How to build Azure AD sign-in with Expo (React Native)

For our new friends:

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 Azure AD sign-in experience (user authentication) with Expo (React Native) and Logto.

Prerequisites

A running Logto instance. Check out the introduction page to get started.
Basic knowledge of Expo (React Native).
A usable Azure AD 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 Native app 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 "Native app" section or filter all the available "Native app" frameworks using the quick filter checkboxes on the left. Click the "Expo" 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 Expo SDK

tip:

The following demonstration is built on Expo ~50.0.6.
The sample project is available on our SDK repository.

Installation

Install Logto SDK and peer dependencies via your favorite package manager:

npm
Yarn
pnpm

npm i @logto/rn
npm i expo-crypto expo-secure-store expo-web-browser @react-native-async-storage/async-storage

yarn add @logto/rn
yarn add expo-crypto expo-secure-store expo-web-browser @react-native-async-storage/async-storage

pnpm add @logto/rn
pnpm add expo-crypto expo-secure-store expo-web-browser @react-native-async-storage/async-storage

The @logto/rn package is the SDK for Logto. The remaining packages are its peer dependencies. They couldn't be listed as direct dependencies because the Expo CLI requires that all dependencies for native modules be installed directly within the root project's package.json.

note:

If you're installing this in a bare React Native app, you should also follow these additional installation instructions.

Init Logto provider

Import and use LogtoProvider to provide a Logto context:

App.tsx
import { LogtoProvider, LogtoConfig } from '@logto/rn';

const config: LogtoConfig = {
  endpoint: '<your-logto-endpoint>',
  appId: '<your-application-id>',
};

const App = () => (
  <LogtoProvider config={config}>
    <YourAppContent />
  </LogtoProvider>
);

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).

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.

Switch to the application details page of Logto Console. Add a native redirect URI (for example, io.logto://callback), then click "Save".

For iOS, the redirect URI scheme does not really matter since the ASWebAuthenticationSession class will listen to the redirect URI regardless of if it's registered.
For Android, the redirect URI scheme must be filled in Expo's app.json file, for example:
app.json
```
{
  "expo": {
    "scheme": "io.logto"
  }
}
```

Now back to your app, you can use useLogto hook to sign in and sign out:

App.tsx
import { useLogto } from '@logto/rn';
import { Button } from 'react-native';

const Content = () => {
  const { signIn, signOut, isAuthenticated } = useLogto();

  return (
    <div>
      {isAuthenticated ? (
        <Button title="Sign out" onPress={async () => signOut()} />
      ) : (
        // Replace the redirect URI with your own
        <Button title="Sign in" onPress={async () => signIn('io.logto://callback')} />
      )}
    </div>
  );
};

Checkpoint: Test your application

Now, you can test your application:

Run your application, you will see the sign-in button.
Click the sign-in button, the SDK will init the sign-in process and redirect you to the Logto sign-in page.
After you signed in, you will be redirected back to your application and see the sign-out button.
Click the sign-out button to clear token storage and sign out.

Add Azure AD connector

To enable quick sign-in and improve user conversion, connect with Expo as an identity provider. The Logto social connector helps you establish this connection in minutes by allowing several parameter inputs.

To add a social connector, simply follow these steps:

Navigate to Console > Connectors > Social Connectors.
Click "Add social connector" and select "Azure AD".
Follow the README guide and complete required fields and customize settings.

note:

If you are following the in-place Connector guide, you can skip the next section.

Set up Azure AD

Set up Microsoft Azure AD in the Azure Portal

Visit the Azure Portal and sign in with your Azure account. You need to have an active subscription to access Microsoft Azure AD.
Click the Azure Active Directory from the services they offer, and click the App Registrations from the left menu.
Click New Registration at the top, enter a description, select your access type and add your Redirect URI, which will redirect the user to the application after logging in. In our case, this will be ${your_logto_endpoint}/callback/${connector_id}. e.g. https://foo.logto.app/callback/${connector_id}. The connector_id can be also found on the top bar of the Logto Admin Console connector details page. You can copy the Callback URI in the configuration section.
Select Web as Platform.

Fill in the configuration in Logto

Name	Type
clientId	string
clientSecret	string
tenantId	string
cloudInstance	string

Client ID

You may find the Application (client) ID in the Overview section of your newly created application in the Azure Portal.

Client Secret

In your newly created application, click the Certificates & Secrets to get a client secret, and click the New client secret from the top.
Enter a description and an expiration.
This will only show your client secret once. Fill the value to the Logto connector configuration and save it to a secure location.

Cloud Instance

Usually, it is https://login.microsoftonline.com/. See Azure AD authentication endpoints for more information.

Tenant ID

Logto will use this field to construct the authorization endpoints. This value is dependent on the access type you selected when creating the application in the Azure Portal.

If you select Accounts in this organizational directory only for access type then you need to enter your {TenantID}. You can find the tenant ID in the Overview section of your Azure Active Directory.
If you select Accounts in any organizational directory for access type then you need to enter organizations.
If you select Accounts in any organizational directory or personal Microsoft accounts for access type then you need to enter common.
If you select Personal Microsoft accounts only for access type then you need to enter consumers.

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 Azure AD connector should be available now.

Once you create a social connector successfully, you can enable it as a "Continue with Azure AD" button in Sign-in Experience.

Navigate to Console > Sign-in experience > Sign-up and sign-in.
(Optional) Choose "Not applicable" for sign-up identifier if you need social login only.
Add configured Azure AD connector to the "Social sign-in" section.

Sign-in Experience tab

Testing and Validation

Return to your Expo (React Native) app. You should now be able to sign in with Azure AD. Enjoy!

Create an application in Logto​

Integrate Expo SDK​

Installation​

Init Logto provider​

Implement sign-in and sign-out​

Regarding redirect-based sign-in​

Checkpoint: Test your application​

Add Azure AD connector​

Set up Azure AD​

Set up Microsoft Azure AD in the Azure Portal​

Fill in the configuration in Logto​

Client ID​

Client Secret​

Cloud Instance​

Tenant ID​

Save your configuration​

Enable Azure AD connector in Sign-in Experience​

Testing and Validation​

Further readings​