Support for external identifiers

Ory now supports assigning an external_id to identities. This feature enables systems to use domain-specific identifiers such as customer_id or employee_id as primary references for identities. It simplifies migrations from legacy identity systems and reduces the need for custom ID mapping logic.

Key capabilities:

• Assign a unique external_id to any identity via API.

• Query identities directly using external_id.

• Use external_id as the sub claim in JWTs via the subject_source setting.

This feature helps align Ory Kratos with external systems that rely on stable identifiers across environments.

Learn how to configure and use external_id in the Ory Documentation.

These changes are now available in Ory Network and Ory Enterprise License Kratos and will be included in the next release of Ory Open Source.