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Use inclusive terminology in docs (blacklist/whitelist -> denylist/allowlist) - #51453

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adityaanikam:inclusive-terminology-51435
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Use inclusive terminology in docs (blacklist/whitelist -> denylist/allowlist)#51453
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adityaanikam:inclusive-terminology-51435

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@adityaanikam adityaanikam commented Aug 5, 2026

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Summary

Adopts inclusive terminology (denylist/allowlist) in place of blacklist/whitelist in user facing documentation prose, per

Closes #51435

Files changed

  • docs/documentation/server_admin/topics/authentication/kerberos.adoc
  • docs/documentation/server_admin/topics/authentication/password-policies.adoc
  • docs/guides/securing-apps/client-registration.adoc

Note: password-policies.adoc already used "denylist" in its "Pre computing the Bloom filter" section (the build-password-denylist CLI command). This PR brings the older "Password blacklist" section above it in line with that existing terminology, rather than introducing something new.

Deliberately out of scope

  • Real config identifiers: blacklistsPath, the passwordBlacklist SPI id, the keycloak.password.blacklists.path system property, and all --spi-password-policy--password-blacklist--* CLI flags. Renaming these would be a breaking change for existing deployments and needs its own deprecation path.
  • The default password-blacklists folder path (${kc.home.dir}/data/password-blacklists/), for the same reason.
  • docs/tests.md's --auth-server-whitelist flag - this is a Google Chrome command-line flag name, not Keycloak's own terminology, so changing it would make the doc inaccurate.
  • docs/documentation/release_notes/topics/26_6_0.adoc - a historical release note, left as a record of what shipped at the time.

Fixes #51435

Copilot AI balanced review requested due to automatic review settings August 5, 2026 09:46
@adityaanikam
adityaanikam requested a review from a team as a code owner August 5, 2026 09:46

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Pull request overview

Updates user-facing documentation to use inclusive denylist/allowlist terminology while retaining compatibility-sensitive identifiers.

Changes:

  • Revises password policy terminology.
  • Updates client registration and Kerberos allowlist wording.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 3 out of 3 changed files in this pull request and generated 2 comments.

File Description
password-policies.adoc Updates password denylist documentation.
client-registration.adoc Replaces whitelist terminology.
kerberos.adoc Uses allowlist terminology for trusted hosts.
Suppressed comments (1)

docs/documentation/server_admin/topics/authentication/password-policies.adoc:142

  • The nested CLI instruction on line 144 still says “blacklist folder.” That phrase is user-facing prose rather than an immutable identifier, so leaving it unchanged makes this terminology update incomplete.
* Denylist files resolve against `+${kc.home.dir}/data/password-blacklists/+` by default. Customize this path using:

Comment on lines +136 to +137
===== Password denylist
Password must not be in a denylist file.

* Client Scope Policy - Allow to whitelist `Client Scopes`, which can be used with newly registered or updated clients.
There are no whitelisted scopes by default; only the client scopes, which are defined as `Realm Default Client Scopes` are whitelisted by default.
* Client Scope Policy - Allow to allowlist `Client Scopes`, which can be used with newly registered or updated clients.
…lowlist)

Fixes keycloak#51435

Signed-off-by: adityaanikam <adityanikam9502@gmail.com>
Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings August 5, 2026 14:48
@adityaanikam
adityaanikam force-pushed the inclusive-terminology-51435 branch from 74abc40 to 1b10e04 Compare August 5, 2026 14:48

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Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 3 out of 3 changed files in this pull request and generated no new comments.

Suppressed comments (2)

docs/guides/securing-apps/client-registration.adoc:228

  • This still describes the defaults inaccurately: allow-default-scopes defaults to true and permits both realm default and realm optional client scopes (see ClientScopesClientRegistrationPolicy.java:128-132). Distinguish the empty explicit allowlist from the scopes that are implicitly allowed.
There are no allowlisted scopes by default; only the client scopes, which are defined as `Realm Default Client Scopes` are allowlisted by default.

docs/documentation/server_admin/topics/authentication/password-policies.adoc:144

  • The sample value blacklistsFolder is not a compatibility-sensitive identifier, so it unnecessarily retains the excluded terminology despite this PR's stated documentation update. Rename only this arbitrary path value while preserving the real property and CLI flag names.
** The `blacklistsPath` property of the `passwordBlacklist` policy SPI configuration. To configure the denylist folder using the CLI, use `+--spi-password-policy--password-blacklist--blacklists-path=/path/to/blacklistsFolder+`.

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Adopt inclusive terminology: update 'blacklist'/'whitelist' to 'blocklist'/'allowlist'

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