Easy to use authentication APIs designed to provide a flexible, secure, and fast integration.
Integrating User Management features into your app is quick and easy. In this guide, we’ll take you through adding a hosted authentication flow to your application using AuthKit.
To get the most out of this guide, you’ll need:
Let’s add the necessary dependencies and configuration in your WorkOS Dashboard.
If you're using Next.js, you can use the authkit-nextjs library. The Next.js library is the fastest way to get AuthKit and Impersonation working in your Next.js application with full session management.
Alternatively you can use one of the several native SDKs that WorkOS provides. This guide will use the popular Node.js SDK.
npm install @workos-inc/node
npm install @workos-inc/authkit-nextjs
A redirect URI is a callback endpoint that WorkOS will redirect to after a user has authenticated. This endpoint will exchange the authorization code returned by WorkOS for an authenticated User object. We’ll be creating this endpoint in the next step.
You can set a redirect URI in the Redirects section of the WorkOS Dashboard – be sure not to include wildcard subdomains or query parameters.
To make calls to WorkOS, provide the API key and the client ID. Store these values as managed secrets and pass them to the SDKs either as environment variables or directly in your app's configuration depending on your preferences.
WORKOS_API_KEY='sk_example_123456789' WORKOS_CLIENT_ID='client_123456789'
The code examples use your staging API keys when signed in
First, we'll need to direct users to sign in (or sign up) using AuthKit before redirecting them back to your application. We'll do this by generating an AuthKit authorization URL server side and redirecting the user to it.
You can use the optional state parameter to encode arbitrary information to help restore application state
between redirects.
const express = require('express'); const { WorkOS } = require('@workos-inc/node'); const app = express(); const workos = new WorkOS(process.env.WORKOS_API_KEY); const clientId = process.env.WORKOS_CLIENT_ID; app.get('/auth', (req, res) => { const authorizationUrl = workos.userManagement.getAuthorizationUrl({ // Specify that we'd like AuthKit to handle the authentication flow provider: 'authkit', // The callback endpoint that WorkOS will redirect to after a user authenticates redirectUri: 'http://localhost:3000/callback', clientId, }); // Redirect the user to the AuthKit sign-in page res.redirect(authorizationUrl); });
import Link from 'next/link'; import { getSignInUrl, getUser, signOut } from '@workos-inc/authkit-nextjs'; export default async function HomePage() { // Retrieves the user from the session or returns `null` if no user is signed in const { user } = await getUser(); // Get the URL to redirect the user to AuthKit to sign in const signInUrl = await getSignInUrl(); /** * If a signed-in user is mandatory, you can use the `ensureSignedIn` * configuration option. If logged out, the below will immediately redirect * the user to AuthKit. After signing in, the user will automatically * be redirected back to this page. * */ // const { user } = await getUser({ ensureSignedIn: true }); if (!user) { return <Link href={signInUrl}>Sign in</Link>; } return ( <form action={async () => { 'use server'; await signOut(); }} > <p>Welcome back{user.firstName && `, ${user.firstName}`}</p> <button type="submit">Sign out</button> </form> ); }
WorkOS will redirect to your Redirect URI if there is an issue generating an authorization URL. Read our API Reference for more details.
Next, let’s add the callback endpoint (referenced in Configure a redirect URI) which will exchange the authorization code (valid for 10 minutes) for an authenticated User object.
const express = require('express'); const { WorkOS } = require('@workos-inc/node'); const app = express(); const workos = new WorkOS(process.env.WORKOS_API_KEY); const clientId = process.env.WORKOS_CLIENT_ID; app.get('/callback', async (req, res) => { // The authorization code returned by AuthKit const code = req.query.code; const { user } = await workos.userManagement.authenticateWithCode({ code, clientId, }); // Use the information in `user` for further business logic. // Redirect the user to the homepage res.redirect('/'); });
Navigate to the authentication endpoint we created and sign up for an account. You can then sign in with the newly created credentials and see the user listed in the Users section of the WorkOS Dashboard.
If using the authkit-nextjs
library, session management is handled for you. No further integration is required.
In order to persist the authenticated state of the user in the application, we need to store and access a session.
For illustration purposes we’ll be using a JSON Web Token (JWT) to store the authenticated user in a short lived cookie, though your approach may differ depending on the application's specific requirements.
First, generate a unique password to seal the session with.
openssl rand -base64 64
node -e "console.log(require('crypto').randomBytes(64).toString('base64'));"
Then add it to the environment variables file.
WORKOS_API_KEY='sk_example_123456789' WORKOS_CLIENT_ID='client_123456789' WORKOS_COOKIE_PASSWORD='<your password>'
Next, update the callback to seal the access and refresh token. The access token is a JWT which is used to check if the session is still valid. If it isn't, the refresh token is used to attempt to retrieve a new access token.
import cookieParser from 'cookie-parser'; import { sealData, unsealData } from 'iron-session'; app.use(cookieParser()); app.get('/callback', async (req, res) => { // The authorization code returned by AuthKit const code = req.query.code; const { user, accessToken, refreshToken, impersonator } = await workos.userManagement.authenticateWithCode({ code, clientId, }); // The refreshToken should never be accesible publicly, // hence why we encrypt it in the cookie session. // Alternatively you could persist the refresh token in a backend database const encryptedSession = await sealData( { accessToken, refreshToken, user, impersonator }, { password: process.env.WORKOS_COOKIE_PASSWORD }, ); // Store the session in a cookie res.cookie('wos-session', encryptedSession, { path: '/', httpOnly: true, secure: true, sameSite: 'lax', }); // Use the information in `user` for further business logic. // Redirect the user to the homepage res.redirect('/'); });
Then, use middleware to specify which routes should be protected. If the session has expired, use the refresh token to attempt to generate a new one.
// Javascript Object Signing and Encryption (JOSE) // https://www.npmjs.com/package/jose import { createRemoteJWKSet, jwtVerify } from 'jose'; const clientId = process.env.WORKOS_CLIENT_ID; // Set the JWKS URL. This is used to verify if the JWT is still valid const JWKS = createRemoteJWKSet( new URL(workos.userManagement.getJwksUrl(clientId)), ); // Auth middleware function async function withAuth(req, res, next) { // First, attempt to get the session from the cookie const session = await getSessionFromCookie(req.cookies); // If no session, redirect the user to the login page if (!session) { return res.redirect('/login'); } const hasValidSession = await verifyAccessToken(session.accessToken); // If the session is valid, move on to the next function if (hasValidSession) { return next(); } try { // If the session is invalid (i.e. the access token has expired) // attempt to re-authenticate with the refresh token const { accessToken, refreshToken } = await workos.userManagement.authenticateWithRefreshToken({ clientId, refreshToken: session.refreshToken, }); // Refresh tokens are single use, so update the session with the // new access and refresh tokens const encryptedSession = await sealData( { accessToken, refreshToken, user: session.user, impersonator: session.impersonator, }, { password: process.env.WORKOS_COOKIE_PASSWORD }, ); // Update the cookie res.cookie('wos-session', encryptedSession, { path: '/', httpOnly: true, secure: true, sameSite: 'lax', }); return next(); } catch (e) { // Failed to refresh access token, redirect user to login page // after deleting the cookie res.clearCookie('wos-session'); res.redirect('/login'); } } async function getSessionFromCookie(cookies) { const cookie = cookies['wos-session']; if (cookie) { return unsealData(cookie, { password: process.env.WORKOS_COOKIE_PASSWORD, }); } } async function verifyAccessToken(accessToken) { try { await jwtVerify(accessToken, JWKS); return true; } catch (e) { console.warn('Failed to verify session:', e); return false; } }
Finally, add the middleware to the route that should only be accessible to logged in users.
// Specify the `withAuth` middleware function we defined earlier to protect this route app.get('/dashboard', withAuth, async (req, res) => { const session = await getSessionFromCookie(req.cookies); console.log(`User ${session.user.firstName} is logged in`); // ... render dashboard page });