How to build GitHub sign-in with Next and Logto

July 5, 2024 · 2 min read

The better identity infrastructure for developers

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 GitHub sign-in experience (user authentication) with Next and Logto.

Prerequisites

A running Logto instance. Check out the get started page if you don't have one.
Basic knowledge of Next.
A usable GitHub account.

Create an application in Logto

In you browser, open a new tab and enter the link of Logto Admin Console.

Get Started

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

Framework List

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 "Next.js" 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 sample project is available on our SDK repository.
The example is based on Next.js Pages Router.

Installation

Install Logto SDK via your favorite package manager:

npm
pnpm
yarn

npm i @logto/next

pnpm add @logto/next

yarn add @logto/next

Integration

Init LogtoClient

Import and initialize LogtoClient:

libraries/logto.ts
import LogtoClient from '@logto/next';

export const logtoClient = new LogtoClient({
  appId: '<your-application-id>',
  appSecret: '<your-app-secret-copied-from-console>',
  endpoint: '<your-logto-endpoint>', // E.g. http://localhost:3001
  baseUrl: 'http://localhost:3000',
  cookieSecret: 'complex_password_at_least_32_characters_long',
  cookieSecure: process.env.NODE_ENV === 'production',
});

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:

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.

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/api/logto/sign-in-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.

Prepare API routes

Prepare API routes to connect with Logto.

Go back to your IDE/editor, use the following code to implement the API routes first:

pages/api/logto/[action].ts
import { logtoClient } from '../../../libraries/logto';

export default logtoClient.handleAuthRoutes();

This will create 4 routes automatically:

/api/logto/sign-in: Sign in with Logto.
/api/logto/sign-in-callback: Handle sign-in callback.
/api/logto/sign-out: Sign out with Logto.
/api/logto/user: Check if user is authenticated with Logto, if yes, return user info.

We have prepared the API routes, now let's implement the sign-in and sign-out buttons in your home page. We need to redirect the user to the sign-in or sign-out route when needed. To help with this, use useSWR to fetch authentication status from /api/logto/user.

Check this guide to learn more about useSWR.

/pages/index.tsx
import { type LogtoContext } from '@logto/next';
import useSWR from 'swr';

const Home = () => {
  const { data } = useSWR<LogtoContext>('/api/logto/user');

  return (
    <nav>
      {data?.isAuthenticated ? (
        <p>
          Hello, {data.claims?.sub},
          <button
            onClick={() => {
              window.location.assign('/api/logto/sign-out');
            }}
          >
            Sign Out
          </button>
        </p>
      ) : (
        <p>
          <button
            onClick={() => {
              window.location.assign('/api/logto/sign-in');
            }}
          >
            Sign In
          </button>
        </p>
      )}
    </nav>
  );
};

export default Home;

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 local storage and sign out.

Test your integration

Open your Next 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

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.

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.

Sign-in Experience tab

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.

Save changes

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

Testing and Validation

Return to your Next app. You should now be able to sign in with GitHub. Enjoy!

Create an application in Logto​

Choose your application type​

Enter application name​

Integrate Logto SDK​

Installation​

Integration​

Init LogtoClient​

Configure Redirect URIs​

Configure redirect URIs​

Prepare API routes​

Implement sign-in and sign-out​

Checkpoint: Test your application​

Add GitHub connector​

Set up GitHub OAuth app​

Sign in with GitHub account​

Create and configure OAuth app​

Managing OAuth apps​

Compose the connector JSON​

Config types​

Save your configuration​

Enable GitHub connector in Sign-in Experience​

Testing and Validation​

Further readings​