Angular Tutorial

This tutorial shows how to use PlusAuth with Angular Single Page Application. If you do not have a PlusAuth account, register from here.

This tutorial follows plusauth-angular-starter sample project on Github. You can download and follow the tutorial via the sample project.

Create PlusAuth Client

After you sign up or log in to PlusAuth, you need to create a client to get the necessary configuration keys in the dashboard. Go to Clients and create a client with the type of Single Page Application

Configure Client

Get Client Properties

You will need your Client Id for interacting with PlusAuth. You can retrieve it from the created client's details.

Configure Redirect and Logout URIs

When PlusAuth authenticates a user, it needs a URI to redirect back with access and id token. That URI must be in your client's Redirect URI list. If your application uses a redirect URI which is not white-listed in your PlusAuth Client, you will receive an error.

The same thing applies to the logout URIs. After the user logs out, you need a URI to be redirected.

If you are following the sample project, the Redirect URL you need to add to the Redirect URIs fields are http://localhost:4200/callback and http://localhost:4200/silent-renew. The Logout URL you need to add to the Post Logout Redirect URIs field is http://localhost:4200/.

Create an Angular Application

Install the Angular CLI globally using npm and create a new Angular project. Add a router to the project to render different views.

# Create the application using the ng new.
ng new plusauth-angular-starter --routing

# Move into the project directory
cd plusauth-angular-starter

# Add bootstrap for styling
npm install bootstrap

The ng new command prompts you for information about features to include in the initial application project. --routing flag adds the routing by default.

Install OIDC Client

For interacting with PlusAuth it is advised to use an OpenID Connect library. In this tutorial we will be using oidc-client-js but you could use any OpenID Connect library.

Install oidc-client-js with the following command

npm install @plusauth/oidc-client-js

oidc-client-js is an OpenID Connect (OIDC) and OAuth2 library for browser based JavaScript applications. You can find source code on Github and the API documentation here.

Configure Angular Application to use PlusAuth

We will be using environment files for maintaining providing some constant values.

Edit environment.ts file

Edit the environment.ts file in src/environments with the following and modify values accordingly.

// environment.ts

export const environment = {
  production: false,
  oidcIssuer: 'https://<YOUR_PLUSAUTH_TENANT_NAME>.plusauth.com/',
  clientId: '<YOUR_PLUSAUTH_CLIENT_ID>'
};

If you are following the sample project, rename environment.example.ts to environment.ts and replace the values accordingly.

Configure Angular Application

Let's start by editing our application's entry point module. Edit app.module.ts in src/app folder. Import components and other modules that we will create later.

// app.module.ts

import { ApplicationRef, DoBootstrap, NgModule } from '@angular/core'
import { BrowserModule } from '@angular/platform-browser'

import { AppRoutingModule } from './app-routing.module'
import { AppComponent } from './app.component'
import { HeaderComponent } from './components/header.component'
import { HomeComponent } from './views/home.component'
import { SilentRenewComponent } from './components/silent-renew.component'
import { AuthCallbackComponent } from './components/auth-callback.component'
import { AuthService } from './services/auth.service'
import { ProfileComponent } from './views/profile.component'
import { UnauthorizedComponent } from './views/unauthorized.component'

@NgModule({
  declarations: [
    AppComponent,
    HeaderComponent,
    HomeComponent,
    SilentRenewComponent,
    AuthCallbackComponent,
    ProfileComponent,
    UnauthorizedComponent
  ],
  imports: [
    BrowserModule,
    AppRoutingModule
  ],
  providers: [AuthService]   // Make AuthService injected globally
})
export class AppModule implements DoBootstrap {

  constructor(private authService: AuthService) { } // inject auth service

  ngDoBootstrap(appRef: ApplicationRef) {
    // First initialize OIDC Client
    this.authService.getClient().initialize().then(() => {
      appRef.bootstrap(AppComponent)  // Then bootstrap App component
    })
      .catch(console.error)
  }
}

AuthService is provided in AppModule that makes it injectable globally. ngDoBootstrap is used to bootstrap AppComponent after AuthService is initialized.

Configure OIDC Client

We need to initialize our OIDC Client library to handle authentication-related operations. Create auth.service.ts in src/app/services folder. Configure oidc-client-js as following:

// auth.service.ts

import { Injectable } from '@angular/core'
import { OIDCClient } from '@plusauth/oidc-client-js'
import { environment } from '../../environments/environment'

@Injectable({
  providedIn: 'root'
})
// Singleton AuthService
export class AuthService {

  private oidcClient
  private user: any = null

  constructor() {
    this.oidcClient = this.getOIDCClient()
    this.oidcClient.on('user_login', user => this.updateUser(user))
    this.oidcClient.on('user_logout', () => this.updateUser(null))
  }

  async getIsLoggedIn(): Promise<any> {
    return await this.oidcClient.isLoggedIn(true)
  }

  getClient(): OIDCClient {
    return this.oidcClient
  }

  getUser(): any {
    return this.user
  }

  updateUser(user: any): void {
    this.user = user
  }

  login(): void {
    this.oidcClient.login()
  }

  logout(): void {
    this.oidcClient.logout()
  }

  async loginCallback() {
    await this.oidcClient.loginCallback(window.location.href)
  }

  getOIDCClient(): OIDCClient {
    return new OIDCClient({
      issuer: environment.oidcIssuer,
      client_id: environment.clientId,
      redirect_uri: 'http://localhost:4200/callback',
      response_mode: 'form_post',
      response_type: 'id_token token',
      post_logout_redirect_uri: 'http://localhost:4200/',
      autoSilentRenew: true,
      checkSession: true,
      requestUserInfo: true,
      scope: 'openid profile',
      silent_redirect_uri: 'http://localhost:4200/silent-renew'
    })
  }

}

You may have noticed that the values defined in the Configure Client section are used here. If you have used different values make sure to update this file accordingly.

Configure Router

Now let's define our application's router module. We are going to define the routes of our views.

Create app-routing.module.ts in src/app folder as following:

// app-routing.module.ts

import { NgModule } from '@angular/core'
import { RouterModule, Routes } from '@angular/router'
import { AuthCallbackComponent } from './components/auth-callback.component'
import { HomeComponent } from './views/home.component'
import { ProfileComponent } from './views/profile.component'
import { AuthGuardService } from './services/auth-guard.service'
import { SilentRenewComponent } from './components/silent-renew.component'
import { UnauthorizedComponent } from './views/unauthorized.component'

const routes: Routes = [
    { path: 'profile', component: ProfileComponent, canActivate: [AuthGuardService] },
    { path: 'unauthorized', component: UnauthorizedComponent }, // Page if user not authorized
    { path: 'silent-renew', component: SilentRenewComponent },  // Token silent renew uri
    { path: 'callback', component: AuthCallbackComponent },     // Authentication redirect uri
    { path: '**', component: HomeComponent }
]

@NgModule({
    imports: [RouterModule.forRoot(routes)],
    exports: [RouterModule]
})
export class AppRoutingModule { }

AuthGuardService guard service will ensure the related route is activated only by authenticated users. Now create auth-guard.service.ts in src/app/services as following:

// auth-guard.service.ts

import { Injectable } from '@angular/core'
import { CanActivate, Router } from '@angular/router'
import { AuthService } from './auth.service'

@Injectable({
  providedIn: 'root'
})
export class AuthGuardService implements CanActivate {

  constructor(private authService: AuthService, private router: Router) { }

  // Check user if logged in for routes that requires auth
  async canActivate(): Promise<boolean> {
    if (await this.authService.getIsLoggedIn()) {
      return true
    }
    this.router.navigate(['/unauthorized'])
    return false
  }
}

Until now, we have defined our authentication helper and routes. It is time to create the pages and interact with auth helper.

Edit Main Layout Component

Let's create a simple layout for our application. Add app-header and router-outlet to app.component.ts in src/app.

// app.component.ts

import { Component } from '@angular/core'

@Component({
  selector: 'app-root',
  template: `
    <app-header></app-header>

    <router-outlet></router-outlet>
  `,
  styleUrls: []
})
export class AppComponent {
  title = 'plusauth-angular-starter';
}

Create Header Component

Create header.component.ts under src/app/components folder. It will be a basic header. If a user is authenticated, it will show the user's identifier and a Logout button. If not, a Login button will be there to initiate login.

// header.component.ts

import { Component } from '@angular/core'
import { AuthService } from '../services/auth.service'

@Component({
  selector: 'app-header',
  template: `
    <header>
      <nav class="navbar navbar-expand-md navbar-dark bg-dark fixed-top">
        <div class="container-fluid">
          <a class="navbar-brand" href="/">PlusAuth Starter</a>
          <ul class="nav navbar-nav navbar-right">
            <li
              *ngIf="authService.getUser(); else notLogged"
              class="nav-item navbar-nav"
            >
              <a class="nav-link" [routerLink]="['/profile']"
                >Logged in as: {{ authService.getUser().user.username }}</a
              >
              <button class="btn btn-link" (click)="authService.logout()">
                Logout
              </button>
            </li>
            <ng-template #notLogged>
              <li class="nav-item navbar-nav">
                <button class="btn btn-link" (click)="authService.login()">
                  Login
                </button>
              </li>
            </ng-template>
          </ul>
        </div>
      </nav>
    </header>
  `,
  styleUrls: []
})
export class HeaderComponent {

  constructor(public authService: AuthService) { }

}

Create AuthCallback

To handle authorization results after a successful login, we need a simple page and let the library handle the authentication result. Create auth-callback.component.ts under src/app/components folder.

// auth-callback.component.ts

import { Component, OnInit } from '@angular/core'
import { Router } from '@angular/router'
import { AuthService } from '../services/auth.service'

@Component({
  selector: 'app-auth-callback',
  template: `<p>Auth Callback in progress..</p>`,
  styleUrls: []
})
export class AuthCallbackComponent implements OnInit {

  constructor(private authService: AuthService, private router: Router) { }

  async ngOnInit(): Promise<void> {
    try {
        await this.authService.loginCallback()
        this.router.navigate(['/'])
    } catch (e) {
        console.error(e)
    }
  }

}

Create SilentRenew

Access tokens retrieved from PlusAuth have a life span. oidc-client-js automatically provides access_token renewal without too much hassle. Before your access token expires, it will receive a new one in the background so that your users will have a flawless app experience without signing in again.

Create silent-renew.component.ts under src/app/components folder as following:

// silent-renew.component.ts

import { Component, OnInit } from '@angular/core'
import { AuthService } from '../services/auth.service'

@Component({
  selector: 'app-silent-renew',
  template: `<p></p>`,
  styleUrls: []
})
export class SilentRenewComponent implements OnInit {

  constructor(private authService: AuthService) { }

  ngOnInit() {
    this.authService.getClient().loginCallback()
  }

}

Create Views

HomePage

Create home.component.ts under src/app/views.

// home.component.ts

import { Component } from '@angular/core'
import { AuthService } from '../services/auth.service'

@Component({
  selector: 'app-home',
  template: `
    <div class="jumbotron">
      <div class="container">
        <h1 class="display-3">Hello, world!</h1>
        <p>
          This is a template for a simple login/register system. It includes the
          OpenID Connect Implicit Flow. To view Profile page please login.
        </p>
        <p>
          <a
            [routerLink]="['/profile']"
            class="btn btn-success btn-lg"
            *ngIf="authService.getUser(); else notLogged"
          >
            View Profile &raquo;
          </a>
          <ng-template #notLogged>
            <button class="btn btn-primary btn-lg" (click)="authService.login()">
              Login/Register &raquo;
            </button>
          </ng-template>
        </p>
      </div>
    </div>
  `,
  styleUrls: []
})
export class HomeComponent {

  constructor(public authService: AuthService) { }

}

Profile Page

Create profile.component.ts under src/app/views.

// profile.component.ts

import { Component } from '@angular/core'
import { AuthService } from '../services/auth.service'

@Component({
  selector: 'app-profile',
  template: `
    <div class="container" v-if="user">
      <h3>Welcome {{ authService.getUser().user.username }} !</h3>
      <pre>User object: {{ getUserString() }} </pre>
    </div>
  `,
  styleUrls: []
})
export class ProfileComponent {

  constructor(public authService: AuthService) { }

  getUserString(): string {
    return JSON.stringify(this.authService.getUser().user, null, 2)
  }

}

Add Unauthorized Page

We will display a page whenever a user tries to access a protected route without signing in.

Create unauthorized.component.ts under src/app/views.

// unauthorized.component.ts

import { Component } from '@angular/core'
import { AuthService } from '../services/auth.service'

@Component({
  selector: 'app-unauthorized',
  templateUrl: `
    <div class="container">
      <p>You must log in to view the page</p>
      <button class="btn btn-primary" (click)="authService.login()">Log in</button>
    </div>
  `,
  styleUrls: []
})
export class UnauthorizedComponent {

  constructor(public authService: AuthService) { }

}

See it in action

That's it. Start your app and point your browser to http://localhost:4200. Follow the Log In link to log in or sign up to your PlusAuth tenant. Upon successful login or signup, you should be redirected back to the application.