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ASP.NET Core 6.0 Tutorial

This tutorial shows how to use PlusAuth with ASP.NET Core and Microsoft OpenIdConnect. If you do not have a PlusAuth account, register from here.

This tutorial follows plusauth-dotnet-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 Regular Web Application

Configure Client

Get Client Properties

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

Configure Redirect and Logout URIs

When PlusAuth authenticates a user, it needs a URI to redirect back. That URI must be in your client's Redirect URI list. If your application uses a redirect URI that 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 field is https://localhost:7200/callback and the Logout URL you need to add to the Post Logout Redirect URIs field is https://localhost:7200/.

Configure ASP.NET Core to use PlusAuth

Create an ASP.NET Core application or download the sample project from the link on the top of the page.

Add Dependencies 

  <ItemGroup>
    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.AspNetCore.Authentication.OpenIdConnect" Version="6.0.1" />
    <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Razor.RuntimeCompilation" Version="6.0.1" />
  </ItemGroup>

Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Razor.RuntimeCompilation provides hot reload support for .cshtml files.

Configure ASP.NET Core Application to use PlusAuth

We will be using appsettings.Development.json files for maintaining providing some constant values. If you are following the sample project, rename appsettings.json to appsettings.Development.json and replace the values accordingly.

// appsettings.Development.json


{
  "Logging": {
    "LogLevel": {
      "Default": "Information",
      "Microsoft.AspNetCore": "Warning"
    }
  },
  "AllowedHosts": "*",
  "Plusauth": {
    "ClientId": "{YOUR-PLUSAUTH-CLIENT-ID}",
    "ClientSecret": "{YOUR-PLUSAUTH-CLIENT-SECRET}",
    "AuthUrl": "https://{YOUR-PLUSAUTH-TENANT-ID}.plusauth.com"
  }
}

Do not put the appsettings.Development.json file into source control. Otherwise, your history will contain references to your client's secret.

Add Authentication and OpenIdConnect Services

To enable authentication with PlusAuth, edit Program.cs in the root and add the following section to your builder.

//Program.cs


// Add services to the container.
// Add runtime compilation for hot reload
builder.Services.AddControllersWithViews().AddRazorRuntimeCompilation();


builder.Services.AddAuthentication(options =>
{
  // If an authentication cookie is present, use it to get authentication information
  options.DefaultAuthenticateScheme = CookieAuthenticationDefaults.AuthenticationScheme;
  options.DefaultSignInScheme = CookieAuthenticationDefaults.AuthenticationScheme;
  options.DefaultChallengeScheme = CookieAuthenticationDefaults.AuthenticationScheme;
})
.AddCookie() // cookie authentication middleware first
.AddOpenIdConnect("PlusAuth", options =>
{
  options.ClientId = builder.Configuration["Plusauth:ClientId"];
  options.ClientSecret = builder.Configuration["Plusauth:ClientSecret"];
  options.Authority = builder.Configuration["Plusauth:AuthUrl"];
  options.ResponseType = "code";
  options.Scope.Clear();
  options.Scope.Add("openid");
  options.Scope.Add("email");
  options.Scope.Add("profile");
  // Get user info after authentication
  options.GetClaimsFromUserInfoEndpoint = true;
  // This is important to get user information
  // Map All user information into User Claims
  ClaimActionCollectionMapExtensions.MapAll(options.ClaimActions);
  // Set Authentication Issuer
  options.ClaimsIssuer = "PlusAuth";
  options.CallbackPath = new PathString("/callback");


  options.Events = new OpenIdConnectEvents
  {
    // Configure post logout redirect
    // This section provides logout action for PlusAuth
    OnRedirectToIdentityProviderForSignOut = (context) =>
    {
      // Set PlusAuth logout endpoint
      var logoutUri = $"{builder.Configuration["Plusauth:AuthUrl"]}/oidc/logout?client_id={builder.Configuration["Plusauth:ClientId"]}";


      var postLogoutUri = context.Properties.RedirectUri;
      if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(postLogoutUri))
      {
        if (postLogoutUri.StartsWith("/"))
        {
          postLogoutUri = context.Request.Scheme + "://" + context.Request.Host + context.Request.PathBase + postLogoutUri;
        }
        // Return index page after logout
        logoutUri += $"&post_logout_redirect_uri={ Uri.EscapeDataString(postLogoutUri)}";
      }


      context.Response.Redirect(logoutUri);
      context.HandleResponse();


      return Task.CompletedTask;
    }
  };
});


var app = builder.Build();


//... rest of the code


app.UseAuthentication();
// Use authorization to protect endpoints
app.UseAuthorization();
app.UseCookiePolicy();


//... rest of the code


app.Run();

The Authentication and OpenIdConnect services must be added before builder.Build() section.

The OnRedirectToIdentityProviderForSignOut event enables logout from both PlusAuth and application. Removing event handler disables logout from PlusAuth.

Implement login, user profile, and logout

Add Controllers

Add AccountController to your application to enable Login and Logout actions.

// Controllers/AccountController.cs


public class AccountController : Controller
  {
    public async Task Login(string returnUrl = "/")
    {
      await HttpContext.ChallengeAsync("PlusAuth", new AuthenticationProperties() { RedirectUri = returnUrl });
    }


    [Authorize]
    public async Task Logout()
    {
      await HttpContext.SignOutAsync("PlusAuth", new AuthenticationProperties
      {
        // Indicate that PlusAuth should redirect the user after logout.
        RedirectUri = "/"
      });
      await HttpContext.SignOutAsync(CookieAuthenticationDefaults.AuthenticationScheme);
    }
  }

Add HomeController to your application to serve HTML. Add the logged-in user's profile information to the model in the controller.

// Controllers/HomeController.cs


public class HomeController : Controller
{
  private readonly ILogger<HomeController> _logger;


  public HomeController(ILogger<HomeController> logger)
  {
    _logger = logger;
  }


  public IActionResult Index()
  {
    return View();
  }


  [Authorize]
  public IActionResult Profile()
  {
    return View();
  }


  [ResponseCache(Duration = 0, Location = ResponseCacheLocation.None, NoStore = true)]
  public IActionResult Error()
  {
    return View(new ErrorViewModel { RequestId = Activity.Current?.Id ?? HttpContext.TraceIdentifier });
  }
}

Create HTML Pages

Shared

Create _Layout.cshtml under Views/Shared folder.

<!-- Views/Shared/_Layout.cshtml -->


<body>
  <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">
          @if (User.Identity != null && User.Identity.IsAuthenticated) {
          <li class="nav-item navbar-nav">
            <a class="nav-link" asp-controller="Home" asp-action="Profile">
              Logged in as: @User.FindFirst("username").Value
            </a>
          </li>
          <a class="btn btn-link" asp-controller="Account" asp-action="Logout">
            Logout
          </a>
          } else {
          <li class="nav-item navbar-nav">
            <a class="btn btn-link" asp-controller="Account" asp-action="Login">
              Login
            </a>
          </li>
          }
        </ul>
      </div>
    </nav>
  </header>
  <div class="container">
    <main role="main" class="pb-3">@RenderBody()</main>
  </div>


  <script src="~/lib/jquery/dist/jquery.min.js"></script>
  <script src="~/lib/bootstrap/dist/js/bootstrap.bundle.min.js"></script>
  <script src="~/js/site.js" asp-append-version="true"></script>
  @await RenderSectionAsync("Scripts", required: false)
</body>

Homepage

Create Index.cshtml under Views/Home folder.

<!-- Views/Home/Index.cshtml -->


@{ ViewData["Title"] = "Home Page"; }


<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 a simple
      OpenID Connect Implicit Flow. To view Profile page please login.</p>
    <p>
      @if (User.Identity != null && User.Identity.IsAuthenticated) {
        <a class="btn btn-success btn-lg" asp-controller="Home" asp-action="Profile" role="button">
          View Profile &raquo;
        </a>
      } else {
        <a class="btn btn-primary btn-lg" asp-controller="Account" asp-action="Login" role="button">
          Login/Register &raquo;
        </a>
      }

If a user is unauthenticated, then the Login button will be shown, else the View Profile button is.

User Profile

Create Profile.cshtml under Views/Home folder.

<!-- Views/Home/Profile.cshtml -->


@{
  ViewData["Title"] = "Profile";
}


<div class="container">
  <h3>Welcome @User.FindFirst("username").Value!</h3>
  <h4>User claims:</h4>
  <table style="max-width: 600px">
    @foreach (var claim in User.Claims)
    {
      <tr>
        <td style="padding: 8px">@claim.Type</td>
        <td style="padding: 8px">@claim.Value</td>
      </tr>
    }
  </table>
</div>

See it in action

That's it. Start your app and point your browser to https://localhost:7200. 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.