LDAP requiring Enterprise-license in Rocket.Chat 9.0

Feedback
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Hi everyone, Gabriel from Rocket.Chat here.

First, thank you for raising this. Concerns like these deserve a direct answer, not a debate about who should pay for what. Everyone here is trying to run something that works, and that’s a fair place to start from.

What is changing, to be precise
Until now, basic LDAP, SAML and OAuth were part of the Community Edition. Advanced features such as background sync and role mapping were only in the paid plans. So TheCount is right that this is a real change, and we don’t want to present it as “nothing new”. Starting with 9.0, LDAP, SAML, Social Logins and Custom OAuth will require Starter or a paid plan. On CE, local authentication still works, and so do OAuth logins through Apple, GitHub, GitLab, Google and Nextcloud. Full details are in the announcement: Upcoming Changes to Identity Management in Rocket.Chat 9.0

thash: Starter is not affected. LDAP and SAML keep working on Starter, which is free for up to 50 users and one workspace per organization.

TheCount, on being forced to upgrade: you won’t lose authentication overnight. You can stay on your current version until it reaches end of support, and 8.9.x is an LTS release, so it gives the longest window for planning a migration. You can check your version’s support dates in the Version Durability Matrix - 8.9 release is valid until October 31st 2027.

brlarini, on custom code and external identity providers: the core platform remains MIT licensed. You are free to fork it and maintain your own authentication code. Please keep in mind that a custom fork would be maintained by you, and we can’t support it. On CE in 9.0, only the OAuth providers listed above are supported, so any other identity provider would need Starter or a paid plan.

Your options before upgrading to 9.0

  1. Move to Starter (free, up to 50 users) or a paid plan. Your current configuration keeps working.
  2. Nonprofits: we’ve launched a program with reduced Commercial pricing. The eligibility details are in the announcement linked above.
  3. Switch to local authentication or one of the supported OAuth providers.

We know this change affects how some of you run your workspaces, and we appreciate the honest feedback in this thread.