volverjs-auth-vue

name	volverjs-auth-vue
description	Integrate OAuth2 / OpenID Connect authentication into a Vue 3 app with @volverjs/auth-vue. Use when adding login/logout, the authorization-code + PKCE flow, token refresh, an access token for API calls, route guards, or reactive auth state (loggedIn/accessToken) to a Vue 3 application.

@volverjs/auth-vue is a thin, reactive Vue 3 wrapper around oauth4webapi for the OAuth 2.0 Authorization Code flow with PKCE (and OpenID Connect). It runs in the browser only and gives you reactive loggedIn / accessToken state, automatic token persistence, refresh, and logout.

Use this skill to wire it into a consuming Vue app. It does not require running this repo — it's reference for integrating the published package.

Install

pnpm add @volverjs/auth-vue   # peer dependency: vue ^3.5

Mental model

• One client holds all config and reactive state. Create it once.
• initialize() is the entry point you call on app start. After OAuth-server discovery it automatically:
  1. completes login if a ?code=... is present in the URL (returning from the IdP),
  2. otherwise refreshes the access token if a refresh token is stored,
  3. otherwise stays logged out.
• authorize() sends the user to the IdP to log in. logout() sends them to the IdP to log out.
• The refresh token, code verifier and state/nonce are persisted to localStorage by default (scoped under an oauth. key prefix).

Setup as a Vue plugin (recommended)

main.ts:

import { createOAuthClient } from '@volverjs/auth-vue'
import { createApp } from 'vue'
import App from './App.vue'

const app = createApp(App)

const auth = createOAuthClient({
    url: 'https://my-idp.example.com', // OAuth issuer (must expose /.well-known/openid-configuration)
    clientId: 'my-spa-client-id',
    scopes: 'openid profile email offline_access', // offline_access → get a refresh token
    redirectUri: `${location.origin}/callback`, // must be registered at the IdP
    postLogoutRedirectUri: location.origin,
})

// Discovery + auto-complete login if returning from the IdP, before mount.
await auth.initialize()

app.use(auth, { global: true }) // { global: true } also exposes this.$vvAuth in Options API
app.mount('#app')

Then in any component get the client with the composable:

<script setup lang="ts">
import { useOAuthClient } from '@volverjs/auth-vue'

const auth = useOAuthClient() // must be called inside setup()
// auth.loggedIn  → ComputedRef<boolean>
// auth.accessToken → readonly Ref<string | undefined>
</script>

<template>
  <button v-if="!auth.loggedIn.value" @click="auth.authorize()">Login</button>
  <button v-else @click="auth.logout()">Logout</button>
</template>

Setup as a standalone instance (no plugin)

import { OAuthClient } from '@volverjs/auth-vue'

export const auth = new OAuthClient({
    url: 'https://my-idp.example.com',
    clientId: 'my-spa-client-id',
    scopes: ['openid', 'profile'],
})

await auth.initialize()
// import { auth } wherever you need it; loggedIn/accessToken are reactive.

The login round-trip

1. User clicks Login → auth.authorize() → browser redirects to the IdP (with PKCE code_challenge, state, and nonce when openid is requested).
2. IdP redirects back to redirectUri with ?code=...&state=....
3. On that page, auth.initialize() sees the code and completes the exchange automatically — loggedIn flips to true and accessToken is populated.

If you handle the callback on a dedicated route and want to do it explicitly:

import { useOAuthClient } from '@volverjs/auth-vue'

const auth = useOAuthClient()
await auth.initialize() // discovery
await auth.handleCodeResponse(new URLSearchParams(location.search))
// then router.replace('/') to drop the ?code=... from the URL

API reference

Core members used above: await initialize() (discovery + auto login/refresh), await authorize(), await handleCodeResponse(params), await refreshToken(), logout(hint?), plus reactive loggedIn / accessToken and the initialized flag. useOAuthClient(options?) returns the installed client inside setup().

For the full option table, method signatures and the confidential-client auth helpers, read references/api.md.

Common patterns

Attach the access token to API requests (reactive — re-reads the current token):

import { useOAuthClient } from '@volverjs/auth-vue'

export function useApi() {
  const auth = useOAuthClient()
  return (input: RequestInfo, init: RequestInit = {}) =>
    fetch(input, {
      ...init,
      headers: {
        ...init.headers,
        ...(auth.accessToken.value
          ? { Authorization: `Bearer ${auth.accessToken.value}` }
          : {}),
      },
    })
}

Vue Router guard — require login, kicking off authorize() when needed:

router.beforeEach((to) => {
  const auth = /* your singleton or app-level client */
  if (to.meta.requiresAuth && !auth.loggedIn.value) {
    auth.authorize() // redirects to the IdP
    return false
  }
})

For a browser SPA, leave clientAuthentication unset (the default is a public client) and rely on PKCE — never ship a client secret to the browser. Confidential clients with a secret set clientAuthentication with a helper; see references/api.md.

Storage & security

• Default is localStorage, which survives restarts and is readable by any JS on the origin (a single XSS exposes the refresh token). Prefer storageType: 'session' when you don't need persistent, cross-tab sessions, or pass a custom storage.
• PKCE (S256) and a random state (CSRF protection) are always used; a nonce (OIDC replay protection) is added and validated only when the openid scope is requested.
• Keys are scoped under the storage base key (default oauth.), so multiple instances don't collide.

Gotchas

• Browser-only (SSR/Nuxt): the client touches document/window/Web Storage. Construction is SSR-safe, but call initialize()/authorize() on the client (e.g. onMounted, a client-only plugin, or guarded by import.meta.client).
• No refresh token? Add the offline_access scope (or the IdP's equivalent) — otherwise initialize() can't restore a session after reload and the user must log in again.
• openid requires an id_token: when the openid scope is set, the token response must include a (signed) id_token or the exchange fails. Standard IdPs do this; bare OAuth2 servers may not — drop openid for pure OAuth2.
• redirectUri mismatch is the most common setup error: it must exactly match what's registered at the IdP.
• Clean the URL after login: ?code=...&state=... stays in the address bar after initialize() completes the exchange; router.replace(location.pathname) to remove it.
• Reactivity: in <script> use auth.loggedIn.value / auth.accessToken.value; in <template> they auto-unwrap.

Migrating from 0.0.x

Upgrading an existing integration? The breaking change is tokenEndpointAuthMethod (a string) → clientAuthentication (a helper). Full mapping and other changes (oauth4webapi 3.x, Node ≥ 20, state/nonce) in references/migration.md.