Keycloak Installation & Reset Guide (Linux - Non-Docker)

📌 Overview

This guide explains how to cleanly install and reset Keycloak on a Linux VM without using Docker. It also includes instructions to resolve issues like reused admin credentials, local access restrictions, and startup errors.

🔁 Step 1: Stop and Remove Old Keycloak Installation

If Keycloak is running manually:

bash
pkill -f kc.sh

Then remove the existing installation directory:

bash
rm -rf ~/keycloak-26.2.5

If you installed Keycloak elsewhere, adjust the path accordingly.

If you're using the built-in H2 database (default), this deletion also removes all Keycloak data (realms, users, clients, etc.). No need to delete a separate DB.

📦 Step 2: Download and Install a Fresh Keycloak

Navigate to your home or preferred directory and run:

bash
wget https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak/releases/download/26.2.5/keycloak-26.2.5.zip unzip keycloak-26.2.5.zip 
cd keycloak-26.2.5

This installs Keycloak in a folder named keycloak-26.2.5.

👤 Step 3: Create Admin User Automatically

Before starting Keycloak, set environment variables to define your admin user:

bash
export KEYCLOAK_ADMIN="username" 
export KEYCLOAK_ADMIN_PASSWORD="your_password"

🚀 Step 4: Start Keycloak in Development Mode

Run:

bash
./bin/kc.sh start-dev

This starts Keycloak in development mode with:

HTTP access on port 8080
Automatic admin user creation
No SSL/HTTPS required

🌐 Step 5: Access Keycloak

Open your browser and go to:

cpp
http://<your-vm-ip>:8080

Login with:

Username: Username
Password: Your_password

❗ Troubleshooting Notes

If you see "Local access required", it means the admin user wasn’t created. Make sure to set KEYCLOAK_ADMIN and KEYCLOAK_ADMIN_PASSWORD before running start-dev.
If using ./kc.sh start (production mode), Keycloak requires HTTPS unless you explicitly enable HTTP using:
```
bash
./kc.sh config set --http-enabled=true 
./kc.sh build 
./kc.sh start
```

📝 Optional: Make Startup Script

Create a script to start Keycloak with admin credentials every time:

bash
#!
export KEYCLOAK_ADMIN=admin 
export KEYCLOAK_ADMIN_PASSWORD=Your_password 
/home/keycloak/keycloak-26.2.5/bin/kc.sh start-dev

Make it executable:

bash
chmod +x start-keycloak.sh

✅ Conclusion

You now have a fully clean, reset, and working Keycloak installation running in development mode with a new admin user. This setup is perfect for internal use, testing, or integration labs. You can later move to production mode with HTTPS as needed.