Implementing Auth0 Authentication and Access Tokens in Webflow: A Beginner's Guide to Backend Integration
Webflow is a powerful tool for building websites and applications, and in this tutorial, we will explore how to implement a back end for your Webflow applications. In this session, we will pick up from the previous stream where we went straight into Webflow, discussing how to implement an authentication system using Auth0. This tutorial is aimed at beginners, and we will cover how to integrate back-end functionality into your Webflow project without diving into complex code.
During the previous stream, we focused on implementing an authentication system using Auth0. We successfully set up login functionality, allowing users to log in and out using Auth0's Single Sign-On (SSO) feature. We were also able to retrieve access tokens, which are essential for identifying users and making authenticated requests to the back end.
In this session, we will dive deeper into understanding access tokens and how they work. We will explore JSON Web Tokens (JWT), how Auth0 generates these tokens, and how we can decode, validate, and use them to identify users in our back-end APIs.
Understanding Access Tokens and JWT
When a user logs in using Auth0, they receive an access token along with their user information. It's important to understand how these access tokens are structured and how they can be used to validate and identify users in the back end.
Decoding and Validating Access Tokens
The access token is a JSON Web Token (JWT), which is a compact and self-contained way of transmitting information between parties as a JSON object. A JWT has three sections: a header, a payload, and a signature.
The header contains information about the token, such as the algorithm used to sign the token and the type of token it is. The payload contains information about the user, such as the user ID, audience, and expiration time. The signature is used to verify that the token is valid and has not been tampered with.
Implementing Access Token Handling in Webflow
In this section, we will walk through the process of implementing access token handling in a Webflow site using custom code. We will use a Node.js-based backend written in Hapi.js and deployed to Cloudflare Workers as an example.
Setting Up the Backend: We have previously set up a backend using Hapi.js and deployed it to Cloudflare Workers. The backend includes an endpoint for retrieving to-dos for a specific user based on their user ID.
Decoding and Validating Access Tokens: We will use a third-party library called Jose to decode and validate the access tokens. Jose provides methods for decoding and validating JWTs, as well as fetching public keys from Auth0 to perform token validation.
Implementing the JWT Verification: We will use the Jose library to verify the JWT by hitting the Auth0 public URL to fetch the public keys used for token validation.
Using the User ID from the Access Token: Once the access token has been successfully decoded and validated, we will extract the user ID from the payload of the access token. This user ID will be used to identify the user in the backend and perform operations specific to that user.
Connecting Front-End to the Backend
We will now connect the front-end of our Webflow site to the backend, allowing users to interact with the authenticated routes and perform actions such as retrieving to-dos and creating new ones.
Handling Form Submissions: We will create a form submission handler that sends the access token to the backend when making authenticated requests.
Creating and Retrieving To-Dos: We will create functions to handle the creation and retrieval of to-dos, using the access token to authenticate the requests to the backend.
Testing the Integration: We will test the integration by submitting a form with the access token included and ensuring that the backend can identify the user and perform the necessary operations.
By following these steps, we have successfully integrated the backend functionality into our Webflow site, allowing users to authenticate and perform actions based on their user ID. This session has provided valuable insights into handling access tokens and JWTs in a Webflow application and demonstrates the power of integrating front-end and back-end functionality seamlessly.
In the next session, we will explore the integration of a payment system using the Stripe SDK in our Webflow site, showcasing how to create checkouts and handle user subscriptions. This tutorial series provides a comprehensive guide to building and integrating powerful features into Webflow applications using custom code.
In conclusion, the ability to implement back-end functionality in Webflow using custom code and third-party libraries offers a wide range of possibilities for building robust and secure web applications with seamless user authentication and data handling capabilities.
