Logto is an Auth0 alternative designed for modern apps and SaaS products. It offers both Cloud and Open-source services to help you quickly launch your identity and management (IAM) system. Enjoy authentication, authorization, and multi-tenant management all in one.
We recommend starting with a free development tenant on Logto Cloud. This allows you to explore all the features easily.
In this article, we will go through the steps to quickly build the SendGrid sign-in experience (user authentication) with Java Spring Boot and Logto.
Prerequisites
- A running Logto instance. Check out the introduction page to get started.
- Basic knowledge of Java Spring Boot.
- A usable SendGrid account.
Create an application in Logto
Logto is based on OpenID Connect (OIDC) authentication and OAuth 2.0 authorization. It supports federated identity management across multiple applications, commonly called Single Sign-On (SSO).
To create your Traditional web application, simply follow these steps:
- Open the Logto Console. In the "Get started" section, click the "View all" link to open the application frameworks list. Alternatively, you can navigate to Logto Console > Applications, and click the "Create application" button.
- In the opening modal, click the "Traditional web" section or filter all the available "Traditional web" frameworks using the quick filter checkboxes on the left. Click the "Java Spring Boot" framework card to start creating your application.
- Enter the application name, e.g., "Bookstore," and click "Create application".
🎉 Ta-da! You just created your first application in Logto. You'll see a congrats page which includes a detailed integration guide. Follow the guide to see what the experience will be in your application.
Integrate Java Spring Boot with Logto
- You may find the sample code for this guide in our spring-boot-sample github repository.
- No official SDK is required to integrate Logto with your Java Spring Boot application. We will use the Spring Security and Spring Security OAuth2 libraries to handle the OIDC authentication flow with Logto.
Configure your Java Spring Boot application
Adding dependencies
For gradle users, add the following dependencies to your build.gradle
file:
dependencies {
implementation 'org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-thymeleaf'
implementation 'org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-web'
implementation 'org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-security'
implementation 'org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-oauth2-client'
}
For maven users, add the following dependencies to your pom.xml
file:
<dependency>
<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
<artifactId>spring-boot-starter-thymeleaf</artifactId>
</dependency>
<dependency>
<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
<artifactId>spring-boot-starter-web</artifactId>
</dependency>
<dependency>
<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
<artifactId>spring-boot-starter-security</artifactId>
</dependency>
<dependency>
<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
<artifactId>spring-boot-starter-oauth2-client</artifactId>
</dependency>
OAuth2 Client Configuration
Register a new Java Spring Boot
application in Logto Console and get the client credential and IdP configurations for your web application.
Add the following configuration to your application.properties
file:
spring.security.oauth2.client.registration.logto.client-name=logto
spring.security.oauth2.client.registration.logto.client-id={{YOUR_CLIENT_ID}}
spring.security.oauth2.client.registration.logto.client-secret={{YOUR_CLIENT_ID}}
spring.security.oauth2.client.registration.logto.redirect-uri={baseUrl}/login/oauth2/code/{registrationId}
spring.security.oauth2.client.registration.logto.authorization-grant-type=authorization_code
spring.security.oauth2.client.registration.logto.scope=openid,profile,offline_access
spring.security.oauth2.client.registration.logto.provider=logto
spring.security.oauth2.client.provider.logto.issuer-uri={{LOGTO_ENDPOINT}}/oidc
spring.security.oauth2.client.provider.logto.authorization-uri={{LOGTO_ENDPOINT}}/oidc/auth
spring.security.oauth2.client.provider.logto.jwk-set-uri={{LOGTO_ENDPOINT}}/oidc/jwks
Implementation
Before we dive into the details, here's a quick overview of the end-user experience. The sign-in process can be simplified as follows:
- Your app invokes the sign-in method.
- The user is redirected to the Logto sign-in page. For native apps, the system browser is opened.
- The user signs in and is redirected back to your app (configured as the redirect URI).
Regarding redirect-based sign-in
- This authentication process follows the OpenID Connect (OIDC) protocol, and Logto enforces strict security measures to protect user sign-in.
- If you have multiple apps, you can use the same identity provider (Logto). Once the user signs in to one app, Logto will automatically complete the sign-in process when the user accesses another app.
To learn more about the rationale and benefits of redirect-based sign-in, see Logto sign-in experience explained.
In order to redirect users back to your application after they sign in, you need to set the redirect URI using the client.registration.logto.redirect-uri
property in the previous step.
Configure redirect URIs
Switch to the application details page of Logto Console. Add a redirect URI http://localhost:3000/callback
.

Just like signing in, users should be redirected to Logto for signing out of the shared session. Once finished, it would be great to redirect the user back to your website. For example, add http://localhost:3000/
as the post sign-out redirect URI section.
Then click "Save" to save the changes.
Implement the WebSecurityConfig
Create a new class WebSecurityConfig
in your project
The WebSecurityConfig
class will be used to configure the security settings for your application. It is the key class that will handle the authentication and authorization flow. Please check the Spring Security documentation for more details.
package com.example.securingweb;
import org.springframework.context.annotation.Configuration;
import org.springframework.security.config.annotation.web.configuration.EnableWebSecurity;
@Configuration
@EnableWebSecurity
public class WebSecurityConfig {
// ...
}
Create a idTokenDecoderFactory
bean
This is required because Logto uses ES384
as the default algorithm, we need to overwrite the default OidcIdTokenDecoderFactory
to use the same algorithm.
import org.springframework.context.annotation.Bean;
import org.springframework.security.oauth2.client.oidc.authentication.OidcIdTokenDecoderFactory;
import org.springframework.security.oauth2.client.registration.ClientRegistration;
import org.springframework.security.oauth2.jose.jws.SignatureAlgorithm;
import org.springframework.security.oauth2.jwt.JwtDecoderFactory;
public class WebSecurityConfig {
// ...
@Bean
public JwtDecoderFactory<ClientRegistration> idTokenDecoderFactory() {
OidcIdTokenDecoderFactory idTokenDecoderFactory = new OidcIdTokenDecoderFactory();
idTokenDecoderFactory.setJwsAlgorithmResolver(clientRegistration -> SignatureAlgorithm.ES384);
return idTokenDecoderFactory;
}
}
Create a LoginSuccessHandler class to handle the login success event
We will redirect the user to the /user
page after a successful login.
package com.example.securingweb;
import java.io.IOException;
import org.springframework.security.core.Authentication;
import org.springframework.security.web.authentication.AuthenticationSuccessHandler;
import jakarta.servlet.ServletException;
import jakarta.servlet.http.HttpServletRequest;
import jakarta.servlet.http.HttpServletResponse;
public class CustomSuccessHandler implements AuthenticationSuccessHandler {
@Override
public void onAuthenticationSuccess(HttpServletRequest request, HttpServletResponse response,
Authentication authentication) throws IOException, ServletException {
response.sendRedirect("/user");
}
}
Create a LogoutSuccessHandler class to handle the logout success event
Clear the session and redirect the user to the home page.
package com.example.securingweb;
import java.io.IOException;
import org.springframework.security.core.Authentication;
import org.springframework.security.web.authentication.logout.LogoutSuccessHandler;
import jakarta.servlet.ServletException;
import jakarta.servlet.http.HttpServletRequest;
import jakarta.servlet.http.HttpServletResponse;
import jakarta.servlet.http.HttpSession;
public class CustomLogoutHandler implements LogoutSuccessHandler {
@Override
public void onLogoutSuccess(HttpServletRequest request, HttpServletResponse response, Authentication authentication)
throws IOException, ServletException {
HttpSession session = request.getSession();
if (session != null) {
session.invalidate();
}
response.sendRedirect("/home");
}
}
Update the WebSecurityConfig
class with a securityFilterChain
securityFilterChain is a chain of filters that are responsible for processing the incoming requests and responses.
We will configure the securityFilterChain
to allow access to the home page and require authentication for all other requests. Use the CustomSuccessHandler
and CustomLogoutHandler
to handle the login and logout events.
import org.springframework.context.annotation.Bean;
import org.springframework.security.config.annotation.web.builders.HttpSecurity;
import org.springframework.security.web.DefaultSecurityFilterChain;
public class WebSecurityConfig {
// ...
@Bean
public DefaultSecurityFilterChain securityFilterChain(HttpSecurity http) throws Exception {
http
.authorizeRequests(authorizeRequests ->
authorizeRequests
.antMatchers("/", "/home").permitAll() // Allow access to the home page
.anyRequest().authenticated() // All other requests require authentication
)
.oauth2Login(oauth2Login ->
oauth2Login
.successHandler(new CustomSuccessHandler())
)
.logout(logout ->
logout
.logoutSuccessHandler(new CustomLogoutHandler())
);
return http.build();
}
}
Create a home page
(You may skip this step if you already have a home page in your project)
package com.example.securingweb;
import java.security.Principal;
import org.springframework.stereotype.Controller;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.GetMapping;
@Controller
public class HomeController {
@GetMapping({ "/", "/home" })
public String home(Principal principal) {
return principal != null ? "redirect:/user" : "home";
}
}
This controller will redirect the user to the user page if the user is authenticated, otherwise, it will show the home page. Add a sign-in link to the home page.
<body>
<h1>Welcome!</h1>
<p><a th:href="@{/oauth2/authorization/logto}">Login with Logto</a></p>
</body>
Create a user page
Create a new controller to handle the user page:
package com.example.securingweb;
import java.security.Principal;
import java.util.Map;
import org.springframework.security.oauth2.client.authentication.OAuth2AuthenticationToken;
import org.springframework.security.oauth2.core.user.OAuth2User;
import org.springframework.stereotype.Controller;
import org.springframework.ui.Model;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.GetMapping;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RequestMapping;
@Controller
@RequestMapping("/user")
public class UserController {
@GetMapping
public String user(Model model, Principal principal) {
if (principal instanceof OAuth2AuthenticationToken) {
OAuth2AuthenticationToken token = (OAuth2AuthenticationToken) principal;
OAuth2User oauth2User = token.getPrincipal();
Map<String, Object> attributes = oauth2User.getAttributes();
model.addAttribute("username", attributes.get("username"));
model.addAttribute("email", attributes.get("email"));
model.addAttribute("sub", attributes.get("sub"));
}
return "user";
}
}
Once the user is authenticated, we will retrieve the OAuth2User
data from the authenticated principal object. Please refer OAuth2AuthenticationToken and OAuth2User for more details.
Read the user data and pass it to the user.html
template.
<body>
<h1>User Details</h1>
<div>
<p>
<div><strong>name:</strong> <span th:text="${username}"></span></div>
<div><strong>email:</strong> <span th:text="${email}"></span></div>
<div><strong>id:</strong> <span th:text="${sub}"></span></div>
</p>
</div>
<form th:action="@{/logout}" method="post">
<input type="submit" value="Logout" />
</form>
</body>
Request additional claims
You may find some user information are missing in the returned object from principal (OAuth2AuthenticationToken)
. This is because OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect (OIDC) are designed to follow the principle of least privilege (PoLP), and Logto is built on top of these standards.
By default, limited claims are returned. If you need more information, you can request additional scopes to access more claims.
A "claim" is an assertion made about a subject; a "scope" is a group of claims. In the current case, a claim is a piece of information about the user.
Here's a non-normative example the scope - claim relationship:
The "sub" claim means "subject", which is the unique identifier of the user (i.e. user ID).
Logto SDK will always request three scopes: openid
, profile
, and offline_access
.
To retrieve additional user information, you can add extra scopes to the application.properties
file. For example, to request the email
, phone
, and urn:logto:scope:organizations
scope, add the following line to the application.properties
file:
spring.security.oauth2.client.registration.logto.scope=openid,profile,offline_access,email,phone,urn:logto:scope:organizations
Then you can access the additional claims in the OAuth2User
object.
Run and test the application
Run the application and navigate to http://localhost:8080
.
- You will see the home page with a sign-in link.
- Click on the link to sign in with Logto.
- After successful authentication, you will be redirected to the user page with your user details.
- Click on the logout button to sign out. You will be redirected back to the home page.
Add SendGrid connector
Email connector is a method used to send one-time passwords (OTPs) for authentication. It enables Email address verification to support passwordless authentication, including Email-based registration, sign-in, two-factor authentication (2FA), and account recovery. You can easily connect SendGrid as your Email provider. With the Logto Email connector, you can set this up in just a few minutes.
To add a Email connector, simply follow these steps:
- Navigate to Console > Connector > Email and SMS connectors.
- To add a new Email connector, click the "Set up" button and select "SendGrid".
- Review the README documentation for your selected provider.
- Complete the configuration fields in the "Parameter Configuration" section.
- Customize the Email template using the JSON editor.
- Test your configuration by sending a verification code to your Email address.

If you are following the in-place Connector guide, you can skip the next section.
Set up SendGrid email connector
Register SendGrid account
Create a new account at SendGrid website. You may skip this step if you've already got an account.
Verify senders
Go to the SendGrid console page and sign in with your SendGrid account.
Senders indicate the addresses our verification code email will be sent from. In order to send emails via the SendGrid mail server, you need to verify at least one sender.
Starting from the SendGrid console page, go to "Settings" -> "Sender Authentication" from the sidebar.
Domain Authentication is recommended but not obligatory. You can click "Get started" in "Authenticate Your Domain" card and follow the upcoming guide to link and verify a sender to SendGrid.
By clicking the "Verify a Single Sender" button in the panel, you are now focusing on a form requiring some critical information to create a sender. Follow the guide, fill out all these fields, and hit the "Create" button.
After the single sender is created, an email with a verification link should be sent to your sender's email address. Go to your mailbox, find the verification mail and finish verifying the single sender by clicking the link given in the email. You can now send emails via SendGrid connector using the sender you've just verified.
Create API keys
Let's start from the SendGrid console page, go to "Settings" -> "API Keys" from the sidebar.
Click the "Create API Key" in the top-right corner of the API Keys page. Type in the name of the API key and customize "API Key Permission" per your use case. A global Full Access
or Restricted Access
with full access to Mail Send is required before sending emails with this API key.
The API Key is presented to you on the screen as soon as you finished the Create API Key process. You should save this API Key somewhere safe because this is the only chance that you can see it.
Configure your connector
Fill out the apiKey
field with the API Key created in "Create API keys" section.
Fill out the fromEmail
and fromName
fields with the senders' From Address and Nickname. You can find the sender's details on the "Sender Management" page. fromName
is OPTIONAL, so you can skip filling it.
You can add multiple SendGrid mail connector templates for different cases. Here is an example of adding a single template:
- Fill out the
subject
field, which works as the title of emails. - Fill out the
content
field with arbitrary string-typed contents. Do not forget to leave the{{code}}
placeholder for the random verification code. - Fill out
usageType
field with eitherRegister
,SignIn
,ForgotPassword
,Generic
for different use cases. - Fill out
type
field with eithertext/plain
ortext/html
for different types of content.
In order to enable full user flows, templates with usageType Register
, SignIn
, ForgotPassword
and Generic
are required.
Here is an example of SendGrid connector template JSON.
[
{
"subject": "<register-template-subject>",
"content": "<Logto: Your verification code is {{code}}. (register template)>",
"usageType": "Register",
"type": "text/plain",
},
{
"subject": "<sign-in-template-subject>",
"content": "<Logto: Your verification code is {{code}}. (sign-in template)>",
"usageType": "SignIn",
"type": "text/plain",
},
{
"subject": "<forgot-password-template-subject>",
"content": "<Logto: Your verification code is {{code}}. (forgot-password template)>",
"usageType": "ForgotPassword",
"type": "text/plain",
},
{
"subject": "<generic-template-subject>",
"content": "<Logto: Your verification code is {{code}}. (generic template)>",
"usageType": "Generic",
"type": "text/plain",
},
]
Test SendGrid email connector
You can type in an email address and click on "Send" to see whether the settings can work before "Save and Done".
That's it. Don't forget to Enable connector in sign-in experience
Config types
Name | Type |
---|---|
apiKey | string |
fromEmail | string |
fromName | string (OPTIONAL) |
templates | Template[] |
Template Properties | Type | Enum values |
---|---|---|
subject | string | N/A |
content | string | N/A |
usageType | enum string | 'Register' | 'SignIn' | 'ForgotPassword' | 'Generic' |
type | enum string | 'text/plain' | 'text/html' |
Save your configuration
Double check you have filled out necessary values in the Logto connector configuration area. Click "Save and Done" (or "Save changes") and the SendGrid connector should be available now.
Enable SendGrid connector in Sign-in Experience
Once you create a connector successfully, you can enable phone number-based passwordless login and registration.
- Navigate to Console > Sign-in experience > Sign-up and sign-in.
- Set up sign-up methods (Optional):
- Select "Email address" or "Email or phone number" as the sign-up identifier.
- "Verify at sign-up" is forced to be enabled. You can also enable "Create a password" on registration.
- Set up sign-in methods:
- Select Email address as one of sign-in identifiers. You can provide multiple available identifiers (email, phone number, and username).
- Select "Verification code" and / or "Password" as the authentication factor.
- Click "Save changes" and test it in "Live preview".

In addition to registration and login via OTPs, you can also have password recovery and -based security verification enabled, as well as linking Email address to profile. See End-user flows for more details.
Testing and Validation
Return to your Java Spring Boot app. You should now be able to sign in with SendGrid. Enjoy!
Further readings
End-user flows: Logto provides a out-of-the-box authentication flows including MFA and enterprise SSO, along with powerful APIs for flexible implementation of account settings, security verification, and multi-tenant experience.
Authorization: Authorization defines the actions a user can do or resources they can access after being authenticated. Explore how to protect your API for native and single-page applications and implement Role-based Access Control (RBAC).
Organizations: Particularly effective in multi-tenant SaaS and B2B apps, the organization feature enable tenant creation, member management, organization-level RBAC, and just-in-time-provisioning.
Customer IAM series Our serial blog posts about Customer (or Consumer) Identity and Access Management, from 101 to advanced topics and beyond.