Version: 6.0

Popup vs. Current

Overview

When the application is running in a web context, Auth Connect provides two different options for presenting the authentication page: popup or current. Up to this point, we have been using popup. In this tutorial we will explore current.

`popup`

With popup, the authentication provider is opened in a new browser tab / window. This mode is the most consistent with how Auth Connect works on mobile where the authentication provider is displayed in a secure web view. On the web, this option requires no extra code, but it may not be the best user experience for web.

If your application is only distributed as a web-native mobile app, and the web-context is only used for development, then it is best to use popup.

`current`

With current, the authentication provider is opened in the current window, replacing your application. Your application will then be restarted with token information on the URL upon successful login. Since this is fundamentally different than the mobile implementation, it also means that special code is needed to handle it.

If your application is distributed in a web context, it is worth considering using current for an improved user experience.

General Strategy

When using popup, it is very common to have login logic such as the following in the component used for authentication:


_10const signinClicked = async () => {
_10  try {
_10    await login();
_10    router.replace('/');
_10  } catch (e) {
_10    loginFailed.value = true;
_10  }
_10};

With this code:

The login() is called and Auth Connect opens the OIDC authentication provider in a new tab (web) or a secure web view (mobile).
Auth Connect listens for that tab or secure web view to close.
If the user successfully logs in:
- Auth Connect unpacks the data sent back when the tab or secure web view is closed and creates an AuthResult.
- Our login() stores the AuthResult and resolves.
If the user cancels the operation, our login() rejects with an error.

Since current only applies to the web, this code will still work like this on mobile. However, in a web context our app is completely replaced by the OIDC authentication provider's login page. As such, we are no longer awaiting the login and need to use a completely different mechanism to capture the authentication result when the app restarts.

On web, the flow becomes:

The login() is called and Auth Connect replaces the application with the OIDC authentication provider's login page.
The user logs in or cancels.
The application is restarted using the configured redirectUri.
In the case of a successful login, the authentication information will be included in the URL. It will need to be processed by our application.

In our case, the application is using the /auth-action-complete route. We can then use the page for that route to perform the following tasks:

Determine if the application is running on the web.
If so:
- Call a process that will examine the extra parameters for the URL.
  - If parameters exist, this was a successful login, and the parameters are used to construct an AuthResult which is stored in the session vault.
  - If parameters do not exist, this was a logout and the session vault is cleared.
- Continue navigation to the appropriate page within the application.

Let's Code

This tutorial builds upon the application created when doing the getting started tutorial and converts it from using popup to using current. If you have the code from when you performed that tutorial, then you are good to go. If you need the code you can make a copy from our GitHub repository.

The Authentication Composable

The first thing that needs to be done is to modify the Auth Connect configuration to use current mode on the web. A function is then created that handles the URL parameters when Auth Connect restarts our application after login or logout.

src/composables/authentication.ts


_59import { useSession } from '@/composables/session';
_59import { Capacitor } from '@capacitor/core';
_59import { Auth0Provider, AuthConnect, AuthResult, ProviderOptions } from '@ionic-enterprise/auth';
_59
_59const isNative = Capacitor.isNativePlatform();
_59const provider = new Auth0Provider();
_59const authOptions: ProviderOptions = {
_59  audience: 'https://io.ionic.demo.ac',
_59  clientId: 'yLasZNUGkZ19DGEjTmAITBfGXzqbvd00',
_59  discoveryUrl: 'https://dev-2uspt-sz.us.auth0.com/.well-known/openid-configuration',
_59  logoutUrl: isNative ? 'io.ionic.acdemo://auth-action-complete' : 'http://localhost:8100/auth-action-complete',
_59  redirectUri: isNative ? 'io.ionic.acdemo://auth-action-complete' : 'http://localhost:8100/auth-action-complete',
_59  scope: 'openid offline_access email picture profile',
_59};
_59let authResult: AuthResult | null = null;
_59
_59const { clearSession, getSession, setSession } = useSession();
_59
_59const getAuthResult = async (): Promise<AuthResult | null> => {
_59  return getSession();
_59};
_59
_59const saveAuthResult = async (authResult: AuthResult | null): Promise<void> => {
_59  if (authResult) {
_59    await setSession(authResult);
_59  } else {
_59    await clearSession();
_59  }
_59};
_59
_59export const useAuthentication = () => ({
_59  initializeAuthentication: async (): Promise<void> =>
_59    AuthConnect.setup({
_59      platform: isNative ? 'capacitor' : 'web',
_59      logLevel: 'DEBUG',
_59      ios: {
_59        webView: 'private',
_59      },
_59      web: {
_59        uiMode: 'popup',
_59        authFlow: 'PKCE',
_59      },
_59    }),
_59  isAuthenticated: async (): Promise<boolean> => {
_59    const authResult = await getAuthResult();
_59    return !!authResult && (await AuthConnect.isAccessTokenAvailable(authResult));
_59  },
_59  login: async (): Promise<void> => {
_59    authResult = await AuthConnect.login(provider, authOptions);
_59    await saveAuthResult(authResult);
_59  },
_59  logout: async (): Promise<void> => {
_59    const authResult = await getAuthResult();
_59    if (authResult) {
_59      await AuthConnect.logout(provider, authResult);
_59      saveAuthResult(null);
_59    }
_59  },
_59});

Start by having a look at the current configuration that is used for our AuthConnect.setup() call. Note that it is using a uiMode of popup.

Also note the return URLs. The page(s) accessed by that route is where we need to eventually modify.

src/composables/authentication.ts


_59import { useSession } from '@/composables/session';
_59import { Capacitor } from '@capacitor/core';
_59import { Auth0Provider, AuthConnect, AuthResult, ProviderOptions } from '@ionic-enterprise/auth';
_59
_59const isNative = Capacitor.isNativePlatform();
_59const provider = new Auth0Provider();
_59const authOptions: ProviderOptions = {
_59  audience: 'https://io.ionic.demo.ac',
_59  clientId: 'yLasZNUGkZ19DGEjTmAITBfGXzqbvd00',
_59  discoveryUrl: 'https://dev-2uspt-sz.us.auth0.com/.well-known/openid-configuration',
_59  logoutUrl: isNative ? 'io.ionic.acdemo://auth-action-complete' : 'http://localhost:8100/auth-action-complete',
_59  redirectUri: isNative ? 'io.ionic.acdemo://auth-action-complete' : 'http://localhost:8100/auth-action-complete',
_59  scope: 'openid offline_access email picture profile',
_59};
_59let authResult: AuthResult | null = null;
_59
_59const { clearSession, getSession, setSession } = useSession();
_59
_59const getAuthResult = async (): Promise<AuthResult | null> => {
_59  return getSession();
_59};
_59
_59const saveAuthResult = async (authResult: AuthResult | null): Promise<void> => {
_59  if (authResult) {
_59    await setSession(authResult);
_59  } else {
_59    await clearSession();
_59  }
_59};
_59
_59export const useAuthentication = () => ({
_59  initializeAuthentication: async (): Promise<void> =>
_59    AuthConnect.setup({
_59      platform: isNative ? 'capacitor' : 'web',
_59      logLevel: 'DEBUG',
_59      ios: {
_59        webView: 'private',
_59      },
_59      web: {
_59        uiMode: 'current',
_59        authFlow: 'PKCE',
_59      },
_59    }),
_59  isAuthenticated: async (): Promise<boolean> => {
_59    const authResult = await getAuthResult();
_59    return !!authResult && (await AuthConnect.isAccessTokenAvailable(authResult));
_59  },
_59  login: async (): Promise<void> => {
_59    authResult = await AuthConnect.login(provider, authOptions);
_59    await saveAuthResult(authResult);
_59  },
_59  logout: async (): Promise<void> => {
_59    const authResult = await getAuthResult();
_59    if (authResult) {
_59      await AuthConnect.logout(provider, authResult);
_59      saveAuthResult(null);
_59    }
_59  },
_59});

Change the uiMode to current.

src/composables/authentication.ts


_62import { useSession } from '@/composables/session';
_62import { Capacitor } from '@capacitor/core';
_62import { Auth0Provider, AuthConnect, AuthResult, ProviderOptions } from '@ionic-enterprise/auth';
_62
_62const isNative = Capacitor.isNativePlatform();
_62const provider = new Auth0Provider();
_62const authOptions: ProviderOptions = {
_62  audience: 'https://io.ionic.demo.ac',
_62  clientId: 'yLasZNUGkZ19DGEjTmAITBfGXzqbvd00',
_62  discoveryUrl: 'https://dev-2uspt-sz.us.auth0.com/.well-known/openid-configuration',
_62  logoutUrl: isNative ? 'io.ionic.acdemo://auth-action-complete' : 'http://localhost:8100/auth-action-complete',
_62  redirectUri: isNative ? 'io.ionic.acdemo://auth-action-complete' : 'http://localhost:8100/auth-action-complete',
_62  scope: 'openid offline_access email picture profile',
_62};
_62let authResult: AuthResult | null = null;
_62
_62const { clearSession, getSession, setSession } = useSession();
_62
_62const getAuthResult = async (): Promise<AuthResult | null> => {
_62  return getSession();
_62};
_62
_62const saveAuthResult = async (authResult: AuthResult | null): Promise<void> => {
_62  if (authResult) {
_62    await setSession(authResult);
_62  } else {
_62    await clearSession();
_62  }
_62};
_62
_62export const useAuthentication = () => ({
_62  initializeAuthentication: async (): Promise<void> =>
_62    AuthConnect.setup({
_62      platform: isNative ? 'capacitor' : 'web',
_62      logLevel: 'DEBUG',
_62      ios: {
_62        webView: 'private',
_62      },
_62      web: {
_62        uiMode: 'current',
_62        authFlow: 'PKCE',
_62      },
_62    }),
_62  handleLoginReturn: async (): Promise<void> => {
_62    const params = new URLSearchParams(window.location.search);
_62  },
_62  isAuthenticated: async (): Promise<boolean> => {
_62    const authResult = await getAuthResult();
_62    return !!authResult && (await AuthConnect.isAccessTokenAvailable(authResult));
_62  },
_62  login: async (): Promise<void> => {
_62    authResult = await AuthConnect.login(provider, authOptions);
_62    await saveAuthResult(authResult);
_62  },
_62  logout: async (): Promise<void> => {
_62    const authResult = await getAuthResult();
_62    if (authResult) {
_62      await AuthConnect.logout(provider, authResult);
_62      saveAuthResult(null);
_62    }
_62  },
_62});

Since we will be coming back into the app after login, we need a function to handle that. For now just read the URL search parameters.

src/composables/authentication.ts


_69import { useSession } from '@/composables/session';
_69import { Capacitor } from '@capacitor/core';
_69import { Auth0Provider, AuthConnect, AuthResult, ProviderOptions } from '@ionic-enterprise/auth';
_69
_69const isNative = Capacitor.isNativePlatform();
_69const provider = new Auth0Provider();
_69const authOptions: ProviderOptions = {
_69  audience: 'https://io.ionic.demo.ac',
_69  clientId: 'yLasZNUGkZ19DGEjTmAITBfGXzqbvd00',
_69  discoveryUrl: 'https://dev-2uspt-sz.us.auth0.com/.well-known/openid-configuration',
_69  logoutUrl: isNative ? 'io.ionic.acdemo://auth-action-complete' : 'http://localhost:8100/auth-action-complete',
_69  redirectUri: isNative ? 'io.ionic.acdemo://auth-action-complete' : 'http://localhost:8100/auth-action-complete',
_69  scope: 'openid offline_access email picture profile',
_69};
_69let authResult: AuthResult | null = null;
_69
_69const { clearSession, getSession, setSession } = useSession();
_69
_69const getAuthResult = async (): Promise<AuthResult | null> => {
_69  return getSession();
_69};
_69
_69const saveAuthResult = async (authResult: AuthResult | null): Promise<void> => {
_69  if (authResult) {
_69    await setSession(authResult);
_69  } else {
_69    await clearSession();
_69  }
_69};
_69
_69export const useAuthentication = () => ({
_69  initializeAuthentication: async (): Promise<void> =>
_69    AuthConnect.setup({
_69      platform: isNative ? 'capacitor' : 'web',
_69      logLevel: 'DEBUG',
_69      ios: {
_69        webView: 'private',
_69      },
_69      web: {
_69        uiMode: 'current',
_69        authFlow: 'PKCE',
_69      },
_69    }),
_69  handleLoginReturn: async (): Promise<void> => {
_69    const params = new URLSearchParams(window.location.search);
_69    if (params.size > 0) {
_69      const queryEntries = Object.fromEntries(params.entries());
_69      authResult = await AuthConnect.handleLoginCallback(queryEntries, authOptions);
_69    } else {
_69      authResult = null;
_69    }
_69    await saveAuthResult(authResult);
_69  },
_69  isAuthenticated: async (): Promise<boolean> => {
_69    const authResult = await getAuthResult();
_69    return !!authResult && (await AuthConnect.isAccessTokenAvailable(authResult));
_69  },
_69  login: async (): Promise<void> => {
_69    authResult = await AuthConnect.login(provider, authOptions);
_69    await saveAuthResult(authResult);
_69  },
_69  logout: async (): Promise<void> => {
_69    const authResult = await getAuthResult();
_69    if (authResult) {
_69      await AuthConnect.logout(provider, authResult);
_69      saveAuthResult(null);
_69    }
_69  },
_69});

If search parameters are present, then this is the login returning. We package the data and send it to Auth Connect to process and create an AuthResult.

If there are no parameters, we will assume a logout and set the authResult to null.

Either way, we will save the current authResult.

Start by having a look at the current configuration that is used for our AuthConnect.setup() call. Note that it is using a uiMode of popup.

Also note the return URLs. The page(s) accessed by that route is where we need to eventually modify.

Change the uiMode to current.

Since we will be coming back into the app after login, we need a function to handle that. For now just read the URL search parameters.

If search parameters are present, then this is the login returning. We package the data and send it to Auth Connect to process and create an AuthResult.

If there are no parameters, we will assume a logout and set the authResult to null.

Either way, we will save the current authResult.

src/composables/authentication.ts


_59import { useSession } from '@/composables/session';
_59import { Capacitor } from '@capacitor/core';
_59import { Auth0Provider, AuthConnect, AuthResult, ProviderOptions } from '@ionic-enterprise/auth';
_59
_59const isNative = Capacitor.isNativePlatform();
_59const provider = new Auth0Provider();
_59const authOptions: ProviderOptions = {
_59  audience: 'https://io.ionic.demo.ac',
_59  clientId: 'yLasZNUGkZ19DGEjTmAITBfGXzqbvd00',
_59  discoveryUrl: 'https://dev-2uspt-sz.us.auth0.com/.well-known/openid-configuration',
_59  logoutUrl: isNative ? 'io.ionic.acdemo://auth-action-complete' : 'http://localhost:8100/auth-action-complete',
_59  redirectUri: isNative ? 'io.ionic.acdemo://auth-action-complete' : 'http://localhost:8100/auth-action-complete',
_59  scope: 'openid offline_access email picture profile',
_59};
_59let authResult: AuthResult | null = null;
_59
_59const { clearSession, getSession, setSession } = useSession();
_59
_59const getAuthResult = async (): Promise<AuthResult | null> => {
_59  return getSession();
_59};
_59
_59const saveAuthResult = async (authResult: AuthResult | null): Promise<void> => {
_59  if (authResult) {
_59    await setSession(authResult);
_59  } else {
_59    await clearSession();
_59  }
_59};
_59
_59export const useAuthentication = () => ({
_59  initializeAuthentication: async (): Promise<void> =>
_59    AuthConnect.setup({
_59      platform: isNative ? 'capacitor' : 'web',
_59      logLevel: 'DEBUG',
_59      ios: {
_59        webView: 'private',
_59      },
_59      web: {
_59        uiMode: 'popup',
_59        authFlow: 'PKCE',
_59      },
_59    }),
_59  isAuthenticated: async (): Promise<boolean> => {
_59    const authResult = await getAuthResult();
_59    return !!authResult && (await AuthConnect.isAccessTokenAvailable(authResult));
_59  },
_59  login: async (): Promise<void> => {
_59    authResult = await AuthConnect.login(provider, authOptions);
_59    await saveAuthResult(authResult);
_59  },
_59  logout: async (): Promise<void> => {
_59    const authResult = await getAuthResult();
_59    if (authResult) {
_59      await AuthConnect.logout(provider, authResult);
_59      saveAuthResult(null);
_59    }
_59  },
_59});

note

URLSearchParams.size is supported by all modern browsers. If you need to support older browsers, you can use Array.from(params.keys()).length in place of params.size.

Auth Action Completed Page

The Auth Connect configuration for the application redirects back into the application via the /auth-action-complete route. The code needs to determine if we are running in a web context, and if so:

Handle the authentication.
Route back to the root page.

src/views/AuthActionCompletePage.vue


_23<template>
_23  <ion-content class="main-content">
_23    <div class="container">
_23      <ion-spinner name="dots"></ion-spinner>
_23    </div>
_23  </ion-content>
_23</template>
_23
_23<script setup lang="ts">
_23import { IonContent, IonSpinner } from '@ionic/vue';
_23</script>
_23
_23<style scoped>
_23.container {
_23  text-align: center;
_23
_23  position: absolute;
_23  left: 0;
_23  right: 0;
_23  top: 50%;
_23  transform: translateY(-50%);
_23}
_23</style>

The AuthActionCompletePage currently just contains markup to show a spinner. No logic is in place.

src/views/AuthActionCompletePage.vue


_27<template>
_27  <ion-content class="main-content">
_27    <div class="container">
_27      <ion-spinner name="dots"></ion-spinner>
_27    </div>
_27  </ion-content>
_27</template>
_27
_27<script setup lang="ts">
_27import { Capacitor } from '@capacitor/core';
_27import { IonContent, IonSpinner } from '@ionic/vue';
_27
_27if (!Capacitor.isNativePlatform())) {
_27}
_27</script>
_27
_27<style scoped>
_27.container {
_27  text-align: center;
_27
_27  position: absolute;
_27  left: 0;
_27  right: 0;
_27  top: 50%;
_27  transform: translateY(-50%);
_27}
_27</style>

Import Capacitor so the page can determine if it is running in a native context or not.

src/views/AuthActionCompletePage.vue


_30<template>
_30  <ion-content class="main-content">
_30    <div class="container">
_30      <ion-spinner name="dots"></ion-spinner>
_30    </div>
_30  </ion-content>
_30</template>
_30
_30<script setup lang="ts">
_30import { Capacitor } from '@capacitor/core';
_30import { IonContent, IonSpinner } from '@ionic/vue';
_30import { useAuthentication } from '@/composables/authentication'
_30
_30if (!Capacitor.isNativePlatform())) {
_30  const { handleLoginReturn } = useAuthentication();
_30  handleLoginReturn();
_30}
_30</script>
_30
_30<style scoped>
_30.container {
_30  text-align: center;
_30
_30  position: absolute;
_30  left: 0;
_30  right: 0;
_30  top: 50%;
_30  transform: translateY(-50%);
_30}
_30</style>

If the application is not running in a native context, handle the return from the OIDC authentication provider.

src/views/AuthActionCompletePage.vue


_32<template>
_32  <ion-content class="main-content">
_32    <div class="container">
_32      <ion-spinner name="dots"></ion-spinner>
_32    </div>
_32  </ion-content>
_32</template>
_32
_32<script setup lang="ts">
_32import { Capacitor } from '@capacitor/core';
_32import { useRouter } from 'vue-router';
_32import { IonContent, IonSpinner } from '@ionic/vue';
_32import { useAuthentication } from '@/composables/authentication'
_32
_32if (!Capacitor.isNativePlatform())) {
_32  const { handleLoginReturn } = useAuthentication();
_32  const router = useRouter();
_32  handleLoginReturn().then(() => router.replace('/'));
_32}
_32</script>
_32
_32<style scoped>
_32.container {
_32  text-align: center;
_32
_32  position: absolute;
_32  left: 0;
_32  right: 0;
_32  top: 50%;
_32  transform: translateY(-50%);
_32}
_32</style>

Once the URL has been handled, redirect to the root page.

The AuthActionCompletePage currently just contains markup to show a spinner. No logic is in place.

Import Capacitor so the page can determine if it is running in a native context or not.

If the application is not running in a native context, handle the return from the OIDC authentication provider.

Once the URL has been handled, redirect to the root page.

src/views/AuthActionCompletePage.vue


_23<template>
_23  <ion-content class="main-content">
_23    <div class="container">
_23      <ion-spinner name="dots"></ion-spinner>
_23    </div>
_23  </ion-content>
_23</template>
_23
_23<script setup lang="ts">
_23import { IonContent, IonSpinner } from '@ionic/vue';
_23</script>
_23
_23<style scoped>
_23.container {
_23  text-align: center;
_23
_23  position: absolute;
_23  left: 0;
_23  right: 0;
_23  top: 50%;
_23  transform: translateY(-50%);
_23}
_23</style>

Note: for this application, redirecting to the root page is the correct thing to do. In a more complex application, it may be more appropriate to check various states before determining the route. If so, such logic should be abstracted into a routing routine.

Next Steps

If you have not already done so, please see the following tutorials:

Happy coding!! 🤓

Overview​

popup​

current​

General Strategy​

Let's Code​

The Authentication Composable​

Auth Action Completed Page​

Next Steps​

Contents

Overview

`popup`

`current`

General Strategy

Let's Code

The Authentication Composable

Auth Action Completed Page

Next Steps