openid-client

openid-client is a server side OpenID Relying Party (RP, Client) implementation for Node.js runtime, supports passport.

Implemented specs & features

The following client/RP features from OpenID Connect/OAuth2.0 specifications are implemented by openid-client.

• OpenID Connect Core 1.0
  • Authorization Callback
    • Authorization Code Flow
    • Implicit Flow
    • Hybrid Flow
  • UserInfo Request
  • Fetching Distributed Claims
  • Unpacking Aggregated Claims
  • Offline Access / Refresh Token Grant
  • Client Credentials Grant
  • Client Authentication
    • none
    • client_secret_basic
    • client_secret_post
    • client_secret_jwt
    • private_key_jwt
  • Consuming Self-Issued OpenID Provider ID Token response
• RFC8414 - OAuth 2.0 Authorization Server Metadata and OpenID Connect Discovery 1.0
  • Discovery of OpenID Provider (Issuer) Metadata
  • Discovery of OpenID Provider (Issuer) Metadata via user provided inputs (via webfinger)
• OpenID Connect Dynamic Client Registration 1.0
  • Dynamic Client Registration request
  • Client initialization via registration client uri
• RFC7009 - OAuth 2.0 Token revocation
  • Client Authenticated request to token revocation
• RFC7662 - OAuth 2.0 Token introspection
  • Client Authenticated request to token introspection
• RFC8628 - OAuth 2.0 Device Authorization Grant (Device Flow)
• RFC8705 - OAuth 2.0 Mutual TLS Client Authentication and Certificate-Bound Access Tokens
  • Mutual TLS Client Certificate-Bound Access Tokens
  • Metadata for Mutual TLS Endpoint Aliases
  • Client Authentication
    • tls_client_auth
    • self_signed_tls_client_auth
• RFC9101 - OAuth 2.0 JWT-Secured Authorization Request (JAR)
• RFC9126 - OAuth 2.0 Pushed Authorization Requests (PAR)
• OpenID Connect Session Management 1.0 - draft 28
  • RP-Initiated Logout
• Financial-grade API - Part 2: Read and Write API Security Profile (FAPI) - ID2
• JWT Secured Authorization Response Mode for OAuth 2.0 (JARM) - ID1
• OAuth 2.0 Demonstration of Proof-of-Possession at the Application Layer (DPoP) - draft 01

Updates to draft specifications (DPoP, JARM, and FAPI) are released as MINOR library versions, if you utilize these specification implementations consider using the tilde ~ operator in your package.json since breaking changes may be introduced as part of these version updates.

Certification

Filip Skokan has certified that openid-client conforms to the following profiles of the OpenID Connect™ protocol

• RP Basic, Implicit, Hybrid, Config, Dynamic, and Form Post
• RP FAPI R/W MTLS and Private Key

Sponsor

If you want to quickly add OpenID Connect authentication to Node.js apps, feel free to check out Auth0's Node.js SDK and free plan at auth0.com/developers.

Support

If you or your business use openid-client, please consider becoming a sponsor so I can continue maintaining it and adding new features carefree.

Documentation

The library exposes what are essentially steps necessary to be done by a relying party consuming OpenID Connect Authorization Server responses or wrappers around requests to its endpoints. Aside from a generic OpenID Connect passport strategy it does not expose neither express or koa middlewares. Those can however be built using the exposed API.

• openid-client API Documentation
  • Issuer
  • Client
  • Customizing
  • TokenSet
  • Strategy
  • generators
  • errors

Install

Node.js version >=12.0.0 is recommended, but ^10.19.0 lts/dubnium is also supported.

npm install openid-client

Quick start

Discover an Issuer configuration using its published .well-known endpoints

const { Issuer } = require('openid-client');
Issuer.discover('https://accounts.google.com') // => Promise
  .then(function (googleIssuer) {
    console.log('Discovered issuer %s %O', googleIssuer.issuer, googleIssuer.metadata);
  });

Authorization Code Flow

Authorization Code flow is for obtaining Access Tokens (and optionally Refresh Tokens) to use with third party APIs securely as well as Refresh Tokens. In this quick start your application also uses PKCE instead of state parameter for CSRF protection.

Create a Client instance for that issuer's authorization server intended for Authorization Code flow.

See the documentation for full API details.

const client = new googleIssuer.Client({
  client_id: 'zELcpfANLqY7Oqas',
  client_secret: 'TQV5U29k1gHibH5bx1layBo0OSAvAbRT3UYW3EWrSYBB5swxjVfWUa1BS8lqzxG/0v9wruMcrGadany3',
  redirect_uris: ['http://localhost:3000/cb'],
  response_types: ['code'],
  // id_token_signed_response_alg (default "RS256")
  // token_endpoint_auth_method (default "client_secret_basic")
}); // => Client

When you want to have your end-users authorize you need to send them to the issuer's authorization_endpoint. Consult the web framework of your choice on how to redirect but here's how to get the authorization endpoint's URL with parameters already encoded in the query to redirect to.

const { generators } = require('openid-client');
const code_verifier = generators.codeVerifier();
// store the code_verifier in your framework's session mechanism, if it is a cookie based solution
// it should be httpOnly (not readable by javascript) and encrypted.

const code_challenge = generators.codeChallenge(code_verifier);

client.authorizationUrl({
  scope: 'openid email profile',
  resource: 'https://my.api.example.com/resource/32178',
  code_challenge,
  code_challenge_method: 'S256',
});

When end-users are redirected back to your redirect_uri your application consumes the callback and passes in the code_verifier to include it in the authorization code grant token exchange.

const params = client.callbackParams(req);
client.callback('https://client.example.com/callback', params, { code_verifier }) // => Promise
  .then(function (tokenSet) {
    console.log('received and validated tokens %j', tokenSet);
    console.log('validated ID Token claims %j', tokenSet.claims());
  });

You can then call the userinfo_endpoint.

client.userinfo(access_token) // => Promise
  .then(function (userinfo) {
    console.log('userinfo %j', userinfo);
  });

And later refresh the tokenSet if it had a refresh_token.

client.refresh(refresh_token) // => Promise
  .then(function (tokenSet) {
    console.log('refreshed and validated tokens %j', tokenSet);
    console.log('refreshed ID Token claims %j', tokenSet.claims());
  });

Implicit ID Token Flow

Implicit response_type=id_token flow is perfect for simply authenticating your end-users, assuming the only job you want done is authenticating the user and then relying on your own session mechanism with no need for accessing any third party APIs with an Access Token from the Authorization Server.

Create a Client instance for that issuer's authorization server intended for ID Token implicit flow.

See the documentation for full API details.

const client = new googleIssuer.Client({
  client_id: 'zELcpfANLqY7Oqas',
  redirect_uris: ['http://localhost:3000/cb'],
  response_types: ['id_token'],
  // id_token_signed_response_alg (default "RS256")
}); // => Client

When you want to have your end-users authorize you need to send them to the issuer's authorization_endpoint. Consult the web framework of your choice on how to redirect but here's how to get the authorization endpoint's URL with parameters already encoded in the query to redirect to.

const { generators } = require('openid-client');
const nonce = generators.nonce();
// store the nonce in your framework's session mechanism, if it is a cookie based solution
// it should be httpOnly (not readable by javascript) and encrypted.

client.authorizationUrl({
  scope: 'openid email profile',
  response_mode: 'form_post',
  nonce,
});

When end-users hit back your redirect_uri with a POST (authorization request included form_post response mode) your application consumes the callback and passes the nonce in to include it in the ID Token verification steps.

// assumes req.body is populated from your web framework's body parser
const params = client.callbackParams(req);
client.callback('https://client.example.com/callback', params, { nonce }) // => Promise
  .then(function (tokenSet) {
    console.log('received and validated tokens %j', tokenSet);
    console.log('validated ID Token claims %j', tokenSet.claims());
  });

Device Authorization Grant (Device Flow)

RFC8628 - OAuth 2.0 Device Authorization Grant (Device Flow) is started by starting a Device Authorization Request.

const handle = await client.deviceAuthorization();
console.log('User Code: ', handle.user_code);
console.log('Verification URI: ', handle.verification_uri);
console.log('Verification URI (complete): ', handle.verification_uri_complete);

The handle represents a Device Authorization Response with the verification_uri, user_code and other defined response properties.

You will display the instructions to the end-user and have him directed at verification_uri or verification_uri_complete, afterwards you can start polling for the Device Access Token Response.

const tokenSet = await handle.poll();
console.log('received tokens %j', tokenSet);

This will poll in the defined interval and only resolve with a TokenSet once one is received. This will handle the defined authorization_pending and slow_down "soft" errors and continue polling but upon any other error it will reject. With tokenSet received you can throw away the handle.

Electron Support

Electron >=v6.0.0 runtime is supported to the extent of the crypto engine BoringSSL feature parity with standard Node.js OpenSSL.

FAQ

Semver?

Yes. Everything that's either exported in the TypeScript definitions file or documented is subject to Semantic Versioning 2.0.0. The rest is to be considered private API and is subject to change between any versions.

How do I use it outside of Node.js

It is only built for ^10.19.0 || >=12.0.0 Node.js environment - including openid-client in browser-environment targeted projects is not supported and may result in unexpected results.

How to make the client send client_id and client_secret in the body?

See Client Authentication Methods (docs).

Can I adjust the HTTP timeout?

See Customizing (docs).

How can I debug the requests and responses?

See Customizing (docs).