Every app needs authentication and authorization. Logto is an Auth0 alternative designed for modern apps and SaaS products.
In this article, we will go through the steps to quickly build the GitHub sign-in experience (user authentication) with Python and Logto.
Prerequisites
- A running Logto instance. Check out the introduction page to get started.
- Basic knowledge of Python.
- A usable GitHub account.
Create an application in Logto
In you browser, open a new tab and enter the link of Logto Admin Console.
Once the page is loaded, in the "Get Started" section click the View all
link to open the application framework list page.
Choose your application type
In the opening modal, scroll to the "Traditional web" section or filter all the available " Traditional web" frameworks using the quick filter checkboxes on the left.
Click the "Flask" framework card to start creating your application.
Enter application name
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 Logto SDK
- The example uses Flask, but the concepts are the same for other frameworks.
- The Python sample project is available on our Python SDK repo.
- Logto SDK leverages coroutines, remember to use
await
when calling async functions.
Installation
Execute in the project root directory:
pip install logto # or `poetry add logto` or whatever you use
Init LogtoClient
First, create a Logto config:
from logto import LogtoClient, LogtoConfig
client = LogtoClient(
LogtoConfig(
endpoint="https://you-logto-endpoint.app", # Replace with your Logto endpoint
appId="replace-with-your-app-id",
appSecret="replace-with-your-app-secret",
),
)
You can find and copy "App Secret" from application details page in Admin Console:
Also replace the default memory storage with a persistent storage, for example:
from logto import LogtoClient, LogtoConfig, Storage
from flask import session
from typing import Union
class SessionStorage(Storage):
def get(self, key: str) -> Union[str, None]:
return session.get(key, None)
def set(self, key: str, value: Union[str, None]) -> None:
session[key] = value
def delete(self, key: str) -> None:
session.pop(key, None)
client = LogtoClient(
LogtoConfig(...),
storage=SessionStorage(),
)
See Storage for more details.
Implement sign-in and sign-out
In your web application, add a route to properly handle the sign-in request from users. Let's use /sign-in
as an example:
@app.route("/sign-in")
async def sign_in():
# Get the sign-in URL and redirect the user to it
return redirect(await client.signIn(
redirectUri="http://localhost:3000/callback",
))
Replace http://localhost:3000/callback
with the callback URL you set in your Logto Console for this application.
If you want to show the sign-up page on the first screen, you can set interactionMode
to signUp
:
@app.route("/sign-in")
async def sign_in():
return redirect(await client.signIn(
redirectUri="http://localhost:3000/callback",
interactionMode="signUp", # Show the sign-up page on the first screen
))
Now, whenever your users visit http://localhost:3000/sign-in
, it will start a new sign-in attempt and redirect the user to the Logto sign-in page.
Note Creating a sign-in route isn't the only way to start a sign-in attempt. You can always use the
signIn
method to get the sign-in URL and redirect the user to it.
After the user makes a signing-out request, Logto will clear all user authentication information in the session.
To clean up the Python session and Logto session, a sign-out route can be implemented as follows:
@app.route("/sign-out")
async def sign_out():
return redirect(
# Redirect the user to the home page after a successful sign-out
await client.signOut(postLogoutRedirectUri="http://localhost:3000/")
)
Handle authentication status
In Logto SDK, we can use client.isAuthenticated()
to check the authentication status, if the user is signed in, the value will be true, otherwise, the value will be false.
Here we also implement a simple home page for demonstration:
- If the user is not signed in, show a sign-in button;
- If the user is signed in, show a sign-out button.
@app.route("/")
async def home():
if client.isAuthenticated() is False:
return "Not authenticated <a href='/sign-in'>Sign in</a>"
return "Authenticated <a href='/sign-out'>Sign out</a>"
Open your Python app to test if the integration works. When you click the "Sign In" button, the page should be redirected to a Logto sign-in page, and you should be able to create a new account by entering username and password and complete the sign-in process.
Add GitHub connector
To add a social connector, go to the "Connector" tab in the Admin Console, then click on "Social connectors". From there, click "Add social connector".
In the openning modal, select "GitHub" and click "Next".
On the next page, you will see a two-column layout with the README content on the left and configuration on the right.
Feel free to follow the README file in place or read the following section to complete the configuration process. If you follow the in-place guide, you can skip the next section.
Set up GitHub OAuth app
Sign in with GitHub account
Go to the GitHub website and sign in with your GitHub account. You may register a new account if you don't have one.
Create and configure OAuth app
Follow the creating an OAuth App guide, and register a new application.
Name your new OAuth application in Application name and fill up Homepage URL of the app.
You can leave Application description field blank and customize Authorization callback URL as ${your_logto_origin}/callback/${connector_id}
. The connector_id
can be found on the top bar of the Logto Admin Console connector details page.
Note: If you encounter the error message "The redirect_uri MUST match the registered callback URL for this application." when logging in, try aligning the Authorization Callback URL of your GitHub OAuth App and your Logto App's redirect URL (of course, including the protocol) to resolve the issue.
We suggest not to check the box before Enable Device Flow, or users who sign in with GitHub on mobile devices must confirm the initial sign-in action in the GitHub app. Many GitHub users do not install the GitHub mobile app on their phones, which could block the sign-in flow. Please ignore our suggestion if you are expecting end-users to confirm their sign-in flow. See details of device flow.
Managing OAuth apps
Go to the OAuth Apps page and you can add, edit or delete existing OAuth apps.
You can also find Client ID
and generate Client secrets
in OAuth app detail pages.
Compose the connector JSON
Let's go back to Logto. Fill out the clientId
and clientSecret
field with Client ID and Client Secret you've got from OAuth app detail pages mentioned in the previous section.
Here is an example of GitHub connector config JSON.
{
"clientID": "<your-client-id>",
"clientSecret": "<your-client-secret>"
}
Config types
Name | Type |
---|---|
clientId | string |
clientSecret | string |
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 GitHub connector should be available now.
Enable GitHub connector in Sign-in Experience
Switch to the "Sign-in experience" tab, then click the "Sign-up and sign-in" tab.
If it's the first time you enter the tab, you will see a quick introduction about Sign-in Experience and its basic configuration.
Select "None" for the "Sign-up identifier" to provide minimum sign-up effort for GitHub sign-in, which may increase your conversion rate.
In the "Social sign-in" section, add "Add Social Connector" and choose "GitHub". Then you should be able to see a button with text "Continue with GitHub" in the preview section.
Finally, click "Save changes" on the bottom right corner.
Testing and Validation
Return to your Python app. You should now be able to sign in with GitHub. Enjoy!
Further readings
Protect your API For native and single page apps, you'll need to call one or more API endpoints to retrieve and update data.
Learn more about identifying who's who and keeping your API secure.
User management We know you care about user management and activities, as we also do.
Learn more about how to know your users and see the figures like DAU and MAU graphically.
Localization From one regional business to a global corporate, the willingness to offer the best user experience won't change.
You can change current language phrases or add a new language without friction.
Customer IAM series Our serial blog posts about Customer (or Consumer) Identity and Access Management, from 101 to advanced topics and beyond.