Login/Logout Flow

Implement user authentication flow with login, logout, and session checking in Bknd.

Prerequisites

• Bknd project with auth enabled (bknd-setup-auth)
• At least one auth strategy configured (password, OAuth)
• For SDK: bknd package installed
• For React: @bknd/react package installed

When to Use UI Mode

• Testing login/logout endpoints via admin panel
• Viewing active sessions
• Checking user authentication status

UI steps: Admin Panel > Auth > Test endpoints

When to Use Code Mode

• Implementing login forms in your frontend
• Adding logout functionality
• Checking authentication state
• Building protected routes
• Handling authentication errors

SDK Approach

Initialize API Client

import { Api } from "bknd";

const api = new Api({
  host: "http://localhost:7654",
  storage: localStorage,  // Persist token between sessions
});

SDK options:

Login with Password Strategy

async function login(email: string, password: string) {
  const { ok, data, error, status } = await api.auth.login("password", {
    email,
    password,
  });

  if (ok) {
    // Token automatically stored in localStorage
    console.log("Logged in as:", data.user.email);
    console.log("User ID:", data.user.id);
    console.log("Role:", data.user.role);
    return data.user;
  }

  // Handle errors
  if (status === 401) {
    throw new Error("Invalid email or password");
  }
  if (status === 403) {
    throw new Error("Account uses different login method");
  }
  throw new Error(error?.message || "Login failed");
}

Login response:

type LoginResponse = {
  ok: boolean;
  status: number;
  data?: {
    user: {
      id: number | string;
      email: string;
      role?: string;
      // Custom fields...
    };
    token: string;
  };
  error?: { message: string };
};

Check Current User

async function getCurrentUser() {
  const { ok, data } = await api.auth.me();

  if (ok && data?.user) {
    return data.user;  // User is authenticated
  }
  return null;  // Not authenticated
}

Logout

async function logout() {
  await api.auth.logout();
  // Token removed from storage
  // User is now logged out
}

Check If Authenticated

async function isAuthenticated(): Promise<boolean> {
  const { ok, data } = await api.auth.me();
  return ok && data?.user !== null;
}

Complete Login Flow Example

import { Api } from "bknd";

class AuthService {
  private api: Api;

  constructor() {
    this.api = new Api({
      host: import.meta.env.VITE_API_URL || "http://localhost:7654",
      storage: localStorage,
    });
  }

  async login(email: string, password: string) {
    const result = await this.api.auth.login("password", { email, password });

    if (!result.ok) {
      throw new AuthError(result.status, result.error?.message);
    }

    return result.data!.user;
  }

  async logout() {
    await this.api.auth.logout();
  }

  async getUser() {
    const { ok, data } = await this.api.auth.me();
    return ok ? data?.user : null;
  }

  async isAuthenticated() {
    const user = await this.getUser();
    return user !== null;
  }
}

class AuthError extends Error {
  constructor(public status: number, message?: string) {
    super(message || "Authentication failed");
    this.name = "AuthError";
  }
}

// Usage
const auth = new AuthService();

try {
  const user = await auth.login("user@example.com", "password123");
  console.log("Welcome,", user.email);
} catch (e) {
  if (e instanceof AuthError && e.status === 401) {
    console.error("Wrong credentials");
  }
}

REST API Approach

Login via REST

# Login
curl -X POST http://localhost:7654/api/auth/password/login \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"email": "user@example.com", "password": "password123"}'

Response:

{
  "user": {
    "id": 1,
    "email": "user@example.com",
    "role": "user"
  },
  "token": "eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIs..."
}

Use Token in Requests

# Get current user
curl http://localhost:7654/api/auth/me \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIs..."

# Access protected data
curl http://localhost:7654/api/data/posts \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIs..."

Logout via REST

curl -X POST http://localhost:7654/api/auth/logout \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIs..."

Note: Logout clears server-side cookie. For header-based auth, client must discard token.

REST Endpoints Reference

React Integration

Using useAuth Hook

import { BkndProvider, useAuth } from "@bknd/react";

function App() {
  return (
    <BkndProvider config={{ host: "http://localhost:7654" }}>
      <AuthExample />
    </BkndProvider>
  );
}

function AuthExample() {
  const { user, isLoading, login, logout } = useAuth();

  if (isLoading) {
    return <div>Loading...</div>;
  }

  if (!user) {
    return <LoginForm onLogin={login} />;
  }

  return (
    <div>
      <p>Welcome, {user.email}!</p>
      <button onClick={logout}>Logout</button>
    </div>
  );
}

Login Form Component

import { useState } from "react";
import { useAuth } from "@bknd/react";

function LoginForm() {
  const { login } = useAuth();
  const [email, setEmail] = useState("");
  const [password, setPassword] = useState("");
  const [error, setError] = useState<string | null>(null);
  const [isSubmitting, setIsSubmitting] = useState(false);

  async function handleSubmit(e: React.FormEvent) {
    e.preventDefault();
    setError(null);
    setIsSubmitting(true);

    try {
      await login("password", { email, password });
      // Redirect or update UI - user state updates automatically
    } catch (err) {
      setError(err instanceof Error ? err.message : "Login failed");
    } finally {
      setIsSubmitting(false);
    }
  }

  return (
    <form onSubmit={handleSubmit}>
      {error && <div className="error">{error}</div>}

      <label>
        Email:
        <input
          type="email"
          value={email}
          onChange={(e) => setEmail(e.target.value)}
          required
        />
      </label>

      <label>
        Password:
        <input
          type="password"
          value={password}
          onChange={(e) => setPassword(e.target.value)}
          required
        />
      </label>

      <button type="submit" disabled={isSubmitting}>
        {isSubmitting ? "Logging in..." : "Login"}
      </button>
    </form>
  );
}

Protected Route Pattern

import { Navigate } from "react-router-dom";
import { useAuth } from "@bknd/react";

function ProtectedRoute({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
  const { user, isLoading } = useAuth();

  if (isLoading) {
    return <div>Loading...</div>;
  }

  if (!user) {
    return <Navigate to="/login" replace />;
  }

  return <>{children}</>;
}

// Usage with React Router
function AppRoutes() {
  return (
    <Routes>
      <Route path="/login" element={<LoginPage />} />
      <Route
        path="/dashboard"
        element={
          <ProtectedRoute>
            <DashboardPage />
          </ProtectedRoute>
        }
      />
    </Routes>
  );
}

Logout Button Component

import { useAuth } from "@bknd/react";
import { useNavigate } from "react-router-dom";

function LogoutButton() {
  const { logout } = useAuth();
  const navigate = useNavigate();

  async function handleLogout() {
    await logout();
    navigate("/login");
  }

  return <button onClick={handleLogout}>Logout</button>;
}

Manual API with React

If not using @bknd/react:

import { useState, useEffect, createContext, useContext } from "react";
import { Api } from "bknd";

type User = { id: number; email: string; role?: string };

type AuthContextType = {
  user: User | null;
  isLoading: boolean;
  login: (email: string, password: string) => Promise<void>;
  logout: () => Promise<void>;
};

const AuthContext = createContext<AuthContextType | null>(null);

const api = new Api({
  host: "http://localhost:7654",
  storage: localStorage,
});

export function AuthProvider({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
  const [user, setUser] = useState<User | null>(null);
  const [isLoading, setIsLoading] = useState(true);

  // Check auth on mount
  useEffect(() => {
    api.auth.me().then(({ ok, data }) => {
      setUser(ok ? data?.user ?? null : null);
      setIsLoading(false);
    });
  }, []);

  async function login(email: string, password: string) {
    const { ok, data, error } = await api.auth.login("password", {
      email,
      password,
    });

    if (!ok) {
      throw new Error(error?.message || "Login failed");
    }

    setUser(data!.user);
  }

  async function logout() {
    await api.auth.logout();
    setUser(null);
  }

  return (
    <AuthContext.Provider value={{ user, isLoading, login, logout }}>
      {children}
    </AuthContext.Provider>
  );
}

export function useAuth() {
  const context = useContext(AuthContext);
  if (!context) throw new Error("useAuth must be used within AuthProvider");
  return context;
}

Cookie-Based Authentication

For browser apps with cookie transport:

const api = new Api({
  host: "http://localhost:7654",
  tokenTransport: "cookie",  // Use cookies instead of header
});

// Login sets httpOnly cookie automatically
await api.auth.login("password", { email, password });

// Subsequent requests include cookie automatically
await api.data.readMany("posts");

// Logout clears cookie
await api.auth.logout();

Cookie mode benefits:

• HttpOnly cookies not accessible via JavaScript (XSS protection)
• Automatic renewal on requests (if configured)
• No manual token management

Error Handling

Error Codes

Handling Specific Errors

async function handleLogin(email: string, password: string) {
  const { ok, status, error } = await api.auth.login("password", {
    email,
    password,
  });

  if (ok) return;

  switch (status) {
    case 400:
      throw new Error("Please enter email and password");
    case 401:
      throw new Error("Invalid email or password");
    case 403:
      throw new Error("This account uses a different login method");
    case 409:
      throw new Error("Please use social login for this account");
    default:
      throw new Error(error?.message || "Login failed. Try again.");
  }
}

Common Patterns

Remember Me

Store token in localStorage (persistent) vs sessionStorage (per-session):

// Remember me enabled
const api = new Api({
  host: "http://localhost:7654",
  storage: localStorage,  // Persists across browser sessions
});

// Remember me disabled
const api = new Api({
  host: "http://localhost:7654",
  storage: sessionStorage,  // Cleared when tab closes
});

Auto-Refresh Token

If using short-lived tokens, refresh before expiry:

async function withAuth<T>(fn: () => Promise<T>): Promise<T> {
  try {
    return await fn();
  } catch (e) {
    // If 401, attempt refresh and retry
    if (e instanceof Error && e.message.includes("401")) {
      const { ok } = await api.auth.me();  // Refresh token
      if (ok) return await fn();
    }
    throw e;
  }
}

Redirect After Login

// Store intended destination
const redirectUrl = new URLSearchParams(window.location.search).get("redirect");

async function login(email: string, password: string) {
  await api.auth.login("password", { email, password });

  // Redirect to original destination or default
  window.location.href = redirectUrl || "/dashboard";
}

Common Pitfalls

Token Not Persisted

Problem: User logged out after page refresh

Fix: Provide storage option to API client:

// Wrong - token lost on refresh
const api = new Api({ host: "http://localhost:7654" });

// Correct - token persisted
const api = new Api({
  host: "http://localhost:7654",
  storage: localStorage,
});

CORS Errors

Problem: Login fails with CORS error

Fix: Configure CORS on backend or use same origin:

// Backend config
{
  server: {
    cors: {
      origin: ["http://localhost:3000"],
      credentials: true,
    },
  },
}

Cookie Not Set (HTTPS)

Problem: Cookie not received in browser

Fix: Disable secure for local development:

// Backend config
{
  auth: {
    cookie: {
      secure: process.env.NODE_ENV === "production",
    },
  },
}

Multiple Strategy Conflict

Problem: User signed up with different strategy

Solution: Users can only have one strategy. If they registered with OAuth, they cannot use password login. Check user's strategy first or guide to correct login method.

Verification

Test login flow:

1. Login and get token:

curl -X POST http://localhost:7654/api/auth/password/login \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"email": "test@example.com", "password": "password123"}'

2. Use token to access protected endpoint:

curl http://localhost:7654/api/auth/me \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <token>"

3. Verify logout clears session:

curl -X POST http://localhost:7654/api/auth/logout \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <token>"

# Should now fail
curl http://localhost:7654/api/auth/me \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <token>"

DOs and DON'Ts

DO:

• Store tokens securely (localStorage or httpOnly cookie)
• Handle all error cases in login flow
• Show loading state during auth operations
• Redirect users after successful login
• Clear auth state fully on logout

DON'T:

• Store tokens in memory only (lost on refresh)
• Ignore error handling for login
• Expose tokens in URLs
• Forget to handle expired tokens
• Mix cookie and header auth without reason

Related Skills

• bknd-setup-auth - Configure authentication system
• bknd-registration - Set up user registration
• bknd-session-handling - Manage user sessions
• bknd-oauth-setup - OAuth/social login providers
• bknd-protect-endpoint - Secure specific endpoints