is |
| | | satisfied if the two strings are |
| | | identical. |
| pr | present | If the attribute has a non-empty value, |
| | (has value) | or if it contains a non-empty node for |
| | | complex attributes there is a match. |
| gt | greater | If the attribute value is greater than |
| | than | operator value, there is a match. The |
| | | actual comparison is dependent on the |
| | | attribute type. For string attribute |
| | | types, this is a lexicographical |
| | | comparison and for DateTime types, it is |
| | | a chronological comparison. |
| ge | greater | If the attribute value is greater than |
| | than or | or equal to the operator value, there is |
| | equal | a match. The actual comparison is |
| | | dependent on the attribute type. For |
| | | string attribute types, this is a |
| | | lexicographical comparison and for |
| | | DateTime types, it is a chronological |
| | | comparison. |
| lt | less than | If the attribute value is less than |
| | | operator value, there is a match. The |
| | | actual comparison is dependent on the |
| | | attribute type. For string attribute |
| | | types, this is a lexicographical |
| | | comparison and for DateTime types, it is |
| | | a chronological comparison. |
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| le | less than | If the attribute value is less than or |
| | or equal | equal to the operator value, there is a |
| | | match. The actual comparison is |
| | | dependent on the attribute type. For |
| | | string attribute types, this is a |
| | | lexicographical comparison and for |
| | | DateTime types, it is a chronological |
| | | comparison. |
+----------+-------------+------------------------------------------+
Table 2: Attribute Operators
+----------+-------------+------------------------------------------+
| Operator | Description | Behavior |
+----------+-------------+------------------------------------------+
| and | Logical And | The filter is only a match if both |
| | | expressions evaluate to true. |
| or | Logical or | The filter is a match if either |
| | | expression evaluates to true. |
+----------+-------------+------------------------------------------+
Table 3: Logical Operators
+----------+-------------+------------------------------------------+
| Operator | Description | Behavior |
+----------+-------------+------------------------------------------+
| () | Precedence | Boolean expressions may be grouped using |
| | grouping | parentheses to change the standard order |
| | | of operations; i.e., evaluate OR logical |
| | | operators before logical AND operators. |
+----------+-------------+------------------------------------------+
Table 4: Grouping Operators
Filters MUST be evaluated using standard order of operations.
Attribute operators have the highest precedence, followed by the
grouping operator (i.e, parentheses), followed by the logical AND
operator, followed by the logical OR operator.
If the specified attribute in a filter expression is a multi-valued
attribute, the Resource MUST match if any of the instances of the
given attribute match the specified criterion; e.g. if a User has
multiple emails values, only one has to match for the entire User to
match. For complex attributes, a fully qualified Sub-Attribute MUST
be specified using standard attribute notation (Section 3.8). For
example, to filter by userName the parameter value is userName and to
filter by first name, the parameter value is name.givenName.
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Providers MAY support additional filter operations if they choose.
Providers MUST decline to filter results if the specified filter
operation is not recognized and return a HTTP 400 error with an
appropriate human readable response. For example, if a Consumer
specified an unsupported operator named 'regex' the Service Provider
should specify an error response description identifying the Consumer
error; e.g., 'The operator 'regex' is not supported.'
String type attributes are case insensitive by default unless the
attribute type is defined as a caseExact string. Attribute operators
'eq', 'co', and 'sw' MUST perform caseIgnore matching for all string
attributes unless the attribute is defined as caseExact. By default
all string attributes are caseIgnore.
Examples:
filter=userName eq "bjensen"
filter=name.familyName co "O'Malley"
filter=userName sw "J"
filter=title pr
filter=meta.lastModified gt "2011-05-13T04:42:34Z"
filter=meta.lastModified ge "2011-05-13T04:42:34Z"
filter=meta.lastModified lt "2011-05-13T04:42:34Z"
filter=meta.lastModified le "2011-05-13T04:42:34Z"
filter=title pr and userType eq "Employee"
filter=title pr or userType eq "Intern"
filter=userType eq "Employee" and (emails co "example.com" or emails
co "example.org")
3.2.2.2. Sorting
Sort is OPTIONAL. Sorting allows Consumers to specify the order in
which Resources are returned by specifying a combination of sortBy
and sortOrder URL parameters.
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sortBy: The sortBy parameter specifies the attribute whose value
SHALL be used to order the returned responses. If the sortBy
attribute corresponds to a Singular Attribute, Resources are
sorted according to that attribute's value; if it's a Multi-valued
Attribute, Resources are sorted by the value of the primary
attribute, if any, or else the first value in the list, if any.
If the attribute is complex the attribute name must be a path to a
Sub-Attribute in standard attribute notation (Section 3.8) ; e.g.,
sortBy=name.givenName. For all attribute types, if there is no
data for the specified sortBy value they are sorted via the
'sortOrder' parameter; i.e., they are ordered last if ascending
and first if descending.
sortOrder: The order in which the sortBy parameter is applied.
Allowed values are "ascending" and "descending". If a value for
sortBy is provided and no sortOrder is specified, the sortOrder
SHALL default to ascending. String type attributes are case
insensitive by default unless the attribute type is defined as a
caseExact string. sortOrder MUST sort according to the attribute
type; i.e., for caseIgnore attributes, sort the result using case
insensitive, Unicode alphabetic sort order, with no specific
locale implied and for caseExact attribute types, sort the result
using case sensitive, Unicode alphabetic sort order.
3.2.2.3. Pagination
Pagination parameters can be used together to "page through" large
numbers of Resources so as not to overwhelm the Consumer or Service
Provider. Pagination is not session based hence Consumers SHOULD
never assume repeatable results. For example, a request for a list
of 10 Resources beginning with a startIndex of 1 may return different
results when repeated as a Resource in the original result could be
deleted or new ones could be added in-between requests. Pagination
parameters and general behavior are derived from the OpenSearch
Protocol [3].
The following table describes the URL pagination parameters.
+------------+-------------------+----------------------------------+
| Parameter | Description | Default |
+------------+-------------------+----------------------------------+
| startIndex | The 1-based index | 1 |
| | of the first | |
| | search result. | |
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| count | Non-negative | None. When specified the |
| | Integer. | Service Provider MUST not return |
| | Specifies the | more results than specified |
| | desired maximum | though MAY return fewer results. |
| | number of search | If unspecified, the maximum |
| | results per page; | number of results is set by the |
| | e.g., 10. | Service Provider. |
+------------+-------------------+----------------------------------+
Table 5: Pagination Request parameters
The following table describes the query response pagination
attributes specified by the Service Provider.
+--------------+----------------------------------------------------+
| Element | Description |
+--------------+----------------------------------------------------+
| itemsPerPage | Non-negative Integer. Specifies the number of |
| | search results returned in a query response page; |
| | e.g., 10. |
| totalResults | Non-negative Integer. Specifies the total number |
| | of results matching the Consumer query; e.g., |
| | 1000. |
| startIndex | The 1-based index of the first result in the |
| | current set of search results; e.g., 1. |
+--------------+----------------------------------------------------+
Table 6: Pagination Response Elements
For example, to retrieve the first 10 Users set the startIndex to 1
and the count to 10.
GET /Users?startIndex=1&count=10
Host: example.com
Accept: application/json
Authorization: Bearer h480djs93hd8
{
"totalResults":100,
"itemsPerPage":10,
"startIndex":1,
"schemas":["urn:scim:schemas:core:1.0"],
"Resources":[{
...
}]
}
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Given the example above, to continue paging set the startIndex to 11
and re-fetch; i.e., /Users?startIndex=11&count=10
3.3. Modifying Resources
Resources can be modified in whole or in part via PUT or PATCH,
respectively. Implementers MUST support PUT as specified in RFC2616
. Resources such as Groups may be very large hence implementers
SHOULD support PATCH [4] to enable partial resource modifications.
3.3.1. Modifying with PUT
PUT performs a full update. Consumers must retrieve the entire
Resource and PUT the desired modifications as the operation
overwrites all previously stored data with the exception of the
password attribute. If the password attribute of the User resource
is unspecified, it should be left in-tact. Since this performs a
full update, Consumers MAY send read-only attributes of the retrieved
resource and Service Provider MUST ignore any read-only attributes
that are present in the payload of a PUT request. Unless otherwise
specified a successful PUT operation returns a 200 OK response code
and the entire Resource within the response body, enabling the
Consumer to correlate the Consumer's and Provider's views of the
updated Resource. Example:
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PUT /Users/2819c223-7f76-453a-919d-413861904646
Host: example.com
Accept: application/json
Content-Type: application/json
Authorization: Bearer h480djs93hd8
If-Match: W/"a330bc54f0671c9"
{
"schemas":["urn:scim:schemas:core:1.0"],
"id":"2819c223-7f76-453a-919d-413861904646",
"userName":"bjensen",
"externalId":"bjensen",
"name":{
"formatted":"Ms. Barbara J Jensen III",
"familyName":"Jensen",
"givenName":"Barbara",
"middleName":"Jane"
},
"emails":[
{
"value":"bjensen@example.com"
},
{
"value":"babs@jensen.org"
}
]
}
The service responds with the entire, updated User
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HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Content-Type: application/json
ETag: W/"b431af54f0671a2"
Location:"https://example.com/v1/Users/2819c223-7f76-453a-919d-413861904646"
{
"schemas":["urn:scim:schemas:core:1.0"],
"id":"2819c223-7f76-453a-919d-413861904646",
"userName":"bjensen",
"externalId":"bjensen",
"name":{
"formatted":"Ms. Barbara J Jensen III",
"familyName":"Jensen",
"givenName":"Barbara",
"middleName":"Jane"
},
"emails":[
{
"value":"bjensen@example.com"
},
{
"value":"babs@jensen.org"
}
],
"meta": {
"created":"2011-08-08T04:56:22Z",
"lastModified":"2011-08-08T08:00:12Z",
"location":"https://example.com/v1/Users/2819c223-7f76-453a-919d-413861904646",
"version":"W\/\"b431af54f0671a2\""
}
}
3.3.2. Modifying with PATCH
PATCH is OPTIONAL. PATCH enables consumers to send only those
attributes requiring modification, reducing network and processing
overhead. Attributes may be deleted, replaced, merged, or added in a
single request.
The body of a PATCH request MUST contain a partial Resource with the
desired modifications. The server MUST return either a 200 OK
response code and the entire Resource (subject to the "attributes"
query parameter - see Additional Retrieval Query Parameters
(Section 3.7)) within the response body, or a 204 No Content response
code and the appropriate response headers for a successful PATCH
request. The server MUST return a 200 OK if the "attributes"
parameter is specified on the request.
The server MUST process a PATCH request by first removing any
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attributes specified in the meta.attributes Sub-Attribute (if
present) and then merging the attributes in the PATCH request body
into the Resource.
The meta.attributes Sub-Attribute MAY contain a list of attributes to
be removed from the Resource. If the PATCH request body contains an
attribute that is present in the meta.attributes list, the attribute
on the Resource is replaced with the value from the PATCH body. If
the attribute is complex the attribute name must be a path to a Sub-
Attribute in standard attribute notation (Section 3.8); e.g.,
name.givenName.
Attributes that exist in the PATCH request body but not in the
meta.attributes Sub-Attribute will be either be updated or added to
the Resource according to the following rules.
Singular attributes: Singular attributes in the PATCH request body
replace the attribute on the Resource.
Complex attributes: Complex Sub-Attribute values in the PATCH
request body are merged into the complex attribute on the
Resource.
Multi-valued attributes: An attribute value in the PATCH request
body is added to the value collection if the value does not exist
and merged if a matching value is present. Values are matched by
comparing the value Sub-Attribute from the PATCH request body to
the value Sub-Attribute of the Resource. Attributes that do not
have a value Sub-Attribute; e.g., addresses, or do not have unique
value Sub-Attributes cannot be matched and must instead be deleted
then added. Specific values can be removed from a Resource by
adding an "operation" Sub-Attribute with the value "delete" to the
attribute in the PATCH request body. As with adding/updating
attribute value collections, the value to delete is determined by
comparing the value Sub-Attribute from the PATCH request body to
the value Sub-Attribute of the Resource. Attributes that do not
have a value Sub-Attribute or that have a non-unique value Sub-
Attribute are matched by comparing all Sub-Attribute values from
the PATCH request body to the Sub-Attribute values of the
Resource. A delete operation is ignored if the attribute's name
is in the meta.attributes list. If the requested value to delete
does not match a unique value on the Resource the server MAY
return a HTTP 400 error.
The following example shows how to add a member to a group:
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PATCH /Groups/acbf3ae7-8463-4692-b4fd-9b4da3f908ce
Host: example.com
Accept: application/json
Content-Type: application/json
Authorization: Bearer h480djs93hd8
If-Match: W/"a330bc54f0671c9"
{
"schemas": ["urn:scim:schemas:core:1.0"],
"members": [
{
"display": "Babs Jensen",
"value": "2819c223-7f76-453a-919d-413861904646"
}
]
}
The "display" Sub-Attribute in this request is optional since the
value attribute uniquely identifies the user to be added. If the
user was already a member of this group, no changes should be made to
the Resource and a success response should be returned. The server
responds with either the entire updated Group or no response body:
HTTP/1.1 204 No Content
Authorization: Bearer h480djs93hd8
ETag: W/"b431af54f0671a2"
Location: "https://example.com/v1/Groups/acbf3ae7-8463-4692-b4fd-9b4da3f908ce"
The following example shows how to remove a member from a group. As
with the previous example, the "display" Sub-Attribute is optional.
If the user was not a member of this group, no changes should be made
to the Resource and a success response should be returned.
Note that server responses have been omitted for the rest of the
PATCH examples.
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PATCH /Groups/acbf3ae7-8463-4692-b4fd-9b4da3f908ce
Host: example.com
Accept: application/json
Content-Type: application/json
Authorization: Bearer h480djs93hd8
If-Match: W/"a330bc54f0671c9"
{
"schemas": ["urn:scim:schemas:core:1.0"],
"members": [
{
"display": "Babs Jensen",
"value": "2819c223-7f76-453a-919d-413861904646"
"operation": "delete"
}
]
}
The following example shows how to remove all members from a group:
PATCH /Groups/acbf3ae7-8463-4692-b4fd-9b4da3f908ce
Host: example.com
Accept: application/json
Content-Type: application/json
Authorization: Bearer h480djs93hd8
If-Match: W/"a330bc54f0671c9"
{
"schemas": ["urn:scim:schemas:core:1.0"],
"meta": {
"attributes": [
"members"
]
}
}
The following example shows how to replace all of the members of a
group with a different members list:
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PATCH /Groups/acbf3ae7-8463-4692-b4fd-9b4da3f908ce
Host: example.com
Accept: application/json
Content-Type: application/json
Authorization: Bearer h480djs93hd8
If-Match: W/"a330bc54f0671c9"
{
"schemas": ["urn:scim:schemas:core:1.0"],
"meta": {
"attributes": [
"members"
]
},
"members": [
{
"display": "Babs Jensen",
"value": "2819c223-7f76-453a-919d-413861904646"
},
{
"display": "James Smith",
"value": "08e1d05d-121c-4561-8b96-473d93df9210"
}
]
}
The following example shows how to add a member to and remove a
member from a Group in a single request:
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PATCH /Groups/acbf3ae7-8463-4692-b4fd-9b4da3f908ce
Host: example.com
Accept: application/json
Content-Type: application/json
Authorization: Bearer h480djs93hd8
If-Match: W/"a330bc54f0671c9"
{
"schemas": ["urn:scim:schemas:core:1.0"],
"members": [
{
"display": "Babs Jensen",
"value": "2819c223-7f76-453a-919d-413861904646"
"operation": "delete"
},
{
"display": "James Smith",
"value": "08e1d05d-121c-4561-8b96-473d93df9210"
}
]
}
The following example shows how to change a User's primary email. If
the User already has the email address, it is made the primary
address and the current primary address (if present) is made non-
primary. If the User does not already have the email address, it is
added and made the primary address.
PATCH /Users/2819c223-7f76-453a-919d-413861904646
Host: example.com
Accept: application/json
Content-Type: application/json
Authorization: Bearer h480djs93hd8
If-Match: W/"a330bc54f0671c9"
{
"schemas": ["urn:scim:schemas:core:1.0"],
"emails": [
{
"value": "bjensen@example.com",
"primary": true
}
]
}
The following example shows how to change a User's address. Since
address does not have a value Sub-Attribute, the existing address
must be removed and the modified address added.
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PATCH /Users/2819c223-7f76-453a-919d-413861904646
Host: example.com
Accept: application/json
Content-Type: application/json
Authorization: Bearer h480djs93hd8
If-Match: W/"a330bc54f0671c9"
{
"schemas": ["urn:scim:schemas:core:1.0"],
"addresses": [
{
"type": "work",
"streetAddress": "100 Universal City Plaza",
"locality": "Hollywood",
"region": "CA",
"postalCode": "91608",
"country": "US",
"formatted": "100 Universal City Plaza\nHollywood, CA 91608 US",
"primary": true
"operation": "delete"
},
{
"type": "work",
"streetAddress": "911 Universal City Plaza",
"locality": "Hollywood",
"region": "CA",
"postalCode": "91608",
"country": "US",
"formatted": "911 Universal City Plaza\nHollywood, CA 91608 US",
"primary": true
}
]
}
The following example shows how to change a User's nickname:
PATCH /Users/2819c223-7f76-453a-919d-413861904646
Host: example.com
Accept: application/json
Content-Type: application/json
Authorization: Bearer h480djs93hd8
If-Match: W/"a330bc54f0671c9"
{
"schemas": ["urn:scim:schemas:core:1.0"],
"nickName": "Barbie"
}
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The following example shows how to remove a User's nickname:
PATCH /Users/2819c223-7f76-453a-919d-413861904646
Host: example.com
Accept: application/json
Content-Type: application/json
Authorization: Bearer h480djs93hd8
If-Match: W/"a330bc54f0671c9"
{
"schemas": ["urn:scim:schemas:core:1.0"],
"meta": {
"attributes": [
"nickName"
]
}
}
The following example shows how to change a User's familyName. This
only updates the familyName and formatted on the "name" complex
attribute. Any other name Sub-Attributes on the Resource remain
unchanged.
PATCH /Users/2819c223-7f76-453a-919d-413861904646
Host: example.com
Accept: application/json
Content-Type: application/json
Authorization: Bearer h480djs93hd8
If-Match: W/"a330bc54f0671c9"
{
"schemas": ["urn:scim:schemas:core:1.0"],
"name": {
"formatted": "Ms. Barbara J Jensen III",
"familyName": "Jensen"
}
}
The following example shows how to remove a complex Sub-Attribute and
an extended schema attribute from a User.
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PATCH /Users/2819c223-7f76-453a-919d-413861904646
Host: example.com
Accept: application/json
Content-Type: application/json
Authorization: Bearer h480djs93hd8
If-Match: W/"a330bc54f0671c9"
{
"schemas": ["urn:scim:schemas:core:1.0"],
"meta": {
"attributes": [
"name.formatted",
"urn:hr:schemas:user:age"
]
}
}
3.4. Deleting Resources
Consumers request Resource removal via DELETE. Service Providers MAY
choose not to permanently delete the Resource, but MUST return a 404
error code for all operations associated with the previously deleted
Id. Service Providers MUST also omit the Resource from future query
results. In addition the Service Provider MUST not consider the
deleted resource in conflict calculation. For example if a User
resource is deleted, a CREATE request for a User resource with the
same userName as the previously deleted resource should not fail with
a 409 error due to userName conflict.
DELETE /Users/2819c223-7f76-453a-919d-413861904646
Host: example.com
Authorization: Bearer h480djs93hd8
If-Match: W/"c310cd84f0281b7"
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Example: Consumer attempt to retrieve the previously deleted User
GET /Users/2819c223-7f76-453a-919d-413861904646
Host: example.com
Authorization: Bearer h480djs93hd8
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HTTP/1.1 404 NOT FOUND
{
"Errors":[
{
"description":"Resource 2819c223-7f76-453a-919d-413861904646 not found",
"code":"404"
}
]
}
3.5. Bulk
Bulk is OPTIONAL. The bulk operation enables Consumers to send a
potentially large collection of Resource operations in a single
request. The body of a a bulk operation contains a set of HTTP
Resource operations using one of the API supported HTTP methods;
i.e., POST, PUT, PATCH or DELETE.
The following Singular Attribute is defined in addition to the common
attributes defined in SCIM core schema.
failOnErrors An Integer specifying the number of errors that the
Service Provider will accept before the operation is terminated
and an error response is returned. OPTIONAL.
The following Complex Multi-valued Attribute is defined in addition
to the common attributes defined in core schema.
Operations Defines operations within a bulk job. Each operation
corresponds to a single HTTP request against a Resource endpoint.
REQUIRED.
method The HTTP method of the current operation. Possible values
are POST, PUT, PATCH or DELETE. REQUIRED.
bulkId The transient identifier of a newly created Resource,
unique within a bulk request and created by the Consumer. The
bulkId serves as a surrogate Resource id enabling Consumers to
uniquely identify newly created Resources in the Response and
cross reference new Resources in and across operations within a
bulk request. REQUIRED when method is POST.
version The current Resource version. Version is REQUIRED if the
Service Provider supports ETags and the method is PUT, DELETE,
or PATCH.
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path The Resource's relative path. If the method is POST the
value must specify a Resource type endpoint; e.g., /Users or
/Groups whereas all other method values must specify the path
to a specific Resource; e.g., /Users/
2819c223-7f76-453a-919d-413861904646. REQUIRED in a request.
data The Resource data as it would appear for a single POST, PUT
or PATCH Resource operation. REQUIRED in a request when method
is POST, PUT and PATCH.
location The Resource endpoint URL. REQUIRED in a response,
except in the event of a POST failure.
status A complex type that contains information about the success
or failure of one operation within the bulk job. REQUIRED in a
response.
code The HTTP response code that would have been returned if a
a single HTTP request would have been used. REQUIRED.
description A human readable error message. REQUIRED when an
error occurred.
If a bulk job is processed successfully the HTTP response code 200 OK
MUST be returned, otherwise an appropriate HTTP error code MUST be
returned.
The Service Provider MUST continue performing as many changes as
possible and disregard partial failures. The Consumer MAY override
this behavior by specifying a value for failOnErrors attribute. The
failOnErrors attribute defines the number of errors that the Service
Provider should accept before failing the remaining operations
returning the response.
To be able to reference a newly created Resource the attribute bulkId
MUST be specified when creating new Resources. The bulkId is defined
by the Consumer as a surrogate identifier in a POST operation. The
Service Provider MUST return the same bulkId together with the newly
created Resource. The bulkId can then be used by the Consumer to map
the Service Provider id with the bulkId of the created Resource.
There can be more then one operation per Resource in each bulk job.
The Service Consumer MUST take notice of the unordered structure of
JSON and the Service Provider can process operations in any order.
For example, if the Service Consumer sends two PUT operations in one
request, the outcome is non-deterministic.
The Service Provider response MUST include the result of all
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processed operations. A location attribute that includes the
Resource's end point MUST be returned for all operations excluding
failed POSTs. The status attribute includes information about the
success or failure of one operation within the bulk job. The
attribute status MUST include the code attribute that holds the HTTP
response code that would have been returned if a single HTTP request
would have been used. If an error occurred the status MUST also
include the description attribute containing a human readable
explanation of the error.
"status": {
"code": "201"
}
The following is an example of a status in a failed operation.
"status": {
"code": "400",
"description": "Request is unparseable, syntactically incorrect, or violates schema."
}
The following example shows how to add, update, and remove a user.
The failOnErrors attribute is set to '1' indicating the Service
Provider should return on the first error. The POST operation's
bulkId value is set to 'qwerty' enabling the Consumer to match the
new User with the returned Resource id '92b725cd-9465-4e7d-8c16-
01f8e146b87a'.
POST /v1/Bulk
Host: example.com
Accept: application/json
Content-Type: application/json
Authorization: Bearer h480djs93hd8
Content-Length: ...
{
"schemas":[
"urn:scim:schemas:core:1.0"
],
"failOnErrors":1,
"Operations":[
{
"method":"POST",
"path":"/Users",
"bulkId":"qwerty",
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"data":{
"schemas":[
"urn:scim:schemas:core:1.0"
],
"userName":"Alice"
}
},
{
"method":"PUT",
"path":"/Users/b7c14771-226c-4d05-8860-134711653041",
"version":"W\/\"3694e05e9dff591\"",
"data":{
"schemas":[
"urn:scim:schemas:core:1.0"
],
"id":"b7c14771-226c-4d05-8860-134711653041",
"userName":"Bob"
}
},
{
"method":"PATCH",
"path":"/Users/5d8d29d3-342c-4b5f-8683-a3cb6763ffcc",
"version":"W\/\"edac3253e2c0ef2\"",
"data":{
"schemas":[
"urn:scim:schemas:core:1.0"
],
"id":"5d8d29d3-342c-4b5f-8683-a3cb6763ffcc",
"userName":"Dave",
"meta":{
"attributes":[
"nickName"
]
}
}
},
{
"method":"DELETE",
"path":"/Users/e9025315-6bea-44e1-899c-1e07454e468b",
"version":"W\/\"0ee8add0a938e1a\""
}
]
}
The Service Provider returns the following response.
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HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Content-Type: application/json
{
"schemas": [
"urn:scim:schemas:core:1.0"
],
"Operations": [
{
"location": "https://example.com/v1/Users/92b725cd-9465-4e7d-8c16-01f8e146b87a",
"method": "POST",
"bulkId": "qwerty",
"version": "W\/\"oY4m4wn58tkVjJxK\"",
"status": {
"code": "201"
}
},
{
"location": "https://example.com/v1/Users/b7c14771-226c-4d05-8860-134711653041",
"method": "PUT",
"version": "W\/\"huJj29dMNgu3WXPD\"",
"status": {
"code": "200"
}
},
{
"location": "https://example.com/v1/Users/5d8d29d3-342c-4b5f-8683-a3cb6763ffcc",
"method": "PATCH",
"version": "W\/\"huJj29dMNgu3WXPD\"",
"status": {
"code": "200"
}
},
{
"location": "https://example.com/v1/Users/e9025315-6bea-44e1-899c-1e07454e468b",
"method": "DELETE",
"status": {
"code": "200"
}
}
]
}
The following response is returned if an error occurred when
attempting to create the User 'Alice'. The Service Provider stops
processing the bulk operation and immediately returns a response to
the Consumer. The response contains the error and any successful
results prior to the error.
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HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Content-Type: application/json
{
"schemas": [
"urn:scim:schemas:core:1.0"
],
"Operations": [
{
"method": "POST",
"bulkId": "qwerty",
"status": {
"code": "400",
"description": "Request is unparseable, syntactically incorrect, or violates schema."
}
}
]
}
If the failOnErrors attribute is not specified or the Service
Provider has not reached the error limit defined by the Consumer the
Service Provider will continue to process all operations. The
following is an example in which all operations failed.
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HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Content-Type: application/json
{
"schemas": [
"urn:scim:schemas:core:1.0"
],
"Operations": [
{
"method": "POST",
"bulkId": "qwerty",
"status": {
"code": "400",
"description": "Request is unparseable, syntactically incorrect, or violates schema."
}
},
{
"location": "https://example.com/v1/Users/b7c14771-226c-4d05-8860-134711653041",
"method": "PUT",
"status": {
"code": "412",
"description": "Failed to update as user changed on the server since you last retrieved it."
}
},
{
"location": "https://example.com/v1/Users/5d8d29d3-342c-4b5f-8683-a3cb6763ffcc",
"method": "PATCH",
"status": {
"code": "412",
"description": "Failed to update as user changed on the server since you last retrieved it."
}
},
{
"location": "https://example.com/v1/Users/e9025315-6bea-44e1-899c-1e07454e468b",
"method": "DELETE",
"status": {
"code": "404",
"description": "Specified resource; e.g., User, does not exist."
}
}
]
}
The Consumer can, within one bulk operation, create a new User, a new
Group and add the newly created User to the newly created Group. In
order to add the new User to the Group the Consumer must use the
surrogate id attribute, bulkId, to reference the User. The bulkId
attribute value must be pre-pended with the literal "bulkId:"; e.g.,
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if the bulkId is 'qwerty' the value is "bulkId:qwerty". The Service
Provider MUST replace the string "bulkId:qwerty" with the permanent
Resource id once created.
The following example creates a User with the userName 'Alice' and a
Group with the displayName 'Tour Guides' with Alice as a member.
POST /v1/Bulk
Host: example.com
Accept: application/json
Content-Type: application/json
Authorization: Bearer h480djs93hd8
Content-Length: ...
{
"schemas": [
"urn:scim:schemas:core:1.0"
],
"Operations": [
{
"method": "POST",
"path": "/Users",
"bulkId": "qwerty",
"data": {
"schemas": [
"urn:scim:schemas:core:1.0"
],
"userName": "Alice"
}
},
{
"method": "POST",
"path": "/Groups",
"bulkId": "ytrewq",
"data": {
"schemas": [
"urn:scim:schemas:core:1.0"
],
"displayName": "Tour Guides",
"members": [
{
"type": "user",
"value": "bulkId:qwerty"
}
]
}
}
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]
}
The Service Provider returns the following response.
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Content-Type: application/json
{
"schemas": [
"urn:scim:schemas:core:1.0"
],
"Operations": [
{
"location": "https://example.com/v1/Users/92b725cd-9465-4e7d-8c16-01f8e146b87a",
"method": "POST",
"bulkId": "qwerty",
"version": "W\/\"4weymrEsh5O6cAEK\"",
"status": {
"code": "201"
}
},
{
"location": "https://example.com/v1/Groups/e9e30dba-f08f-4109-8486-d5c6a331660a",
"method": "POST",
"bulkId": "ytrewq",
"version": "W\/\"lha5bbazU3fNvfe5\"",
"status": {
"code": "201"
}
}
]
}
A subsequent request for the 'Tour Guides' Group ('e9e30dba-f08f-
4109-8486-d5c6a331660a') returns the following:
GET /v1/Groups/e9e30dba-f08f-4109-8486-d5c6a331660a
Host: example.com
Accept: application/json
Authorization: Bearer h480djs93hd8
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HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Content-Type: application/json
Location: https://example.com/v1/Groups/e9e30dba-f08f-4109-8486-d5c6a331660a
ETag: W/"lha5bbazU3fNvfe5"
{
"schemas":["urn:scim:schemas:core:1.0"],
"id": "e9e30dba-f08f-4109-8486-d5c6a331660a",
"displayName": "Tour Guides",
"meta": {
"created":"2011-08-01T18:29:49.793Z",
"lastModified":"2011-08-01T20:31:02.315Z",
"location": "https://example.com/v1/Groups/e9e30dba-f08f-4109-8486-d5c6a331660a",
"version": "W\/\"lha5bbazU3fNvfe5\""
},
"members": [
{
"value": "92b725cd-9465-4e7d-8c16-01f8e146b87a",
"type": "user"
}
]
}
Extensions that include references to other Resources MUST be handled
in the same way by the Service Provider. The following example uses
the bulkId attribute within the enterprise extension managerId
attribute.
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POST /v1/Bulk
Host: example.com
Accept: application/json
Content-Type: application/json
Authorization: Bearer h480djs93hd8
Content-Length: ...
{
"schemas": [
"urn:scim:schemas:core:1.0"
],
"Operations": [
{
"method": "POST",
"path": "/Users",
"bulkId": "qwerty",
"data": {
"schemas": [
"urn:scim:schemas:core:1.0"
],
"userName": "Alice"
}
},
{
"method": "POST",
"path": "/Users",
"bulkId": "ytrewq",
"data": {
"schemas": [
"urn:scim:schemas:core:1.0",
"urn:scim:schemas:extension:enterprise:1.0"
],
"userName": "Bob",
"urn:scim:schemas:extension:enterprise:1.0": {
"employeeNumber": "11250",
"manager": {
"managerId": "batchId:qwerty",
"displayName": "Alice"
}
}
}
}
]
}
The Service Provider MUST try to resolve circular cross references
between Resources in a single bulk job but MAY stop after a failed
attempt and instead return the status code 409 Conflict. The
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following example exhibits the potential conflict.
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POST /v1/Bulk
Host: example.com
Accept: application/json
Content-Type: application/json
Authorization: Bearer h480djs93hd8
Content-Length: ...
{
"schemas": [
"urn:scim:schemas:core:1.0"
],
"Operations": [
{
"method": "POST",
"path": "/Groups",
"bulkId": "qwerty",
"data": {
"schemas": [
"urn:scim:schemas:core:1.0"
],
"displayName": "Group A",
"members": [
{
"type": "group",
"value": "bulkId:ytrewq"
}
]
}
},
{
"method": "POST",
"path": "/Groups",
"bulkId": "ytrewq",
"data": {
"schemas": [
"urn:scim:schemas:core:1.0"
],
"displayName": "Group B",
"members": [
{
"type": "group",
"value": "bulkId:qwerty"
}
]
}
}
]
}
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If the Service Provider resolved the above circular references the
following is returned from a subsequent GET request.
GET /v1/Groups?filter=displayName sw 'Group'
Host: example.com
Accept: application/json
Authorization: Bearer h480djs93hd8
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Content-Type: application/json
{
"totalResults": 2,
"schemas": [
"urn:scim:schemas:core:1.0"
],
"Resources": [
{
"id": "c3a26dd3-27a0-4dec-a2ac-ce211e105f97",
"schemas": [
"urn:scim:schemas:core:1.0"
],
"displayName": "Group A",
"meta": {
"created":"2011-08-01T18:29:49.793Z",
"lastModified":"2011-08-01T18:29:51.135Z",
"location":"https://example.com/v1/Groups/c3a26dd3-27a0-4dec-a2ac-ce211e105f97",
"version":"W\/\"mvwNGaxB5SDq074p\""
},
"members": [
{
"value": "6c5bb468-14b2-4183-baf2-06d523e03bd3",
"type": "group"
}
]
},
{
"id": "6c5bb468-14b2-4183-baf2-06d523e03bd3",
"schemas": [
"urn:scim:schemas:core:1.0"
],
"displayName": "Group B",
"meta": {
"created":"2011-08-01T18:29:50.873Z",
"lastModified":"2011-08-01T18:29:50.873Z",
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"location":"https://example.com/v1/Groups/6c5bb468-14b2-4183-baf2-06d523e03bd3",
"version":"W\/\"wGB85s2QJMjiNnuI\""
},
"members": [
{
"value": "c3a26dd3-27a0-4dec-a2ac-ce211e105f97",
"type": "group"
}
]
}
]
}
The Service Provider MUST define the maximum number of operations and
maximum payload size a Consumer may send in a single request. If
either limits are exceeded the Service Provider MUST return the HTTP
response code 413 Request Entity Too Large. The returned response
MUST specify the limit exceeded in the body of the error response.
The following example the Consumer sent a request exceeding the
Service Provider's max payload size of 1 megabyte.
POST /v1/Bulk
Host: example.com
Accept: application/json
Content-Type: application/json
Authorization: Bearer h480djs93hd8
Content-Length: 4294967296
...
HTTP/1.1 413 Request Entity Too Large
Content-Type: application/json
Location: https://example.com/v1/Bulk/yfCrVJhFIJagAHj8
{
"Errors":[
{
"description":"The size of the bulk operation exceeds the maxPayloadSize (1048576).",
"code":"413"
}
]
}
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3.6. Data Input/Output Formats
Consumers MUST specify the format in which the data is submitted via
the HTTP header content-type and MAY specify the desired response
data format via an HTTP Accept Header; e.g.,"Accept: application/
json" or via URI suffix; e.g.,
GET /Users/2819c223-7f76-453a-919d-413861904646.json
Host: example.com
GET /Users/2819c223-7f76-453a-919d-413861904646.xml
Host: example.com
Service Providers MUST support the Accept Headers "Accept:
application/json" for JSON [5] and, if supported, "Accept:
application/xml" for XML [6]. The format defaults to JSON if no
format is specified. The data structure returned is equivalent in
both formats; the only difference is in the encoding of the data.
Singular attributes are encoded as string name-value-pairs in JSON;
e.g.,
"attribute": "value"
and elements in XML; e.g.,
value
Multi-valued attributes in JSON are encoded as arrays; e.g.,
"attributes": [ "value1", "value2" ]
and repeated tags in XML; e.g.,
value1
value2
Elements with nested elements are represented as objects in JSON;
e.g,
"attribute": { "subattribute1": "value1", "subattribute2": "value2" }
and repeated tags in XML; e.g.,
value1
value2
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3.7. Additional retrieval query parameters
Consumers MAY request a partial Resource representation on any
operation that returns a Resource within the response by specifying
the URL query parameter 'attributes'. When specified, each Resource
returned MUST contain the minimal set of Resource attributes and,
MUST contain no other attributes or Sub-Attributes than those
explicitly requested. The query parameter attributes value is a
comma separated list of Resource attribute names in standard,
attribute notation (Section 3.8) form (e.g. userName, name, emails).
GET /Users/2819c223-7f76-453a-919d-413861904646?attributes=userName
Host: example.com
Accept: application/json
Authorization: Bearer h480djs93hd8
Giving the response
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Content-Type: application/json
Location: https://example.com/v1/Users/2819c223-7f76-453a-919d-413861904646
ETag: W/"a330bc54f0671c9"
{
"schemas":["urn:scim:schemas:core:1.0"],
"id":"2819c223-7f76-453a-919d-413861904646",
"userName":"bjensen",
"meta":{
"created":"2011-08-01T18:29:49.793Z",
"lastModified":"2011-08-01T18:29:49.793Z",
"location":"https://example.com/v1/Users/2819c223-7f76-453a-919d-413861904646",
"version":"W\/\"a330bc54f0671c9\""
}
}
3.8. Attribute Notation
All operations share a common scheme for referencing simple and
complex attributes. In general, attributes are identified by
prefixing the attribute name with its schema URN separated by a ':'
character; e.g., the core User Resource attribute 'userName' is
identified as 'urn:scim:schemas:core:1.0:userName'. Consumers MAY
omit core schema attribute URN prefixes though MUST fully qualify
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extended attributes with the associated Resource URN; e.g., the
attribute 'age' defined in 'urn:hr:schemas:user' is fully encoded as
'urn:hr:schemas:user:age'. A Complex attributes' Sub-Attributes are
referenced via nested, dot ('.') notation; i.e., {urn}:{Attribute
name}.{Sub-Attribute name}. For example, the fully qualified path
for a User's givenName is urn:scim:schemas:core:1.0:name.givenName
All facets (URN, attribute and Sub-Attribute name) of the fully
encoded Attribute name are case insensitive.
3.9. HTTP Response Codes
The SCIM Protocol uses the response status codes defined in HTTP [7]
to indicate operation success or failure. In addition to returning a
HTTP response code implementers MUST return the errors in the body of
the response in the client requested format containing the error
response and, per the HTTP specification, human-readable
explanations. Implementers SHOULD handle the identified errors as
described below.
+--------------+---------------------------+------------------------+
| Code | Applicability | Suggested Explanation |
+--------------+---------------------------+------------------------+
| 400 BAD | GET,POST,PUT,PATCH,DELETE | Request is |
| REQUEST | | unparseable, |
| | | syntactically |
| | | incorrect, or violates |
| | | schema |
| 401 | GET,POST,PUT,PATCH,DELETE | Authorization failure |
| UNAUTHORIZED | | |
| 403 | GET,POST,PUT,PATCH,DELETE | Server does not |
| FORBIDDEN | | support requested |
| | | operation |
| 404 NOT | GET,PUT,PATCH,DELETE | Specified resource; |
| FOUND | | e.g., User, does not |
| | | exist |
| 409 CONFLICT | POST, PUT,PATCH,DELETE | The specified version |
| | | number does not match |
| | | the resource's latest |
| | | version number or a |
| | | Service Provider |
| | | refused to create a |
| | | new, duplicate |
| | | resource |
| 412 | PUT,PATCH,DELETE | Failed to update as |
| PRECONDITION | | Resource {id} changed |
| FAILED | | on the server last |
| | | retrieved |
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| 413 REQUEST | POST | {"maxOperations": |
| ENTITY TOO | | 1000,"maxPayload": |
| LARGE | | 1048576} |
| 500 INTERNAL | GET,POST,PUT,PATCH,DELETE | An internal error. |
| SERVER ERROR | | Implementers SHOULD |
| | | provide descriptive |
| | | debugging advice |
| 501 NOT | GET,POST,PUT,PATCH,DELETE | Service Provider does |
| IMPLEMENTED | | not support the |
| | | request operation; |
| | | e.g., PATCH |
+--------------+---------------------------+------------------------+
Table 7: Defined error cases
Error example in response to a non-existent GET request.
HTTP/1.1 404 NOT FOUND
{
"Errors":[
{
"description":"Resource 2819c223-7f76-453a-919d-413861904646 not found",
"code":"404"
}
]
}
3.10. API Versioning
The Base URL MAY be appended with a version identifier as a separate
segment in the URL path. At this time the only valid identifier is
'v1'. If specified, the version identifier MUST appear in the URL
path immediately preceding the Resource endpoint and conform to the
following scheme: the character 'v' followed by the desired SCIM
version number; e.g., a version 'v1' User request is specified as
/v1/Users. When specified Service Providers MUST perform the
operation using the desired version or reject the request. When
omitted Service Providers SHOULD perform the operation using the most
recent API supported by the Service Provider.
3.11. Versioning Resources
The API supports resource versioning via standard,HTTP ETags.
Service providers MAY support weak ETags as the preferred mechanism
for performing conditional retrievals and ensuring Consumers do not
inadvertently overwrite each others changes, respectively. When
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supported SCIM ETags MUST be specified as an HTTP header and SHOULD
be specified within the 'version' attribute contained in the
Resource's 'meta' attribute.
Example:
POST /Users HTTP/1.1
Host: example.com
Content-Type: application/json
Authorization: Bearer h480djs93hd8
Content-Length: ...
{
"schemas":["urn:scim:schemas:core:1.0"],
"userName":"bjensen",
"externalId":"bjensen",
"name":{
"formatted":"Ms. Barbara J Jensen III",
"familyName":"Jensen",
"givenName":"Barbara"
}
}
The server responds with an ETag in the response header and meta
structure.
HTTP/1.1 201 Created
Content-Type: application/json
Location: https://example.com/v1/Users/2819c223-7f76-453a-919d-413861904646
ETag: W/"e180ee84f0671b1"
{
"schemas":["urn:scim:schemas:core:1.0"],
"id":"2819c223-7f76-453a-919d-413861904646",
"meta":{
"created":"2011-08-01T21:32:44.882Z",
"lastModified":"2011-08-01T21:32:44.882Z",
"location":"https://example.com/v1/Users/2819c223-7f76-453a-919d-413861904646",
"version":"W\/\"e180ee84f0671b1\""
},
"name":{
"formatted":"Ms. Barbara J Jensen III",
"familyName":"Jensen",
"givenName":"Barbara"
},
"userName":"bjensen"
}
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With the returned ETag, Consumers MAY choose to retrieve the Resource
only if the Resource has been modified.
Conditional retrieval example using If-None-Match header:
GET /Users/2819c223-7f76-453a-919d-413861904646?attributes=displayName
Host: example.com
Accept: application/json
Authorization: Bearer h480djs93hd8
If-None-Match: W/"e180ee84f0671b1"
If the Resource has not changed the Service Provider simply returns
an empty body with a 304 "Not Modified" response code.
If the Service Providers supports versioning of resources the
Consumer MUST supply an If-Match header for PUT and PATCH operations
to ensure that the requested operation succeeds only if the supplied
ETag matches the latest Service Provider Resource; e.g., If-Match:
W/"e180ee84f0671b1"
3.12. HTTP Method Overloading
In recognition that some clients, servers and firewalls prevent PUT,
PATCH and DELETE operations a client MAY override the POST operation
by specifying the custom header "X-HTTP-Method-Override" with the
desired PUT, PATCH, DELETE operation. For example:
POST /Users/2819c223-7f76-453a-919d-413861904646
X-HTTP-Method-Override: DELETE
4. Security Considerations
The SCIM Protocol is based on HTTP and thus subject to the security
considerations found in Section 15 of [RFC2616]. SCIM Resources
(e.g., Users and Groups) can contain sensitive information.
Therefore, SCIM Consumers and Service Providers MUST implement TLS.
Which version(s) ought to be implemented will vary over time, and
depend on the widespread deployment and known security
vulnerabilities at the time of implementation. At the time of this
writing, TLS version 1.2 [RFC5246 [8]] is the most recent version,
but has very limited actual deployment, and might not be readily
available in implementation toolkits. TLS version 1.0 [RFC2246 [8]]
is the most widely deployed version, and will give the broadest
interoperability.
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5. Contributors
Samuel Erdtman (samuel@erdtman.se)
Patrick Harding (pharding@pingidentity.com)
6. Acknowledgments
The editor would like to thank the participants in the the SCIM
working group for their support of this specification.
Authors' Addresses
Trey Drake (editor)
UnboundID
Email: trey.drake@unboundid.com
Chuck Mortimore
SalesForce
Email: cmortimore@salesforce.com
Morteza Ansari
Cisco
Email: morteza.ansari@cisco.com
Kelly Grizzle
SailPoint
Email: kelly.grizzle@sailpoint.com
Erik Wahlstroem
Technology Nexus
Email: erik.wahlstrom@nexussafe.com
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