Renew Entra ID App Registration Secret for Employee Directory Connector (EDC)

This document outlines how to renew the Microsoft Entra ID App Registration secret used for the Employee Directory Connector (EDC) synchronization in ThoughtFarmer.

The App Registration secret expires every 24 months. Once expired, the Employee Directory Connector can no longer authenticate successfully, causing user synchronization to fail. This guide explains how to create a new client secret in Microsoft Entra ID and update the configuration in ThoughtFarmer.

This documentation is intended for client technical contacts and administrators responsible for managing Microsoft Entra ID and ThoughtFarmer integrations.

Prerequisites

Before proceeding, ensure the following requirements are met:

• Access to the Microsoft Azure portal
• Administrative access to the appropriate Entra ID App Registration
• Administrative access to the ThoughtFarmer Admin Panel
• Existing Employee Directory Connector configured with Entra ID

Procedure

Create a New Client Secret in Microsoft Entra ID

1. Log in to the Microsoft Azure portal.
2. Navigate to:
   • Microsoft Entra ID > App registrations
3. Open the App Registration used for the ThoughtFarmer Employee Directory Connector.
4. In the left-hand navigation menu, under Manage, click Certificates & secrets.
5. Click New client secret.
6. Configure the new secret:
   • Description: Enter a meaningful name
   • Expires: Select 24 Months
7. Click Add.
8. Locate the newly created secret and copy the value from the Value column.

Important: Copy the value from the Value column, not the Secret ID column. The Value is only visible once immediately after creation.

Update the Employee Directory Connector Configuration

1. Open your ThoughtFarmer site.
2. Navigate to:
   • Admin Panel > Users & Security > Employee Directory Connector
3. Open the Entra ID store configuration.
4. Select the Configuration tab.
5. Locate the clientSecret configuration value.
6. Replace the existing value with the newly generated client secret.
7. Click Save.

Validate the Configuration

1. Open the Synchronization Settings tab.
2. Click Validate Credentials.
3. Refresh the page if necessary.
4. Confirm that a successful validation message appears.

If validation succeeds, the Employee Directory Connector synchronization should continue operating normally.

Troubleshooting

If the credential validation fails:

• Confirm that the correct client secret value was copied from Azure
• Verify that the secret was pasted into the correct clientSecret field
• Ensure the App Registration has not been modified or deleted
• Confirm the secret has not expired immediately due to incorrect expiry selection

If the issue persists, contact the ThoughtFarmer Helpdesk:

• Email: helpdesk@thoughtfarmer.com
• Or submit a Helpdesk support ticket

Notes

Microsoft Entra ID does not currently provide automatic notifications when client secrets expire.

Organizations may optionally monitor secret expiry dates using:

• Microsoft Graph API
• PowerShell automation scripts
• Internal monitoring processes