This activity attempts to export the command line tool oidc-agent, which exists for Linux and Mac, to Windows.

The aim of this activity is to provide a working version of the oidc-agent for Windows.

oidc-agent is a command line set of tools that enables the users to manage and obtain (mostly) OIDC tokens on command line. It follows the design of the ssh-agent and, as such, it can be easily integrated in the user's flow. However, current version only covers Linux and MacOS users. This activity would port the oidc-agent to Windows OS. The expected impact is potentially large, since users from many communities that may use this tool (such as HPC, or any community that need constant access to computing and storage resources as part of their work) typically rely on Windows as their main operating system.

The activity would investigate the best approach to porting the oidc-agent. Two potential approaches are currently identified, but naturally, they can be changed or ignored.

First focus on using Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) and then installing oidc-agent as an application inside Linux. This approach may have a downside of requiring users to only rely on command-line (which may not be comfortable for Windows users) and the potential issue of communicating with a browser (that is required in order for users to obtain a token).

Second approach could be by extending PuTTY. PuTTY is a SSH and TTY client for Windows and Linux that comes with a GUI. The idea is to integrate oidc-agent functionalities in PuTTY. The advantage is the ease-of-use and easier communication with Windows OS browsers.

The activity does not affect data protection or privacy.