digirati-co-uk/auth-authorization

Auth & Authorization (Madoc TS)

Overview

Document how Madoc TS authenticates users, parses/verifies JWTs, and applies authorization in middleware and route handlers.

Key Entry Points

• Auth server: services/madoc-ts/src/auth-server.ts
• Auth strategies: services/madoc-ts/src/auth/index.ts, services/madoc-ts/src/auth/github.ts
• Provider login flow: services/madoc-ts/src/auth/utils/login-with-provider.ts
• JWT parsing middleware: services/madoc-ts/src/middleware/parse-jwt.ts
• JWT cookie setter: services/madoc-ts/src/middleware/set-jwt.ts
• Token verification: services/madoc-ts/src/utility/verify-signed-token.ts

Auth Flow Summary (Based on Source)

• Strategies are registered in src/auth/index.ts and exposed via getAuthRoutes().
• GitHub auth uses koa-passport and passport-github2 in src/auth/github.ts.
• GitHub strategy is enabled only if GITHUB_CLIENT_ID, GITHUB_CLIENT_SECRET, and GITHUB_CLIENT_CALLBACK_URL are set.
• Provider login flow is handled by loginWithProvider, which:
  • Matches a federated login against the user table (federated_logins JSON column).
  • If a user is found, calls context.siteManager.getVerifiedLogin and sets context.state.authenticatedUser.
  • Redirects to / after successful login.
• JWT verification uses verifySignedToken (RS256, public key from getPublicPem).
• parseJwt middleware:
  • Reads JWT cookie for site slug routes (/s/:slug/...).
  • Refreshes expired tokens when possible via context.siteManager.refreshExpiredToken and sets new cookies.
  • For non-site routes, extracts token via getToken() and verifies it (normally gateway-verified but rechecked here).
  • Sets context.state.jwt and context.state.user when a token is valid.
  • Throws NotAuthorized if a non-site request lacks a valid token.
• setJwt middleware sets auth cookies for authenticated users when no JWT is present yet.

Quick Start Workflow

1. Inspect auth/index.ts to see registered strategies and routes.
2. If adding a provider, implement a new strategy (patterned after auth/github.ts) and include it in strategies.
3. Follow login-with-provider.ts to see how federated login is linked to a user and how session cookies are set.
4. Trace parse-jwt.ts for cookie parsing, token refresh, and fallback token verification.
5. Confirm JWT verification details in verify-signed-token.ts.

Common Tasks

• Add or update an auth provider
• Debug missing/invalid JWTs
• Adjust token refresh window or cookie naming
• Add authorization checks to a new route

Pitfalls

• Strategy enabled without required env vars (throws at register)
• Tokens verified but user state not set (check parse-jwt control flow)
• Route missing auth guard (ensure middleware coverage)

Suggested Checks

• Auth login flow success (provider callback and redirect)
• JWT verification success and context.state.jwt set
• Token refresh path works (expired cookie refreshes)