For our new friends

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 AWS SES sign-in experience (user authentication) with .NET Core (MVC) and  Logto.

Prerequisites

• A running Logto instance. Check out the get started page if you don't have one.
• Basic knowledge of .NET Core (MVC).
• A usable AWS SES 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 ".NET Core (MVC)" 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

tip

• The following demonstration is built on .NET Core 8.0. The SDK is compatible with .NET 6.0 or higher.
• The .NET Core sample projects are available in the GitHub repository.

Installation

Add the NuGet package to your project:

dotnet add package Logto.AspNetCore.Authentication

Add Logto authentication

Open Startup.cs (or Program.cs) and add the following code to register Logto authentication services:

using Logto.AspNetCore.Authentication;

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);

builder.Services.AddLogtoAuthentication(options =>
{
  options.Endpoint = builder.Configuration["Logto:Endpoint"]!;
  options.AppId = builder.Configuration["Logto:AppId"]!;
  options.AppSecret = builder.Configuration["Logto:AppSecret"];
});

The AddLogtoAuthentication method will do the following things:

• Set the default authentication scheme to LogtoDefaults.CookieScheme.
• Set the default challenge scheme to LogtoDefaults.AuthenticationScheme.
• Set the default sign-out scheme to LogtoDefaults.AuthenticationScheme.
• Add cookie and OpenID Connect authentication handlers to the authentication scheme.

Add sign-in redirect URI

Add the following URI to the Redirect URIs list in the Logto application details page:

http://<your-web-app-uri>/Callback

Note this is different from the redirect URI we'll use later in AuthenticationProperties:

// Just for reference, we will demonstrate how to use it later
new AuthenticationProperties
{
  RedirectUri = "/"
};

The RedirectUri property is used to redirect the user back to your web application after authentication. Note it is different from the redirect URI you configured in the Logto application details page:

1. The redirect URI in the Logto application details page is the URI that Logto will redirect the user back to after the user has signed in.
2. The RedirectUri property is the URI that will be redirected to after necessary actions have been taken in the Logto authentication middleware.

The order of the actions is 1 -> 2. For clarity, let's call the redirect URI in the Logto application details page the Logto redirect URI and the RedirectUri property the application redirect URI.

The Logto redirect URI has a default value of /Callback, which you can leave it as is if there's no special requirement. If you want to change it, you can set the CallbackPath property for LogtoOptions:

builder.Services.AddLogtoAuthentication(options =>
{
  // Other configurations...
  options.CallbackPath = "/SomeOtherCallbackPath";
});

Remember to update the value in the Logto application details page accordingly.

note

No need to set the application redirect URI in the Logto application details page.

Add sign-out redirect URI

Add the following URI to the Post sign-out redirect URIs list in the Logto application details page:

http://<your-web-app-uri>/SignedOutCallback

Note this is different from the redirect URI we'll use later in AuthenticationProperties:

// Just for reference, we will demonstrate how to use it later
new AuthenticationProperties
{
  RedirectUri = "/"
};

The RedirectUri property is used to redirect the user back to your web application after sign-out. Note it is different from the post sign-out redirect URI you configured in the Logto application details page:

1. The post sign-out redirect URI in the Logto application details page is the URI that Logto will redirect the user back to after the user has signed out.
2. The RedirectUri property is the URI that will be redirected to after necessary actions have been taken in the Logto authentication middleware.

The order of the actions is 1 -> 2. For clarity, let's call the post sign-out redirect URI in the Logto application details page the Logto post sign-out redirect URI and the RedirectUri property the application post sign-out redirect URI.

The Logto post sign-out redirect URI has a default value of /SignedOutCallback, which you can leave it as is if there's no special requirement. If you want to change it, you can set the SignedOutCallbackPath property for LogtoOptions:

builder.Services.AddLogtoAuthentication(options =>
{
  // Other configurations...
  options.SignedOutCallbackPath = "/SomeOtherSignedOutCallbackPath";
});

Remember to update the value in the Logto application details page accordingly.

note

No need to set the application post sign-out redirect URI in the Logto application details page.

Implement sign-in/sign-out buttons

First, add actions methods to your Controller, for example:

public class HomeController : Controller
{
  public IActionResult SignIn()
  {
    // This will redirect the user to the Logto sign-in page.
    return Challenge(new AuthenticationProperties { RedirectUri = "/" });
  }

  // Use the `new` keyword to avoid conflict with the `ControllerBase.SignOut` method
  new public IActionResult SignOut()
  {
    // This will clear the authentication cookie and redirect the user to the Logto sign-out page
    // to clear the Logto session as well.
    return SignOut(new AuthenticationProperties { RedirectUri = "/" });
  }
}

Then, add the links to your View:

<p>Is authenticated: @User.Identity?.IsAuthenticated</p>
@if (User.Identity?.IsAuthenticated == true) {
  <a asp-controller="Home" asp-action="SignOut">Sign out</a>
} else {
  <a asp-controller="Home" asp-action="SignIn">Sign in</a>
}

It will show the "Sign in" link if the user is not authenticated, and show the "Sign out" link if the user is authenticated.

Test your integration

Open your .NET Core (MVC) 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 AWS SES connector

To add or change Email connector, go to the "Connector" tab in the Admin Console, then click on "Email and SMS connectors". From there, click "Set up" or go to detail page and click "Change Email connector".

In the openning modal, select "AWS SES" 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 AWS SES email connector

Configure a mail service in the AWS service console

Amazon SES is a cloud email service provider that can integrate into any application for bulk email sending.

Logto core calls the Amazon Simple Email Service APIs via this connector, with the help of which Logto end-users can register and sign in to their Logto account via email verification code.

💡 Tip

You can skip some sections if you have already finished.

Register AWS account

Go to AWS and register an account.

Create a identity

• Go to Amazon Simple Email Service Console
• Create an identity, choose one of the following options
  • Create a domain
  • Create an email address

Configuration of the connector

1. Click your username in the upper right corner of the Amazon console to enter Security Credentials. If you don't have one, create an AccessKey and save it carefully.
2. Complete the settings of the Amazon Simple Email Service connector:
   • Use the AccessKey ID and AccessKey Secret obtained in step 1 to fill in accessKeyId and accessKeySecret respectively.
   • region: Fill in the region field with the region of the identity you use to send mail.
   • emailAddress: The email address you use to send mail, in the format of Logto<[email protected]> or <[email protected]>

the following parameters are optional; parameters description can be found in the AWS SES API documentation.

• feedbackForwardingEmailAddress
• feedbackForwardingEmailAddressIdentityArn
• configurationSetName

Test the Amazon SES connector

You can type in an email address and click on "Send" to see whether the settings work before "Save and Done".

That's it. Don't forget to enable connector in sign-in experience.

Configure types

Name	Type
accessKeyId	string
accessKeySecret	string
region	string
emailAddress	string (OPTIONAL)
emailAddressIdentityArn	string (OPTIONAL)
feedbackForwardingEmailAddress	string (OPTIONAL)
feedbackForwardingEmailAddressIdentityArn	string (OPTIONAL)
configurationSetName	string (OPTIONAL)
templates	Template[]

Template Properties	Type	Enum values
subject	string	N/A
content	string	N/A
usageType	enum string	'Register' | 'SignIn' | 'ForgotPassword' | 'Generic'

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 AWS SES connector should be available now.

Enable AWS SES 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 "Email address" or "Email address or phone number" for the "Sign-up identifier" to provide sign-up for Email passwordless sign-in, which may increase your conversion rate.

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

Testing and Validation

Return to your .NET Core (MVC) app. You should now be able to sign in with AWS SES. 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.