How to Add Authentication to Your Vue App Using Okta

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How to Add Authentication to Your Vue App Using Okta
This article was originally published on the Okta developer blog. Thank you for supporting the partners who make SitePoint possible.

I’ve danced the JavaScript framework shuffle for years starting with jQuery, then on to Angular. After being frustrated with Angular’s complexity, I found React and thought I was in the clear. What seemed simple on the surface ended up being a frustrating mess. Then I found Vue.js. It just felt right. It worked as expected. It was fast. The documentation was incredible. Templating was eloquent. There was a unanimous consensus around how to handle state management, conditional rendering, two-way binding, routing, and more.

This tutorial will take you step by step through scaffolding a Vue.js project, offloading secure authentication to Okta’s OpenID Connect API (OIDC), locking down protected routes, and performing CRUD operations through a backend REST API server. This tutorial uses the following technologies but doesn’t require intimate knowledge to follow along:

Key Takeaways

  • Utilize Okta’s OpenID Connect API (OIDC) to handle authentication in a Vue.js application, ensuring secure access to web app features.
  • Scaffold a Vue.js project using vue-cli with a PWA template to quickly set up a progressive web application with features like hot reloading and unit testing.
  • Implement Okta Vue SDK to manage authentication flows, secure routes, and validate tokens using Okta JWT Verifier in an Express middleware setup.
  • Build a backend REST API server using Node, Express, and Sequelize to perform CRUD operations on a posts model, ensuring all endpoints require a valid access token for access.
  • Customize the Vue.js app layout to dynamically display navigation options based on user authentication status, using Vue’s v-if directive for conditional rendering.
  • Test the complete Vue.js and Node CRUD application by running both frontend and backend servers, ensuring the authentication and CRUD functionalities work seamlessly together.

About Vue.js

Vue.js is a robust but simple Javascript framework. It has one of the lowest barriers to entry of any modern framework while providing all the required features for high performance web applications.

Vue.js Homepage

This tutorial covers two primary builds, a frontend web app and backend REST API server. The frontend will be a single page application (SPA) with a homepage, login and logout, and a posts manager.

Okta’s OpenID Connect (OIDC) will handle our web app’s authentication through the use of Okta’s Vue SDK. If an unauthenticated user navigates to the posts manager, the web app should attempt to authenticate the user.

The server will run Express with Sequelize and Epilogue. At a high level, with Sequelize and Epilogue you can quickly generate dynamic REST endpoints with just a few lines of code.

You will use JWT-based authentication when making requests from the web app and Okta’s JWT Verifier in an Express middleware to validate the token. Your app will expose the following endpoints which all require requests to have a valid access token.

- GET /posts
- GET /posts/:id
- POST /posts
- PUT /posts/:id
- DELETE /posts/:id

Create Your Vue.js App

To get your project off the ground quickly you can leverage the scaffolding functionality from vue-cli. For this tutorial, you are going to use the progressive web app (PWA) template that includes a handful of features including webpack, hot reloading, CSS extraction, and unit testing.

If you’re not familiar with the tenets of PWA, check out our ultimate guide to progressive web applications.

To install vue-cli run:

npm install -g vue-cli

Next, you need to initialize your project. When you run the vue init command just accept all the default values.

vue init pwa my-vue-app
cd ./my-vue-app
npm install
npm run dev

Point your favorite browser to http://localhost:8080 and you should see the fruits of your labor:

Welcome to Your Vue.js PWA

Extra Credit: Check out the other templates available for vue-cli.

Install Bootstrap

Let’s install bootstrap-vue so you can take advantage of the various premade components (plus you can keep the focus on functionality and not on custom CSS):

npm i --save bootstrap-vue bootstrap

To complete the installation, modify ./src/main.js to include bootstrap-vue and import the required CSS files. Your ./src/main.js file should look like this:

// The Vue build version to load with the `import` command
// (runtime-only or standalone) has been set in webpack.base.conf with an alias.
import Vue from 'vue'
import App from './App'
import router from './router'
import BootstrapVue from 'bootstrap-vue'
import 'bootstrap/dist/css/bootstrap.css'
import 'bootstrap-vue/dist/bootstrap-vue.css'

Vue.use(BootstrapVue)
Vue.config.productionTip = false

/* eslint-disable no-new */
new Vue({
  el: '#app',
  router,
  template: '<App/>',
  components: { App }
})

Add Authentication with Okta

Dealing with authentication in a web app is the bane of every developer’s existence. That’s where Okta comes in to secure your web applications with minimal code. To get started, you will need to create an OIDC application in Okta. Sign up for a forever-free developer account (or log in if you already have one).

Okta Developer Sign Up

Once logged in, create a new application by clicking “Add Application”.

Add Application

Select the “Single-Page App” platform option.

New Application Options

The default application settings should be the same as those pictured.

Okta Application Settings

To install the Okta Vue SDK, run the following command:

npm i --save @okta/okta-vue

Open ./src/router/index.js and replace the entire file with the following code.

import Vue from 'vue'
import Router from 'vue-router'
import Hello from '@/components/Hello'
import PostsManager from '@/components/PostsManager'
import Auth from '@okta/okta-vue'

Vue.use(Auth, {
  issuer: 'https://{yourOktaDomain}.com/oauth2/default',
  client_id: '{yourClientId}',
  redirect_uri: 'http://localhost:8080/implicit/callback',
  scope: 'openid profile email'
})

Vue.use(Router)

let router = new Router({
  mode: 'history',
  routes: [
    {
      path: '/',
      name: 'Hello',
      component: Hello
    },
    {
      path: '/implicit/callback',
      component: Auth.handleCallback()
    },
    {
      path: '/posts-manager',
      name: 'PostsManager',
      component: PostsManager,
      meta: {
        requiresAuth: true
      }
    }
  ]
})

router.beforeEach(Vue.prototype.$auth.authRedirectGuard())

export default router

You’ll need to replace {yourOktaDomain} and {yourClientId} which can be found on your application overview page in the Okta Developer Console. This will inject an authClient object into your Vue instance which can be accessed by calling this.$auth anywhere inside your Vue instance.

Vue.use(Auth, {
  issuer: 'https://{yourOktaDomain}.com/oauth2/default',
  client_id: '{yourClientId}',
  redirect_uri: 'http://localhost:8080/implicit/callback',
  scope: 'openid profile email'
})

The final step of Okta’s authentication flow is redirecting the user back to your app with the token values in the URL. The Auth.handleCallback() component included in the SDK handles the redirect and persists the tokens on the browser.

{
  path: '/implicit/callback',
  component: Auth.handleCallback()
}

You also need to lock down protected routes from being accessed by unauthenticated users. This is accomplished by implementing a navigation guard. As the name suggests, navigation guards are primarily used to guard navigations either by redirecting or canceling.

The SDK comes with the method auth.authRedirectGuard() that checks matched routes’ metadata for the key requiresAuth and redirects the user to the authentication flow if they are not authenticated.

router.beforeEach(Vue.prototype.$auth.authRedirectGuard())

With this navigation guard installed, any route that has the following metadata will be protected.

meta: {
  requiresAuth: true
}

Customize Your App Layout in Vue

The web app’s layout is located in a component ./src/App.vue. You can use the router-view component to render the matched component for the given path.

For the main menu, you’ll want to change the visibility of certain menu items based on the status of the activeUser:

  • Not Authenticated: Show only Login
  • Authenticated: Show only Logout

You can toggle the visibility of these menu items using the v-if directive in Vue.js that checks the existence of activeUser on the component. When the component is loaded (which calls created()) or when a route changes we want to refresh the activeUser.

Open ./src/App.vue and copy/paste the following code.

<template>
  <div id="app">
    <b-navbar toggleable="md" type="dark" variant="dark">
      <b-navbar-toggle target="nav_collapse"></b-navbar-toggle>
      <b-navbar-brand to="/">My Vue App</b-navbar-brand>
      <b-collapse is-nav id="nav_collapse">
        <b-navbar-nav>
          <b-nav-item to="/">Home</b-nav-item>
          <b-nav-item to="/posts-manager">Posts Manager</b-nav-item>
          <b-nav-item href="#" @click.prevent="login" v-if="!activeUser">Login</b-nav-item>
          <b-nav-item href="#" @click.prevent="logout" v-else>Logout</b-nav-item>
        </b-navbar-nav>
      </b-collapse>
    </b-navbar>
    <!-- routes will be rendered here -->
    <router-view />
  </div>
</template>

<script>

export default {
  name: 'app',
  data () {
    return {
      activeUser: null
    }
  },
  async created () {
    await this.refreshActiveUser()
  },
  watch: {
    // everytime a route is changed refresh the activeUser
    '$route': 'refreshActiveUser'
  },
  methods: {
    login () {
      this.$auth.loginRedirect()
    },
    async refreshActiveUser () {
      this.activeUser = await this.$auth.getUser()
    },
    async logout () {
      await this.$auth.logout()
      await this.refreshActiveUser()
      this.$router.push('/')
    }
  }
}
</script>

Every login must have a logout. The following snippet will logout your user, refresh the active user (which is now null), and then redirect the user to the homepage. This method is called when a user clicks on the logout link in the nav.

async logout () {
  await this.$auth.logout()
  await this.refreshActiveUser()
  this.$router.push('/')
}

Components are the building blocks within Vue.js. Each of your pages will be defined in the app as a component. Since the vue-cli webpack template utilizes vue-loader, your component source files have a convention that separates template, script, and style (see here).

Now that you’ve added vue-bootstrap, modify ./src/components/Hello.vue to remove the boilerplate links vue-cli generates.

<template>
  <div class="hero">
    <div>
      <h1 class="display-3">Hello World</h1>
      <p class="lead">This is the homepage of your vue app</p>
    </div>
  </div>
</template>

<style>
  .hero {
    height: 90vh;
    display: flex;
    align-items: center;
    justify-content: center;
    text-align: center;
  }
  .hero .lead {
    font-weight: 200;
    font-size: 1.5rem;
  }
</style>

At this point you can stub out the Post Manager page to test your authentication flow. Once you confirm authentication works, you’ll start to build out the API calls and components required to perform CRUD operations on your Posts model.

Create a new file ./src/components/PostsManager.vue and paste the following code:

<template>
  <div class="container-fluid mt-4">
    <h1 class="h1">Posts Manager</h1>
    <p>Only authenticated users should see this page</p>
  </div>
</template>

Take Your Vue.js Frontend and Auth Flows for a Test Drive

In your terminal run npm run dev (if it’s not already running). Navigate to http://localhost:8080 and you should see the new homepage.

Hello World

If you click Posts Manager or Login you should be directed to Okta’s flow. Enter your Okta dev account credentials.

NOTE: If you are logged in to your Okta Developer Account you will be redirected automatically back to the app. You can test this by using incognito or private browsing mode.

Okta Sign-In

If successful, you should return to the homepage logged in.

Homepage after logging in

Clicking on Posts Manager link should render the protected component.

Posts Manager

Add a Backend REST API Server

Now that users can securely authenticate, you can build the REST API server to perform CRUD operations on a post model. Add the following dependencies to your project:

npm i --save express cors @okta/jwt-verifier sequelize sqlite3 epilogue axios

Then, create the file ./src/server.js and paste the following code.

const express = require('express')
const cors = require('cors')
const bodyParser = require('body-parser')
const Sequelize = require('sequelize')
const epilogue = require('epilogue')
const OktaJwtVerifier = require('@okta/jwt-verifier')

const oktaJwtVerifier = new OktaJwtVerifier({
  clientId: '{yourClientId}',
  issuer: 'https://{yourOktaDomain}.com/oauth2/default'
})

let app = express()
app.use(cors())
app.use(bodyParser.json())

// verify JWT token middleware
app.use((req, res, next) => {
  // require every request to have an authorization header
  if (!req.headers.authorization) {
    return next(new Error('Authorization header is required'))
  }
  let parts = req.headers.authorization.trim().split(' ')
  let accessToken = parts.pop()
  oktaJwtVerifier.verifyAccessToken(accessToken)
    .then(jwt => {
      req.user = {
        uid: jwt.claims.uid,
        email: jwt.claims.sub
      }
      next()
    })
    .catch(next) // jwt did not verify!
})

// For ease of this tutorial, we are going to use SQLite to limit dependencies
let database = new Sequelize({
  dialect: 'sqlite',
  storage: './test.sqlite'
})

// Define our Post model
// id, createdAt, and updatedAt are added by sequelize automatically
let Post = database.define('posts', {
  title: Sequelize.STRING,
  body: Sequelize.TEXT
})

// Initialize epilogue
epilogue.initialize({
  app: app,
  sequelize: database
})

// Create the dynamic REST resource for our Post model
let userResource = epilogue.resource({
  model: Post,
  endpoints: ['/posts', '/posts/:id']
})

// Resets the database and launches the express app on :8081
database
  .sync({ force: true })
  .then(() => {
    app.listen(8081, () => {
      console.log('listening to port localhost:8081')
    })
  })

Make sure to replace the variables {yourOktaDomain} and {clientId} in the above code with values from your OIDC app in Okta.

Add Sequelize

Sequelize is a promise-based ORM for Node.js. It supports the dialects PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, and MSSQL and features solid transaction support, relations, read replication, and more.

For ease of this tutorial, you’re going to use SQLite to limit external dependencies. The following code initializes a Sequelize instance using SQLite as your driver.

let database = new Sequelize({
  dialect: 'sqlite',
  storage: './test.sqlite'
})

Each post has a title and body. (The fields createdAt, and updatedAt are added by Sequelize automatically). With Sequelize, you define models by calling define() on your instance.

let Post = database.define('posts', {
  title: Sequelize.STRING,
  body: Sequelize.TEXT
})

Add Epilogue

Epilogue creates flexible REST endpoints from Sequelize models within an Express app. If you ever coded REST endpoints you know how much repetition there is. D.R.Y. FTW!

// Initialize epilogue
epilogue.initialize({
  app: app,
  sequelize: database
})

// Create the dynamic REST resource for our Post model
let userResource = epilogue.resource({
  model: Post,
  endpoints: ['/posts', '/posts/:id']
})

Verify Your JWT

This is the most crucial component of your REST API server. Without this middleware any user can perform CRUD operations on our database. If no authorization header is present, or the access token is invalid, the API call will fail and return an error.

// verify JWT token middleware
app.use((req, res, next) => {
  // require every request to have an authorization header
  if (!req.headers.authorization) {
    return next(new Error('Authorization header is required'))
  }
  let parts = req.headers.authorization.trim().split(' ')
  let accessToken = parts.pop()
  oktaJwtVerifier.verifyAccessToken(accessToken)
    .then(jwt => {
      req.user = {
        uid: jwt.claims.uid,
        email: jwt.claims.sub
      }
      next()
    })
    .catch(next) // jwt did not verify!
})

Run the Server

Open a new terminal window and run the server with the command node ./src/server. You should see debug information from Sequelize and the app listening on port 8081.

Complete the Posts Manager Component

Now that the REST API server is complete, you can start wiring up your posts manager to fetch posts, create posts, edit posts, and delete posts.

I always centralize my API integrations into a single helper module. This keeps the code in components much cleaner and provides single location in case you need to change anything with the API request.

Create a file ./src/api.js and copy/paste the following code into it:

import Vue from 'vue'
import axios from 'axios'

const client = axios.create({
  baseURL: 'http://localhost:8081/',
  json: true
})

export default {
  async execute (method, resource, data) {
    // inject the accessToken for each request
    let accessToken = await Vue.prototype.$auth.getAccessToken()
    return client({
      method,
      url: resource,
      data,
      headers: {
        Authorization: `Bearer ${accessToken}`
      }
    }).then(req => {
      return req.data
    })
  },
  getPosts () {
    return this.execute('get', '/posts')
  },
  getPost (id) {
    return this.execute('get', `/posts/${id}`)
  },
  createPost (data) {
    return this.execute('post', '/posts', data)
  },
  updatePost (id, data) {
    return this.execute('put', `/posts/${id}`, data)
  },
  deletePost (id) {
    return this.execute('delete', `/posts/${id}`)
  }
}

When you authenticate with OIDC, an access token is persisted locally in the browser. Since each API request must have an access token, you can fetch it from the authentication client and set it in the request.

let accessToken = await Vue.prototype.$auth.getAccessToken()
return client({
  method,
  url: resource,
  data,
  headers: {
    Authorization: `Bearer ${accessToken}`
  }
})

By creating the following proxy methods inside your API helper, the code outside the helper module remains clean and semantic.

getPosts () {
  return this.execute('get', '/posts')
},
getPost (id) {
  return this.execute('get', `/posts/${id}`)
},
createPost (data) {
  return this.execute('post', '/posts', data)
},
updatePost (id, data) {
  return this.execute('put', `/posts/${id}`, data)
},
deletePost (id) {
  return this.execute('delete', `/posts/${id}`)
}

You now have all the components required to wire up your posts manager component to make CRUD operations via the REST API. Open ./src/components/PostsManager.vue and copy/paste the following code.

<template>
  <div class="container-fluid mt-4">
    <h1 class="h1">Posts Manager</h1>
    <b-alert :show="loading" variant="info">Loading...</b-alert>
    <b-row>
      <b-col>
        <table class="table table-striped">
          <thead>
            <tr>
              <th>ID</th>
              <th>Title</th>
              <th>Updated At</th>
              <th>&nbsp;</th>
            </tr>
          </thead>
          <tbody>
            <tr v-for="post in posts" :key="post.id">
              <td>{{ post.id }}</td>
              <td>{{ post.title }}</td>
              <td>{{ post.updatedAt }}</td>
              <td class="text-right">
                <a href="#" @click.prevent="populatePostToEdit(post)">Edit</a> - 
                <a href="#" @click.prevent="deletePost(post.id)">Delete</a>
              </td>
            </tr>
          </tbody>
        </table>
      </b-col>
      <b-col lg="3">
        <b-card :title="(model.id ? 'Edit Post ID#' + model.id : 'New Post')">
          <form @submit.prevent="savePost">
            <b-form-group label="Title">
              <b-form-input type="text" v-model="model.title"></b-form-input>
            </b-form-group>
            <b-form-group label="Body">
              <b-form-textarea rows="4" v-model="model.body"></b-form-textarea>
            </b-form-group>
            <div>
              <b-btn type="submit" variant="success">Save Post</b-btn>
            </div>
          </form>
        </b-card>
      </b-col>
    </b-row>
  </div>
</template>

<script>
import api from '@/api'
export default {
  data () {
    return {
      loading: false,
      posts: [],
      model: {}
    }
  },
  async created () {
    this.refreshPosts()
  },
  methods: {
    async refreshPosts () {
      this.loading = true
      this.posts = await api.getPosts()
      this.loading = false
    },
    async populatePostToEdit (post) {
      this.model = Object.assign({}, post)
    },
    async savePost () {
      if (this.model.id) {
        await api.updatePost(this.model.id, this.model)
      } else {
        await api.createPost(this.model)
      }
      this.model = {} // reset form
      await this.refreshPosts()
    },
    async deletePost (id) {
      if (confirm('Are you sure you want to delete this post?')) {
        // if we are editing a post we deleted, remove it from the form
        if (this.model.id === id) {
          this.model = {}
        }
        await api.deletePost(id)
        await this.refreshPosts()
      }
    }
  }
}
</script>

Listing Posts

You’ll use api.getPosts() to fetch posts from your REST API server. You should refresh the list of posts when the component is loaded and after any mutating operation (create, update, or delete).

async refreshPosts () {
  this.loading = true
  this.posts = await api.getPosts()
  this.loading = false
}

The attribute this.loading is toggled so the UI can reflect the pending API call. You might not see the loading message since the API request is not going out to the internet.

Creating Posts

A form is included in the component to save a post. It’s wired up to call savePosts() when the form is submitted and its inputs are bound to the model object on the component.

When savePost() is called, it will perform either an update or create based on the existence of model.id. This is mostly a shortcut to not have to define two separate forms for creating and updating.

async savePost () {
  if (this.model.id) {
    await api.updatePost(this.model.id, this.model)
  } else {
    await api.createPost(this.model)
  }
  this.model = {} // reset form
  await this.refreshPosts()
}

Updating Posts

When updating a post, you first must load the post into the form. This sets model.id which will the trigger an update in savePost().

async populatePostToEdit (post) {
  this.model = Object.assign({}, post)
}

Important: The Object.assign() call copies the value of the post argument rather than the reference. When dealing with mutation of objects in Vue, you should always set to the value, not reference.

Deleting Posts

To delete a post simply call api.deletePost(id). It’s always good to confirm before delete so let’s throw in a native confirmation alert box to make sure the click was intentional.

async deletePost (id) {
  if (confirm('Are you sure you want to delete this post?')) {
    await api.deletePost(id)
    await this.refreshPosts()
  }
}

Test Your Vue.js + Node CRUD App

Make sure both the server and frontend are running.

Terminal #1

node ./src/server

Terminal #2

npm run dev

Navigate to http://localhost:8080 and give it a whirl.

New Post New Hello World Post Delete Post

Do More With Vue!

As I said at the top of this post, I think Vue stands head and shoulders above other frameworks. Here are five quick reasons why:

I covered a lot of material in this tutorial but don’t feel bad if you didn’t grasp everything the first time. The more you work with these technologies, the more familiar they will become.

To learn more about Vue.js head over to https://vuejs.org or check out these other great resources from the @oktadev team:

You can find the source code for the application developed in this post at https://github.com/oktadeveloper/okta-vue-node-example.

As always, follow @oktadev on Twitter to see all the cool content our dev team is creating.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on Vue Authentication with Okta

How Can I Secure My Vue Application with Okta?

Securing your Vue application with Okta involves several steps. First, you need to create an Okta developer account. After creating the account, you’ll need to create a new Okta application. During the creation process, you’ll be asked to specify the application type. Choose ‘Single-Page App’ as the application type. After creating the application, you’ll be provided with a client ID and an issuer URL. You’ll use these details to configure Okta in your Vue application. Install the Okta Vue SDK using npm or yarn, then import it into your main.js file. Use Vue.use() to install the Okta Vue plugin, passing in your Okta domain and client ID. Finally, protect your routes by adding the ‘requiresAuth’ meta field.

What is the Role of Okta Vue SDK in Vue Authentication?

The Okta Vue SDK is a library that simplifies the process of integrating Okta authentication into a Vue application. It provides a set of Vue components and router middleware, which you can use to add features like login, logout, and protected routes to your application. The SDK handles the complexities of OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect protocols, allowing you to focus on building your application.

How Can I Use Okta to Authenticate API Requests in Vue?

To authenticate API requests in Vue using Okta, you’ll need to obtain an access token from Okta. This can be done using the Okta Vue SDK. Once you have the access token, you can include it in the Authorization header of your API requests. The server can then validate the token and ensure that the user is authenticated.

How Can I Handle User Sessions with Okta in Vue?

Handling user sessions with Okta in Vue is straightforward with the Okta Vue SDK. The SDK provides methods for checking if a user is authenticated, getting the user’s information, and logging the user out. You can use these methods to manage user sessions in your Vue application.

How Can I Customize the Okta Login Page in Vue?

Customizing the Okta login page in Vue requires you to modify the settings in your Okta developer account. You can change the logo, colors, and text on the login page to match your brand. However, if you want to create a completely custom login page in your Vue application, you can use the Okta Sign-In Widget.

How Can I Use Okta with Vue Router?

Okta can be integrated with Vue Router using the Okta Vue SDK. The SDK provides a router middleware that you can use to protect certain routes in your application. By adding the ‘requiresAuth’ meta field to a route, you can ensure that the user must be authenticated to access that route.

How Can I Refresh Okta Tokens in Vue?

Refreshing Okta tokens in Vue can be done using the Okta Vue SDK. The SDK provides a method for renewing tokens. You can call this method when the token is about to expire to get a new token.

How Can I Handle Okta Errors in Vue?

Handling Okta errors in Vue involves catching the errors when they occur and displaying an appropriate message to the user. The Okta Vue SDK throws errors when there are issues with authentication, such as invalid credentials or network errors. You can catch these errors using try/catch blocks and handle them accordingly.

How Can I Logout a User with Okta in Vue?

Logging out a user with Okta in Vue can be done using the Okta Vue SDK. The SDK provides a logout method that you can call to end the user’s session. After calling this method, the user will be logged out and redirected to the Okta login page.

How Can I Test Okta Authentication in Vue?

Testing Okta authentication in Vue can be done by creating tests that simulate the authentication process. You can use libraries like Jest or Mocha to write these tests. You’ll need to mock the Okta Vue SDK to simulate the behavior of Okta during the tests.

Brandon PariseBrandon Parise
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