Question appeared while integrating Spotify API into Nodejs Express web application using spotify-web-api-node. How multiple simultaneous user requests should be handled? After passing the authentication step, user receives access_token, which is different for each user. Each request can have a session, for example using express-session since access_token is unique for each authenticated user. The weird thing is that I can't find an example with proper session usage in the description and samples https://www.npmjs.com/package/spotify-web-api-node where spotify-web-api-node is used. How is that possible to use global variable without session? Would it make full mess among separate user requests or I'm missing something? I guess that the access_token would be always replaced with latest authenticated user. Another usage example is here https://github.com/thelinmichael/spotify-web-api-node, though it also suggests to use one global instance.
the solution is to store the access_token and refresh_token after successful authentication in the session storage, than before calling Spotify API endpoints set both tokens for the current user from the present session:
saving tokens in the session after successful authentication:
app.get('/login', (req,res) => {
var scopes = [ ... ]
var authUrl = spotifyApi.createAuthorizeURL(scopes)
res.redirect(authUrl+"&show_dialog=true")
})
app.get('/callback', async (req, res) => {
const { code } = req.query
try {
var data = await spotifyApi.authorizationCodeGrant(code)
const { access_token, refresh_token } = data.body
spotifyApi.setAccessToken(access_token)
spotifyApi.setRefreshToken(refresh_token)
req.session.spotifyAccount = { access_token, refresh_token }
res.redirect('...')
} catch(err) {
res.send(`error ${err}`)
}
});
app.get('/userinfo', async (req,res) => {
try {
spotifyApi.setAccessToken(req.session.spotifyAccount["access_token"])
spotifyApi.setRefreshToken(req.session.spotifyAccount["refresh_token"])
var result = await spotifyApi.getMe()
console.log(result.body);
res.status(200).send(result.body)
} catch (err) {
res.status(400).send(err)
}
});
since access_token is only identification key which identifies any API request, that ensures that API endpoints are called for the current user. This technique prevents mess and confusion, so that each user can see and manipulate his data only.
Related
At the time of signup and login I want to send User's data along with JWT so that I can update current users profile data.
router.post('/signup', (req, res) => {
let userData = req.body;
let user = new User(userData);
user.save((err, registeredUser) => {
if(err) {
console.log(err);
}else{
let payload = { subject : registeredUser._id }
let token = jwt.sign(payload, 'abcd');
res.status(200).send({token});
}
});
});
How can I send registeredUser object along with token.
Two ways :
Simple and crude: res.status(200).send({token, user})
Expose custom headers from your backend and send the token as part of the response. Then you can use the response body to simply send the user/resource data. res.status(200).send({user}).
Usually #2 is a better design, since the token is more like a auth/session information and can be intercepted using custom middleware/filters (eg:PassportJS) on the backend and always attached as part of the request headers from the front-end using Angular interceptors.
Express config options: headers.https://expressjs.com/en/resources/middleware/cors.html#configuration-options
So far I have only dealt with server-rendered apps, where after a user logs in via username/password or using an OAuth provider (Facebook etc.), the server just sets a session cookie while redirecting to the relevant page.
However now I'm attempting to build an app using a more 'modern' approach, with React on the frontend and a JSON API backend. Apparently the standard choice for this is to use a JSON web token for authentication, however I'm having trouble working out how I'm meant to provide the JWT to the client so it can be stored in session/local storage or wherever.
Example to illustrate better:
User clicks link (/auth/facebook) to log in via Facebook
User is redirected and shown Facebook login form and/or permission dialog (if necessary)
Facebook redirects user back to /auth/facebook/callback with an authorization code in tow, the server exchanges this for an access token and some information about the user
Server finds or creates the user in the DB using the info, then creates a JWT containing a relevant subset of the user data (e.g. ID)
???
At this point I just want the user to be redirected to the main page for the React app (let's say /app) with the JWT in tow, so the frontend can take over. But I can't think of an (elegant) way to do that without losing the JWT along the way, other than to put it in the query string for the redirect (/app?authtoken=...) - but that will display in the address bar until I remove it manually using replaceState() or whatever, and seems a little weird to me.
Really I'm just wondering how this is typically done, and I'm almost sure I'm missing something here. The server is Node (Koa with Passport), if that helps.
Edit: To be clear, I'm asking what the best way is to provide a token to the client (so it can be saved) after an OAuth redirect flow using Passport.
I recently ran across this same issue, and, not finding a solution here or elsewhere, wrote this blog post with my in-depth thoughts.
TL;DR: I came up with 3 possible approaches to send the JWT to the client after OAuth logins/redirects:
Save the JWT in a cookie, then extract it on the front-end or server in a future step (eg. extract it on the client with JS, or send a request to the server, server uses the cookie to get the JWT, returns the JWT).
Send the JWT back as part of the query string (which you suggest in your question).
Send back a server-rendered HTML page with a <script> tag that:
Automatically saves the embedded JWT to localStorage
Automatically redirects the client to whatever page you like after that.
(Since logging in with JWTs is essentially equivalent to "saving the JWT to localStorage, my favorite option was #3, but it's possible there are downsides I haven't considered. I'm interested in hearing what others think here.)
Hope that helps!
Client: Open a popup window via $auth.authenticate('provider name').
Client: Sign in with that provider, if necessary, then authorize the application.
Client: After successful authorization, the popup is redirected back to your app, e.g. http://localhost:3000, with the code (authorization code) query string parameter.
Client: The code parameter is sent back to the parent window that opened the popup.
Client: Parent window closes the popup and sends a POST request to /auth/provider withcode parameter.
Server: Authorization code is exchanged for access token.
Server: User information is retrived using the access token from Step 6.
Server: Look up the user by their unique Provider ID. If user already exists, grab the existing user, otherwise create a new user account.
Server: In both cases of Step 8, create a JSON Web Token and send it back to the client.
Client: Parse the token and save it to Local Storage for subsequent use after page reload.
Log out
Client: Remove token from Local Storage
here is a login request from the server side. it's storing the token in the header:
router.post('/api/users/login', function (req, res) {
var body = _.pick(req.body, 'username', 'password');
var userInfo;
models.User.authenticate(body).then(function (user) {
var token = user.generateToken('authentication');
userInfo = user;
return models.Token.create({
token: token
});
}).then(function (tokenInstance) {
res.header('Auth', tokenInstance.get('token')).json(userInfo.toPublicJSON());
}).catch(function () {
res.status(401).send();
});
});
here is the login request on the react side, where I am grabbing the token from the header and setting the token in local storage once the username and password pass authentication:
handleNewData (creds) {
const { authenticated } = this.state;
const loginUser = {
username: creds.username,
password: creds.password
}
fetch('/api/users/login', {
method: 'post',
body: JSON.stringify(loginUser),
headers: {
'Authorization': 'Basic'+btoa('username:password'),
'content-type': 'application/json',
'accept': 'application/json'
},
credentials: 'include'
}).then((response) => {
if (response.statusText === "OK"){
localStorage.setItem('token', response.headers.get('Auth'));
browserHistory.push('route');
response.json();
} else {
alert ('Incorrect Login Credentials');
}
})
}
When you get a token from any passport authentication sites you have to save the token in your browser's localStorage. The Dispatch is Redux's Middleware. Ignore dispatch if you don't use redux in your app. you can just use setState here (A bit weird without redux).
Client-side:
Here's something similar API of mine, which returns token.
saving tokens
axios.post(`${ROOT_URL}/api/signin`, { email, password })
.then(response => {
dispatch({ type: AUTH_USER }); //setting state (Redux's Style)
localStorage.setItem('token', response.data.token); //saving token
browserHistory.push('/home'); //pushes back the user after storing token
})
.catch(error => {
var ERROR_DATA;
try{
ERROR_DATA = JSON.parse(error.response.request.response).error;
}
catch(error) {
ERROR_DATA = 'SOMETHING WENT WRONG';
}
dispatch(authError(ERROR_DATA)); //throw error (Redux's Style)
});
So When you make some authenticated requests,you have to attach the token with the request in this form.
authenticated requests
axios.get(`${ROOT_URL}/api/blog/${blogId}`, {
headers: { authorization: localStorage.getItem('token') }
//take the token from localStorage and put it on headers ('authorization is my own header')
})
.then(response => {
dispatch({
type: FETCH_BLOG,
payload: response.data
});
})
.catch(error => {
console.log(error);
});
Here's my index.js:
The token is checked each and everytime, so even if the browser got refreshed, you can still set the state.
checks if the user is authenticated
const token = localStorage.getItem('token');
if (token) {
store.dispatch({ type: AUTH_USER })
}
ReactDOM.render(
<Provider store={store}>
<Router history={browserHistory}>
<Route path="/" component={App}>
..
..
..
<Route path="/blog/:blogid" component={RequireAuth(Blog)} />
//ignore this requireAuth - that's another component, checks if a user is authenticated. if not pushes to the index route
</Route>
</Router>
</Provider>
, document.querySelector('.container'));
All that dispach actions does is it sets the state.
my reducer file(Redux only) else you can just use setState() in your index route file to provide the state to the whole application. Every time the dispatch is called, it runs a similar reducer file like this which sets the state.
setting the state
import { AUTH_USER, UNAUTH_USER, AUTH_ERROR } from '../actions/types';
export default function(state = {}, action) {
switch(action.type) {
case AUTH_USER:
return { ...state, error: '', authenticated: true };
case UNAUTH_USER:
return { ...state, error: '', authenticated: false };
case AUTH_ERROR:
return { ...state, error: action.payload };
}
return state;
} //you can skip this and use setState() in your index route instead
Delete the token from your localStorage to logout.
caution: Use any different name rather than token to save the token in your browser's localStorage
Server-Side:
considering your passport services file. You must set the header search.
Here's passport.js
const passport = require('passport');
const ExtractJwt = require('passport-jwt').ExtractJwt;
const JwtStrategy = require('passport-jwt').Strategy;
..
..
..
..
const jwtOptions = {
jwtFromRequest: ExtractJwt.fromHeader('authorization'), //client's side must specify this header
secretOrKey: config.secret
};
const JWTVerify = new JwtStrategy(jwtOptions, (payload, done) => {
User.findById(payload._id, (err, user) => {
if (err) { done(err, null); }
if (user) {
done(null, user);
} else {
done(null, false);
}
});
});
passport.use(JWTVerify);
In my router.js
const passportService = require('./services/passport');
const requireAuthentication = passport.authenticate('jwt', { session: false });
..
..
..
//for example the api router the above react action used
app.get('/api/blog/:blogId', requireAuthentication, BlogController.getBlog);
I have a slight problem, and it seems to be an easy one, but I cannot seem to wrap my head around what to do.
I have an express app, that uses Firebase to store data. I am able to login, register and log out trough a client side script, but my problem is: How do I check via express if a user is logged in, to be able to send a different page to the logged in users?
This is my code so far:
var firebase = require('firebase');
// Initialize Firebase
var config = {
serviceAccount: "./Chat Application-ad4eaaee3fcc.json",
databaseURL: "MY_DATABASE_URL"
};
firebase.initializeApp(config);
and then I want to show a special page for logged in users, and this is what I have tried:
router.get("/special-page", function(req, res, next) {
var user = firebase.auth().currentUser;
console.log(user); // this variable gets undefined
if(user) {
res.render("special-page");
} else {
res.redirect("/");
}
});
I know this might seem like an easy question, but any help would be much appreciated!
Thanks in advance.
The user side, and server side, are completely different execution areas. Hence, as you probably guessed, calling firebase.auth().currentUser on the server cannot work if the authentication occurred on the client.
The server process just does not have this information, unless the client tells him.
You could just have a request header telling "i am logged as XXX", but it would not be secure, because the server would not be able to verify that information, and a malicious user could pretend to be another one.
The only solution to this, in your use case, is to provide the Firebase token to the server, and then the server needs to verify this token against firebase server, and only then it will be 100% sure about the client authentication.
I needed that in my React app for Server Side Rendering, here is how I did it.
Upon user authentication, set a cookie that contains the firebase token
Unset the cookie when the users logs out
In the server, read the cookie to authenticate client user at each request
Code in the client :
const setAppCookie = () => firebase.auth().currentUser &&
firebase.auth().currentUser.getToken().then(token => {
cookies.set('token', token, {
domain: window.location.hostname,
expire: 1 / 24, // One hour
path: '/',
secure: true // If served over HTTPS
});
});
const unsetAppCookie = () =>
cookies.remove('token', {
domain: window.location.hostname,
path: '/',
});
// triggered by firebase auth changes, this is where you deal
// with your users authentication in your app
fbAuth.onAuthStateChanged(user => {
if (!user) {
// user is logged out
return;
}
// user is logged in
setAppCookie();
// Reset cookie before hour expires
// (firebase tokens are short lived, say the docs)
setInterval(setAppCookie, 3500);
});
[...]
// In the logout code
unsetAppCookie();
Code in the server:
// Before serving express app, enable cookie parsing
app.use(cookieParser());
// In the code dealing with your requests
const { token } = req.cookies;
if (!token) {
// renderWithoutUser();
}
//
// If user found in cookie, verify the token and render with logged in store
//
console.log('Verifying token', token);
firebase.auth().verifyIdToken(token)
.then(decodedToken => {
const uid = decodedToken.sub;
console.log('User is authenticated for this request', uid);
// renderWithUser();
})
.catch(err => {
console.error('WARNING token invalid or user not found', err);
// renderWithoutUser();
});
I'm using JWT ("jsonwebtoken": "^5.4.0") with express 4 and jade.
I'm able to create the right Token, but How can i Pass this token in each call?
Where I have to store this token ? in headers or in localStorage?
For now I'm using CURL with Postman, and Set token in header in
x-access-token
Have I Do create a middleware that retrieve a token from Database and use this in each call?
thanks
You do not need to save and check the token from the database. This token such a mechanism can be decoded with only your-server, and if it was done that the token is valid. The code that you want to do should look like.
var cookieParser = require('cookie-parser')
app.use(cookieParser())
app.get('/login', function(req, res, next) {
var user = {name:'test'}; //!! find the user and check user from db then
var token = jwt.sign(user, 'secret', {
expiresInMinutes: 1440
});
res.cookie('auth',token);
res.send('ok');
});
app.use(function(req, res, next) {
var token = req.cookies.auth;
// decode token
if (token) {
jwt.verify(token, 'secret', function(err, token_data) {
if (err) {
return res.status(403).send('Error');
} else {
req.user_data = token_data;
next();
}
});
} else {
return res.status(403).send('No token');
}
});
Here you can find very nice article : https://scotch.io/tutorials/authenticate-a-node-js-api-with-json-web-tokens
I would recommend checking this out if you want local storage: https://www.npmjs.com/package/node-localstorage
But, with that said, you guys and girls wouldn't believe how long it took me to find res.cookie('auth' token) from the above answer. I scoured Google for hours, Passport docs, Express docs, GraphQL and authentication/authorization docs in an effort to find out how to get the token to the API in a stateless manner.
I already built JWT token security and secured my GraphQL resolvers with it, but then, I opted to use EJS along with graphql-request (approx same as Apollo Client), so I needed to find a way to pass the token to my middleware without using a server side session.
Storing a JWT token in cookies is fine especially if you take extra precautions such as signing the cookie, and I recall there are also options you can include that keep the cookie secure, so that other sites cannot see it if the "browser" allows access to cookies. If a cookie is signed with your server secret, the data inside the cookie simply cannot be altered and still be valid. The risk is always still someone leaking their token/cookie, and if that bothers you, do research into refresh tokens. However, API tokens are generally and should be kept tightly secret and safe. Your biggest annoyance will more likely be the requirement to maintain a blacklist of JWTs that expire a year from now if you set expiry to 1y.
I am just including my findings here because this question is actually a rare resource it seems...
Here is my Express middleware for authentication:
// AUTHENTICATION
app.use(async (req) => {
try {
const token = req.headers.authorization || req.cookies.auth
const { person } = await jwt.verify(token, SECRET)
req.person = person
return req.next()
} catch (e) {
return req.next()
}
})
You can see I am setting the token from the header with cookie as fallback. This supports my needs fine and allows me to use really any client with stateless security.
My logged in user is available as req.person in my views and GraphQL resolvers. If req.person is not set, the user is treated as not-logged-in.
I am using return req.next() which is important to note because calling next() without parameters is treated as "clean go-to next middleware and/or proceed to process request". If you include any string or object parameter, it will throw an error that can bubble down to your error handling middleware. You can try it yourself. Put return next('You are not authenticated.') in the catch block and you will see it halt the request before your route.
I use return next() because I handle authorization in the routes and in my resolvers. It allows more flexibility such as facilitating register and login mutations to be accessed by non-authenticated users.
Here is my GraphQL endpoint (I am using Apollo Server):
app.use('/graphql', bodyParser.json(), graphqlExpress((req) => {
const context = {
person: req.person
}
return {
schema,
context,
rootValue: null
}
}))
In my GraphQL resolvers, the third parameter of every query has context.person populated with req.person which comes from the above Authentication middleware.
That is really all a person needs to know.
Here is how I am using the NPM package called graphql-request:
https://www.npmjs.com/package/graphql-request
app.get('/allpeople', async (req, res) => {
try {
const client = new GraphQLClient(GRAPHQL_ENDPOINT, {
headers: { Authorization: req.headers.authorization || req.cookies.auth }
})
const query = `query allPeople($serialNumber: String!) {
allPeople(serialNumber: $serialNumber) {
id
created
status
email
}
}`
const variables = {
serialNumber: req.person
}
const response = await client.request(query, variables)
res.render('allpeople/list', { people: response.allPeople })
} catch (e) {
throw [`allPeople`, `${JSON.stringify(error, null, 2)}`]
}
})
I include this code because there are no "more advanced" example usages of graphql-request, and I like it so far. It is very concise and could easily be swapped out for Apollo Client if you venture into React.js. My examples here are also very relevant for anyone researching createNetworkInterface and new ApolloClient().
What is the best way (most secure and easiest) to authenticate a user for a server side route?
Software/Versions
I'm using the latest Iron Router 1.* and Meteor 1.* and to begin, I'm just using accounts-password.
Reference code
I have a simple server side route that renders a pdf to the screen:
both/routes.js
Router.route('/pdf-server', function() {
var filePath = process.env.PWD + "/server/.files/users/test.pdf";
console.log(filePath);
var fs = Npm.require('fs');
var data = fs.readFileSync(filePath);
this.response.write(data);
this.response.end();
}, {where: 'server'});
As an example, I'd like to do something close to what this SO answer suggested:
On the server:
var Secrets = new Meteor.Collection("secrets");
Meteor.methods({
getSecretKey: function () {
if (!this.userId)
// check if the user has privileges
throw Meteor.Error(403);
return Secrets.insert({_id: Random.id(), user: this.userId});
},
});
And then in client code:
testController.events({
'click button[name=get-pdf]': function () {
Meteor.call("getSecretKey", function (error, response) {
if (error) throw error;
if (response)
Router.go('/pdf-server');
});
}
});
But even if I somehow got this method working, I'd still be vulnerable to users just putting in a URL like '/pdf-server' unless the route itself somehow checked the Secrets collection right?
In the Route, I could get the request, and somehow get the header information?
Router.route('/pdf-server', function() {
var req = this.request;
var res = this.response;
}, {where: 'server'});
And from the client pass a token over the HTTP header, and then in the route check if the token is good from the Collection?
In addition to using url tokens as the other answer you could also use cookies:
Add in some packages that allow you to set cookies and read them server side:
meteor add mrt:cookies thepumpinglemma:cookies
Then you could have something that syncs the cookies up with your login status
Client Side
Tracker.autorun(function() {
//Update the cookie whenever they log in or out
Cookie.set("meteor_user_id", Meteor.userId());
Cookie.set("meteor_token", localStorage.getItem("Meteor.loginToken"));
});
Server Side
On the server side you just need to check this cookie is valid (with iron router)
Router.route('/somepath/:fileid', function() {
//Check the values in the cookies
var cookies = new Cookies( this.request ),
userId = cookies.get("meteor_user_id") || "",
token = cookies.get("meteor_token") || "";
//Check a valid user with this token exists
var user = Meteor.users.findOne({
_id: userId,
'services.resume.loginTokens.hashedToken' : Accounts._hashLoginToken(token)
});
//If they're not logged in tell them
if(!user) return this.response.end("Not allowed");
//Theyre logged in!
this.response.end("You're logged in!");
}, {where:'server'});
I think I have a secure and easy solution for doing this from within IronRouter.route(). The request must be made with a valid user ID and auth token in the header. I call this function from within Router.route(), which then gives me access to this.user, or responds with a 401 if the authentication fails:
// Verify the request is being made by an actively logged in user
// #context: IronRouter.Router.route()
authenticate = ->
// Get the auth info from header
userId = this.request.headers['x-user-id']
loginToken = this.request.headers['x-auth-token']
// Get the user from the database
if userId and loginToken
user = Meteor.users.findOne {'_id': userId, 'services.resume.loginTokens.token': loginToken}
// Return an error if the login token does not match any belonging to the user
if not user
respond.call this, {success: false, message: "You must be logged in to do this."}, 401
// Attach the user to the context so they can be accessed at this.user within route
this.user = user
// Respond to an HTTP request
// #context: IronRouter.Router.route()
respond = (body, statusCode=200, headers) ->
this.response.statusCode statusCode
this.response.setHeader 'Content-Type', 'text/json'
this.response.writeHead statusCode, headers
this.response.write JSON.stringify(body)
this.response.end()
And something like this from the client:
Meteor.startup ->
HTTP.get "http://yoursite.com/pdf-server",
headers:
'X-Auth-Token': Accounts._storedLoginToken()
'X-User-Id': Meteor.userId()
(error, result) -> // This callback triggered once http response received
console.log result
This code was heavily inspired by RestStop and RestStop2. It's part of a meteor package for writing REST APIs in Meteor 0.9.0+ (built on top of Iron Router). You can check out the complete source code here:
https://github.com/krose72205/meteor-restivus
Because server-side routes act as simple REST endpoints, they don't have access to user authentication data (e.g. they can't call Meteor.user()). Therefore you need to devise an alternative authentication scheme. The most straightforward way to accomplish this is with some form of key exchange as discussed here and here.
Example implementation:
server/app.js
// whenever the user logs in, update her apiKey
Accounts.onLogin(function(info) {
// generate a new apiKey
var apiKey = Random.id();
// add the apiKey to the user's document
Meteor.users.update(info.user._id, {$set: {apiKey: apiKey}});
});
// auto-publish the current user's apiKey
Meteor.publish(null, function() {
return Meteor.users.find(this.userId, {fields: {apiKey: 1}});
});
lib/routes.js
// example route using the apiKey
Router.route('/secret/:apiKey', {name: 'secret', where: 'server'})
.get(function() {
// fetch the user with this key
// note you may want to add an index on apiKey so this is fast
var user = Meteor.users.findOne({apiKey: this.params.apiKey});
if (user) {
// we have authenticated the user - do something useful here
this.response.statusCode = 200;
return this.response.end('ok');
} else {
// the key is invalid or not provided so return an error
this.response.statusCode = 403;
return this.response.end('not allowed');
}
});
client/app.html
<template name="myTemplate">
{{#with currentUser}}
secret
{{/with}}
</template>
Notes
Make /secret only accessible via HTTPS.
While it's very likely that the user requesting /secret is currently connected, there is no guarantee that she is. The user could have logged in, copied her key, closed the tab, and initiated the request sometime later.
This is a simple means of user authentication. I would explore more sophisticated mechanisms (see the links above) if the server-route reveals high-value data (SSNs, credit cards, etc.).
See this question for more details on sending static content from the server.
I truly believe using HTTP headers are the best solution to this problem because they're simple and don't require messing about with cookies or developing a new authentication scheme.
I loved #kahmali's answer, so I wrote it to work with WebApp and a simple XMLHttpRequest. This has been tested on Meteor 1.6.
Client
import { Meteor } from 'meteor/meteor';
import { Accounts } from 'meteor/accounts-base';
// Skipping ahead to the upload logic
const xhr = new XMLHttpRequest();
const form = new FormData();
// Add files
files.forEach((file) => {
form.append(file.name,
// So BusBoy sees as file instead of field, use Blob
new Blob([file.data], { type: 'text/plain' })); // w/e your mime type is
});
// XHR progress, load, error, and readystatechange event listeners here
// Open Connection
xhr.open('POST', '/path/to/upload', true);
// Meteor authentication details (must happen *after* xhr.open)
xhr.setRequestHeader('X-Auth-Token', Accounts._storedLoginToken());
xhr.setRequestHeader('X-User-Id', Meteor.userId());
// Send
xhr.send(form);
Server
import { Meteor } from 'meteor/meteor';
import { WebApp } from 'meteor/webapp';
import { Roles } from 'meteor/alanning:roles'; // optional
const BusBoy = require('connect-busboy');
const crypto = require('crypto'); // built-in Node library
WebApp.connectHandlers
.use(BusBoy())
.use('/path/to/upload', (req, res) => {
const user = req.headers['x-user-id'];
// We have to get a base64 digest of the sha256 hashed login token
// I'm not sure when Meteor changed to hashed tokens, but this is
// one of the major differences from #kahmali's answer
const hash = crypto.createHash('sha256');
hash.update(req.headers['x-auth-token']);
// Authentication (is user logged-in)
if (!Meteor.users.findOne({
_id: user,
'services.resume.loginTokens.hashedToken': hash.digest('base64'),
})) {
// User not logged in; 401 Unauthorized
res.writeHead(401);
res.end();
return;
}
// Authorization
if (!Roles.userIsInRole(user, 'whatever')) {
// User is not authorized; 403 Forbidden
res.writeHead(403);
res.end();
return;
}
if (req.busboy) {
// Handle file upload
res.writeHead(201); // eventually
res.end();
} else {
// Something went wrong
res.writeHead(500); // server error
res.end();
}
});
I hope this helps someone!
Since Meteor doesn't use session cookies, client must explicitly include some sort of user identification when making a HTTP request to a server route.
The easiest way to do it is to pass userId in the query string of the URL. Obviously, you also need to add a security token that will prove that the user is really who the claim they are. Obtaining this token can be done via a Meteor method.
Meteor by itself doesn't provide such mechanism, so you need some custom implementation. I wrote a Meteor package called mhagmajer:server-route which was thoroughly tested. You can learn more about it here: https://blog.hagmajer.com/server-side-routing-with-authentication-in-meteor-6625ed832a94