Quickstart

Get connected to your LDAP server and start browsing in just a few steps.

Prerequisites

Loom LDAP Browser installed (see Installation)
Access to an LDAP server (host, credentials, and base DN)
Or use offline demo mode for testing

Connect to your LDAP server

Connection dialog (recommended)
Command line
Config file
Offline demo

Perfect for first-time users and managing multiple servers.

Launch Loom LDAP Browser

loom-ldapbrowser

Open the connection dialog

Press F2 to open the connection dialog.

Enter connection details

Fill in the required fields:

Host: Your LDAP server hostname (e.g., ldap.example.com)
Port: 389 for LDAP, 636 for LDAPS
Bind DN: Your authentication DN (e.g., cn=admin,dc=example,dc=com)
Base DN: Starting point for browsing (e.g., dc=example,dc=com)
TLS Mode: auto (recommended), ldaps, starttls, or none

Enter your password

When prompted, enter your bind password. The password is not saved unless you explicitly save the profile.

Start browsing

Once connected, the directory tree appears in the left panel. Navigate with arrow keys or vim-style j/k/h/l.

Quick one-off connections without saving configuration.

loom-ldapbrowser -H ldap.example.com \
  -D "cn=admin,dc=example,dc=com" \
  -b "dc=example,dc=com"

You’ll be prompted for your password unless you set the LOOM_PASSWORD environment variable:

export LOOM_PASSWORD='your-password'
loom-ldapbrowser -H ldap.example.com -D "cn=admin,dc=example,dc=com" -b "dc=example,dc=com"

Save connection profiles for repeated use.

Create config file

Create ~/.config/loom-ldapbrowser/config.toml:

[general]
theme = "dark"

[[connections]]
name = "My LDAP Server"
host = "ldap.example.com"
port = 389
tls_mode = "auto"
bind_dn = "cn=admin,dc=example,dc=com"
base_dn = "dc=example,dc=com"
credential_method = "prompt"

Launch

loom-ldapbrowser

The first profile in your config file connects automatically.

Try Loom LDAP Browser without a real server.

Create config with offline mode

[[connections]]
name = "Demo"
host = "localhost"
offline = true

Launch

loom-ldapbrowser

Explore a pre-populated demo directory with sample users and groups.

Browse the directory

Once connected, you’ll see the directory tree in the left panel and entry details in the right panel.

Navigate the tree

Key	Action
`j` or `↓`	Move down
`k` or `↑`	Move up
`l` or `→` or `Enter`	Expand node / view entry
`h` or `←`	Collapse node

The tree loads children lazily — only when you expand a node.

View entry details

When you select an entry in the tree, all its attributes appear in the detail panel on the right:

Navigate attributes with j/k or arrow keys
Press e or Enter to edit an attribute value
Press a to add a new attribute
Press d to delete an attribute value

Search for entries

Focus the search input

Press F9 or / to focus the command panel at the bottom.

Enter an LDAP filter

Type an LDAP search filter, for example:

(cn=john*)

This finds all entries where the cn attribute starts with “john”.

Press Enter

Results appear in a popup. Use j/k to navigate and Enter to jump to an entry in the tree.

Filter	Description
`(objectClass=person)`	All person entries
`(cn=Alice*)`	Entries where cn starts with “Alice”
`(mail=*@example.com)`	Entries with email ending in @example.com
`(&(objectClass=inetOrgPerson)(mail=*))`	All inetOrgPerson entries with an email
`(\|(cn=Alice)(cn=Bob))`	Entries where cn is Alice OR Bob

See Searching for the complete LDAP filter syntax.

Edit an entry

Select an entry

Navigate to an entry in the tree and press Enter or l.

Navigate to the attribute

In the detail panel, use j/k to move to the attribute you want to edit.

Press e to edit

An editor opens. Modify the value and press Enter to save, or Esc to cancel.

Changes are sent to the LDAP server immediately. There is no undo — the change is applied to the live directory.

Create a new entry

Select the parent entry

Navigate to the entry that will be the parent of your new entry.

Press a in the tree panel

A dialog opens prompting for:

RDN: Relative Distinguished Name (e.g., cn=NewUser)
Object classes: Comma-separated (e.g., inetOrgPerson,posixAccount)
Extra attributes: Optional comma-separated attr=value pairs

Fill in the details and press Enter

The new entry is created and appears in the tree.

Export data

Press F4

Opens the export dialog.

Configure export

Filter: LDAP search filter (e.g., (objectClass=person))
Attributes: Comma-separated list or * for all
Format: LDIF, JSON, CSV, or XLSX (press F2 to cycle)
Filename: Path to save (extension determines format)

Press Enter

Data matching the filter is exported to the file.

View schema

Press F6 to open the schema viewer. This shows:

Object Classes: Structural, abstract, and auxiliary classes with their MUST and MAY attributes
Attribute Types: All attribute types with their syntax and single-value flag

Navigate with j/k, switch tabs with Tab, and filter by name with /.

Essential keybindings

Key	Action
`F1`	Switch to profiles layout
`F2`	Connection dialog
`F4`	Export dialog
`F5` or `?`	Help overlay
`F6`	Schema viewer
`F7`	Toggle log panel
`F8`	Bulk update dialog
`F9` or `/`	Focus search input
`Tab`	Next panel
`Shift+Tab`	Previous panel
`Ctrl+Q`	Quit

See Keybindings for the complete reference.

Next steps

User guide

Learn all the features in depth

Configuration

Customize config.toml and keybindings

Authentication

Set up password managers and keychains

Export & import

Work with LDIF, JSON, CSV, and XLSX

Advanced features

Credential management

Instead of entering your password every time, configure one of these methods:

Command: Execute a shell command (e.g., pass, op, gpg)
Keychain: Use your OS keychain (macOS Keychain, GNOME Keyring, Windows Credential Manager)
Vault: Encrypted vault with master password

See Authentication for setup instructions.

Bulk updates

Press F8 to open the bulk update dialog. Apply a single modification to all entries matching a filter:

Replace: Set an attribute to a new value
Add: Add a value to an attribute
Delete: Remove an attribute or specific value

See Bulk Operations for examples.

Multi-tab workflows

Press Ctrl+Right or gt to open a new tab. Each tab is an independent LDAP connection. Switch between tabs with Ctrl+Left/Ctrl+Right or gT/gt. Use this to:

Compare entries across different servers
Test changes in staging before applying to production
Work with multiple base DNs simultaneously

Get Started

User Guide

Features

Prerequisites

Connect to your LDAP server

Browse the directory

Navigate the tree

View entry details

Search for entries

Common search filters

Edit an entry

Create a new entry

Export data

View schema

Essential keybindings

Next steps

User guide

Configuration

Authentication

Export & import

Advanced features

Credential management

Bulk updates

Multi-tab workflows

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get Started

User Guide

Features

​Prerequisites

​Connect to your LDAP server

​Browse the directory

​Navigate the tree

​View entry details

​Search for entries

​Common search filters

​Edit an entry

​Create a new entry

​Export data

​View schema

​Essential keybindings

​Next steps

User guide

Configuration

Authentication

Export & import

​Advanced features

​Credential management

​Bulk updates

​Multi-tab workflows

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Prerequisites

Connect to your LDAP server

Browse the directory

Navigate the tree

View entry details

Search for entries

Common search filters

Edit an entry

Create a new entry

Export data

View schema

Essential keybindings

Next steps

Advanced features

Credential management

Bulk updates

Multi-tab workflows