Tracing SAML Logins

Last updated: September 9, 2026

Trace data can gather the SAML responses that are posted to Kion in order to facilitate logins. These responses contain all of the information necessary to create/update a user and provide permissions. Gathering trace data can be helpful when troubleshooting issues with authentication and logging in through a SAML IDMS.

Gathering Trace Data with Browser Extensions

The following methods describe how to trace SAML responses in a browser when you’re able to install browser extensions. You must have access to web developer tools in your browser to perform these processes.

Google Chrome: SAML Chrome Panel

  1. Install the SAML Chrome Panel extension from the Chrome Web Store.
  2. Navigate to your Kion login page. If you are already signed in, sign out.
  3. Open the Chrome developer tools. This can be done from the Chrome ellipsis menu under More Tools or by using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+I.
  4. Select SAML from the tabs at the top.
  5. In the same tab where the SAML extension is now open, log in to Kion using your SAML identity provider.
  6. In the developer tools panel, you should now see two entries: one GET and one POST. The relevant response data is in the POST entry.
  7. Select and copy all of the POST response data in the SAML tab.
  8. Open a plain text editor, such as Notepad, and paste in the data.
  9. Save the file as XML.

Firefox: SAML-Tracer

  1. Install the SAML-tracer extension from the Firefox Add-Ons site.
  2. Navigate to your Kion login page. If you are already signed in, sign out.
  3. From the extensions list in the top right of Firefox, click SAML-tracer.
  4. In the same tab where you opened the SAML extension, log in to Kion using your SAML identity provider.
  5. In the extension window, you should now see several entries for different activities. SAML entries have a badge that shows SAML. The relevant response data is in the POST entry.
  6. Select and copy all of the POST response data in the SAML tab.
  7. Open a plain text editor, and paste in the data.
  8. Save the file as XML.

Gathering Trace Data Without Browser Extensions

The following methods describe how to trace SAML responses in a browser when you can’t install extensions. This is useful when the trace needs to happen in a restricted environment. You must have access to web developer tools in your browser to perform these processes.

Google Chrome: SAML Trace Data

  1. Navigate to your Kion login page. If you are already signed in, sign out.
  2. Open the Chrome developer tools. This can be done from the Chrome ellipsis menu under More Tools or by using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+I.
  3. Select Network from the tabs at the top.
  4. In the filter bar, select Doc to narrow down the results.
  5. In the same tab where the developer tools are now open, log in to Kion using your SAML identity provider.
  6. On the developer tools Network tab, click the red dot above the filter bar to stop recording new events.
  7. In the list of recorded events, select the callback event.
  8. Select the Payload tab.
  9. Copy the SAML response.
  10. Select the Console tab. This opens a JavaScript console.
  11. Enter the following command, pasting the response you copied between the apostrophes. The pasted response is likely very long.
    atob('example_response')
  12. Select Enter.
  13. Copy the results.
  14. Open a plain text editor, and paste in the data.
  15. Save the file as XML.

Firefox: SAML Trace Data

  1. Navigate to your Kion login page. If you are already signed in, sign out.
  2. Open the Firefox developer tools. This can be done from the Firefox ellipsis menu under Tools.
  3. Select the Network tab.
  4. In the filter bar, select HTML to narrow down the results.
  5. In the same tab where the developer tools are now open, log in to Kion using your SAML identity provider.
  6. In the list of recorded events, select the callback event.
  7. Select the Response tab.
  8. Copy the SAML response.
  9. Open a plain text editor, and paste in the response.
  10. Remove the leading characters, including the trailing space: SAMLResponse: .
  11. Copy the edited response.
  12. In Firefox, select the Console tab in the developer tools. This opens a JavaScript console.
  13. Enter the following command, pasting the response you copied between the apostrophes.
    atob('example_response')
  14. Select Enter.
  15. Copy the results.
  16. Paste the results into a new file in the plain text editor.
  17. Delete the quotation marks at the beginning and end of the text.
  18. Perform a find-and-replace:
    • Find: \" (backslash and a quotation mark)
    • Replace: " ( a quotation mark)
  19. Save the file as XML.