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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 Apple sign-in experience (user authentication) with PHP and  Logto.

Prerequisites

• A running Logto instance. Check out the get started page if you don't have one.
• Basic knowledge of PHP.
• A usable Apple 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 "Laravel" 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

This guide will show you how to integrate Logto into your PHP web application.

tip

• The example uses Laravel, but the concepts are the same for other frameworks.

Installation

composer require logto/sdk

Init LogtoClient

First, create a Logto config:

index.php

use Logto\Sdk\LogtoClient;
use Logto\Sdk\LogtoConfig;

$client = new LogtoClient(
  new LogtoConfig(
    endpoint: "https://you-logto-endpoint.app",
    appId: "replace-with-your-app-id",
    appSecret: "replace-with-your-app-secret",
  ),
);

tip

You can find and copy "App Secret" from application details page in Admin Console:

By default, the SDK uses the built-in PHP session to store the Logto data. If you want to use other storage, you can pass a custom storage object as the second parameter:

index.php

$client = new LogtoClient(
  new LogtoConfig(
    // ...
  ),
  new YourCustomStorage(),
);

See Storage for more details.

Configure redirect URIs

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:

1. Your app invokes the sign-in method.
2. The user is redirected to the Logto sign-in page. For native apps, the system browser is opened.
3. The user signs in and is redirected back to your app (configured as the redirect URI).

Regarding redirect-based sign-in

1. This authentication process follows the OpenID Connect (OIDC) protocol, and Logto enforces strict security measures to protect user sign-in.
2. 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.

---

note

In the following code snippets, we assume your app is running on http://localhost:3000/.

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.

Handle callback

After the user signs in, Logto will redirect the user to the callback URL you set in the Logto Console. In this example, we use /callback as the callback URL:

Route::get('/callback', function () {
  try {
    $client->handleSignInCallback(); // Handle a lot of stuff
  } catch (\Throwable $exception) {
    return $exception; // Change this to your error handling logic
  }
  return redirect('/'); // Redirect the user to the home page after a successful sign-in
});

Implement sign-in route

In your web application, add a route to properly handle the sign-in request from users. For example:

Route::get('/sign-in', function () {
return redirect($client->signIn('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:

Route::get('/sign-in', function () {
return redirect($client->signIn('http://localhost:3000/callback', InteractionMode::signUp));
});

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.

Implement sign-out route

After the user makes a signing-out request, Logto will clear all user authentication information in the session.

To clean up the PHP session and Logto session, a sign-out route can be implemented as follows:

Route::get('/sign-out', function () {
return redirect(
  // Redirect the user to the home page after a successful sign-out
  $client->signOut('http://localhost:3000/')
);
});

postLogoutRedirectUri is optional, and if not provided, the user will be redirected to a Logto default page after a successful sign-out (without redirecting back to your application).

Note The name postLogoutRedirectUri is from the OpenID Connect RP-Initiated Logout specification. Although Logto uses "sign-out" instead of "logout", the concept is the same.

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.

We also need to implement a 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.

Route::get('/', function () {
  if ($client->isAuthenticated() === false) {
    return "Not authenticated <a href='/sign-in'>Sign in</a>";
  }

  return "<a href='/sign-out'>Sign out</a>";
});

Test your integration

Open your PHP 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 Apple 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 "Apple" 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 Apple Sign-in

ℹ️ Note

Apple sign-in is required for AppStore if you have other social sign-in methods in your app. Having Apple sign-in on Android devices is great if you also provide an Android app.

You need to enroll Apple Developer Program before continuing.

Enable Sign in with Apple for your app

⚠️ Caution

Even if you want to implement Sign in with Apple on a web app only, you still need to have an existing app that embraces the AppStore ecosystem (i.e., have a valid App ID).

You can do it via Xcode -> Project settings -> Signing & Capabilities, or visit Certificates, Identifiers & Profiles.

See the "Enable an App ID" section in Apple official docs for more info.

Create an identifier

1. Visit Certificates, Identifiers & Profiles, then click the "+" button next to "Identifier".
2. In the "Register a new identifier" page, choose "Services IDs" and click "Continue".
3. Fill out "Description" and "Identifier" (E.g., Logto Test and io.logto.test), then click "Continue".
4. Double-check the info and click "Register".

Enable Sign in with Apple for your identifier

Click the identifier you just created. Check "Sign in with Apple" on the details page and click "Configure".

In the opening modal, select the App ID you just enabled Sign in with Apple.

Enter the domain of your Logto instance without protocol and port, e.g., your.logto.domain; then enter the "Return URL" (i.e., Redirect URI), which is the Logto URL with /callback/${connector_id}, e.g., https://your.logto.domain/callback/apple-universal. You can get the randomly generated connector_id after creating Apple connector in Admin Console.

Click "Next" then "Done" to close the modal. Click "Continue" on the top-right corner, then click "Save" to save your configuration.

⚠️ Caution

Apple does NOT allow Return URLs with HTTP protocol and localhost domain.

If you want to test locally, you need to edit /etc/hosts file to map localhost to a custom domain and set up a local HTTPS environment. mkcert can help you for setting up local HTTPS.

Compose the connector JSON

You need to use the identifier that fills in the Create an identifier section to compose the JSON:

{
  "clientId": "io.logto.test"
}

ℹ️ Note

This connector doesn't support customizing scope (e.g., name, email) yet since Apple requires form_post response mode when scope is not empty, which is incompatible with the current connector design.

We'll figure out this later.

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 Apple connector should be available now.

Enable Apple connector in Sign-in Experience

Switch to the "Sign-in experience" tab, then click the "Sign-up and sign-in" tab.

note

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 Apple sign-in, which may increase your conversion rate.

In the "Social sign-in" section, add "Add Social Connector" and choose "Apple". Then you should be able to see a button with text "Continue with Apple" in the preview section.

Finally, click "Save changes" on the bottom right corner.

Testing and Validation

Return to your PHP app. You should now be able to sign in with Apple. 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.

🧑‍🚀 Manage users 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.