topic Re: Python API can't connect to portal with windows authentication in ArcGIS API for Python Questions

Python API can't connect to portal with windows authentication

simoxu — Mon, 04 Sep 2017 01:10:14 GMT

Hi folks,

I am new to this API, I tried it with ArcGIS Online it works fine. But when I try to connect to our local ArcGIS portal, it doesn't work. Can anybody kindly point me to the right direction? I highly suspect that the problem is the API can't pick up my windows credentials which is required to login the portal.

More information:

Our portal is using IWA authentication, and this document for IWA points to not using a username or password:

It looks like there are some additional requirements for using IWA and the ArcGIS Python API:

"If your portal is configured to pick up your Windows credeintials using NTLM or Kerberos, you can omit passing in the username and password. The ArcGIS Python API is able to figure out when the GIS is using Windows authentication and picks the login credentials from the currently running process providing a seamless and secure login experience. Windows authentication only works on the Windows OS and requires pywin32 and kerberos-sspi python packages."

Please see the screen dump for details: (click to zoom in)

Re: Python API can't connect to portal with windows authentication

RohitSingh2 — Thu, 07 Sep 2017 18:08:43 GMT

Hello Simo,

I have come across a case when the portal was actually configured to use SAML.

To rule that out, can you try the following:

Log into your web GIS (ArcGIS Online organization or ArcGIS Enterprise) in the browser
Go to Content tab
Click '+ Add Item > An Application' menu
Add an application:
- Type: Application
- Title: Python
- Tags: python
On the Item details page of this newly created application, navigate to Settings tab
Click the Registered Info button. It's towards the bottom of the page.
This will show an App ID. This is your client id and needs to be passed in as the client_id parameter when constructing a GIS object. You need this in your Python code to log in

Example code:

test_client_id = 'OGz1I2eoO8dO0ii2' #replace with your client id

gis = GIS('https://your portal url', client_id=test_client_id)

gis.users.me

Re: Python API can't connect to portal with windows authentication

simoxu — Fri, 08 Sep 2017 00:06:39 GMT

Hello Rohit,

Thank you so much for your reply.

I tested as you suggested, but the problem remains. I double checked with the administrator, we are using IWA, not SAML.

I not only tested in Jupyter notebook, I also tried in python IDE (Wing IDE) to make direct connections to the portal, but it was not successful.

Surely there is something wrong on our server, just don't know where to look at. I checked it with this document, Use Integrated Windows Authentication with your portal—Portal for ArcGIS (10.5.x) | ArcGIS Enterprise , nothing looks suspicious in the server settings.

Update: I just tried the python window in ArcGIS Pro, I can login our portal from there omitting the username and password ---- and I print out the user information, it seems the API picked up my windows login inside of ArcGIS Pro. Python window in Pro is not the ideal environment for me to do my tasks.

Re: Python API can't connect to portal with windows authentication

simoxu — Fri, 08 Sep 2017 07:24:28 GMT

After I overwrote the arcgis related packages under anaconda3 using the packages under ArcGIS pro, everything seems working fine.

The packages installed by conda is slightly different from those installed by ArcGIS Pro...

don't know why, but It's working, I am happy

Update: the working version is version 1.0.1 on Python 3.5 .... I am missing out lots of latest features tho.

Re: Python API can't connect to portal with windows authentication

simoxu — Tue, 17 Oct 2017 02:15:32 GMT

OK, it is a bug for 1.2.0, 1.2.1, 1.2.2, 1.2.3 and finally addressed in the latest release of 1.2.4! well, sort of...

BUG-000108063: ArcGIS API for Python is unable to connect to Portal..

The bug was only submitted on Sep 15 and I reported the issue as a comment on the 1.2.0 release announcement on Sep 11. coincident?

Re: Python API can't connect to portal with windows authentication

DavidJones12 — Mon, 13 Aug 2018 21:02:07 GMT

Hi simo xu,

I think I may be experiencing a similar issue. Can you provide some detail on what you meant when you said "I overwrote the arcgis related packages under anaconda3 using the packages under ArcGIS pro"? I don't currently have Anaconda3 installed. I have Anaconda 2, and toggle between environments with settings in my IDE. Any assistance would be appreciated.

Thanks,

David

Re: Python API can't connect to portal with windows authentication

JoeHershman — Mon, 13 Aug 2018 21:09:34 GMT

Python API requires python 3.5+

Re: Python API can't connect to portal with windows authentication

DavidJones12 — Mon, 13 Aug 2018 21:19:24 GMT

Hi Joe,

Yeah, that's not my problem. I have multiple Python environments and successfully switch between them and have successfully used the Python API for other actions. I'm trying to connect to a secure ArcGIS Enterprise service and having no luck. I've successfully accessed secure hosted services before, but just updated Pro and wondering if something went awry. I was curious what the original poster meant by replacing arcgis related packages under Anaconda3 using the packages under ArcGIS Pro. I'm not seeing an Anaconda3 set of things under my Pro folder, and don't have A3 installed. I'm assuming the original poster did have A3 installed and worked to get the API dependencies setup with it also. Not sure...

David

Re: Python API can't connect to portal with windows authentication

JoeHershman — Mon, 13 Aug 2018 21:43:37 GMT

I did the same thing as he did to get it to work with an Aneconda install. One thing you could do is just use the ArcGIS Pro install of python and add the packages for the python API (can event do with the Pro tools). What I did was copy the files in the /lib folder from a pro installation to the /lib folder in my Anecoda install. Not sure why but this fixed the issue with connecting using single sign on AD. I have had weird behavior with install, sometimes it has worked right off the bat, another I had to do as the original poster describes.

Re: Python API can't connect to portal with windows authentication

DavidJones12 — Mon, 13 Aug 2018 21:49:00 GMT

Light bulb! Thanks. That's a good idea. I'll give it a try.

Re: Python API can't connect to portal with windows authentication

simoxu — Tue, 14 Aug 2018 02:57:59 GMT

Hi David

Sorry it is a bit vague to say "I overwrote the arcgis related packages under anaconda3 using the packages under ArcGIS pro", and even myself is a little confused when looking at this statement now.I had to find my note for that period of time to help me to recall the stuff I was talking about. I'll try my best to explain...

Firstly, I am surprised that people are still having this issue --- I thought it was solved long time ago. At that time, the latest API version was 2.3.1, and the latest Python was 3.6

Secondly, the motivation for me to replace the arcgis package in Anaconda is that the arcgis python environment was working in Pro 2.0 at that moment. By the way, Anaconda version much less a problem than the arcgis package version itself.

Thirdly, Python interpreter version matters in this case. I tried out that Python 3.5.x was the working version for the Python API for ArcGIS 1.0.1. And Python 3.6 didn't work.

Last but not least, I didn't want to lose the advanced functionalities in the Python API for ArcGIS 2.x as a result of replacing it with lower version installed with ArcGIS Pro 2.0, I used an alternative approach to change the source code in the latest Python API version 2.3.1 to make it working.

Here are the relevant notes from my old notebook, kind of fun for me to read these paper notes (nostalgia). Sorry for the scribbles --- they were only meant to be quick reminders for myself really, and without those notes I will never remember what I did 11 months ago .

Cause:

Solution:

Python 3.6 issue:

Follow up and some thought

Re: Python API can't connect to portal with windows authentication

ScottStopyak — Tue, 30 Jul 2019 12:46:22 GMT

I had a script running for almost a year that logs in to AGO and overwrites a feature service but it hasn't worked for about a month now. I'm thinking that the failures coincide with the most recent Pro upgrade, but I'm not sure. It now fails with an ArcGIS Pro crash message even though Pro isn't actually running.

Re: Python API can't connect to portal with windows authentication

simoxu — Wed, 31 Jul 2019 00:15:34 GMT

It seems you are using ArcGIS Pro to authorize your Python API. In this case, the API will connect to the active portal set in ArcGIS Pro.

https://developers.arcgis.com/python/guide/working-with-different-authentication-schemes/#Connecting-through-ArcGIS-Pro

Which version of ArcGIS API for Python are you using? the latest version supports IWA better.

Re: Python API can't connect to portal with windows authentication

JoeHershman — Wed, 31 Jul 2019 14:38:38 GMT

So you are saying that one cannot run the Python API on a machine that does not have ArcGIS Pro installed? That is a a very limiting restriction. Logging into Portal should provide the required license.

Re: Python API can't connect to portal with windows authentication

simoxu — Mon, 11 Nov 2019 23:35:04 GMT

ArcGIS API for Python does not require a license, but it is built for ArcGIS Portal and ArcGIS Online which are licensed. ArcGIS Pro has ArcGIS API for Python installed along side with Arcpy, which brings much more powerful capacities when dealing with local GIS.