How to build WeChat (Native) sign-in with Java Spring Boot

For our new friends:

Logto is an Auth0 alternative designed for modern apps and SaaS products. It offers both Cloud and Open-source services to help you quickly launch your identity and management (IAM) system. Enjoy authentication, authorization, and multi-tenant management all in one.

We recommend starting with a free development tenant on Logto Cloud. This allows you to explore all the features easily.

In this article, we will go through the steps to quickly build the WeChat (Native) sign-in experience (user authentication) with Java Spring Boot and Logto.

Prerequisites

A running Logto instance. Check out the introduction page to get started.
Basic knowledge of Java Spring Boot.
A usable WeChat (Native) account.

Create an application in Logto

Logto is based on OpenID Connect (OIDC) authentication and OAuth 2.0 authorization. It supports federated identity management across multiple applications, commonly called Single Sign-On (SSO).

To create your Traditional web application, simply follow these steps:

Open the Logto Console. In the "Get started" section, click the "View all" link to open the application frameworks list. Alternatively, you can navigate to Logto Console > Applications, and click the "Create application" button.
In the opening modal, click the "Traditional web" section or filter all the available "Traditional web" frameworks using the quick filter checkboxes on the left. Click the "Java Spring Boot" framework card to start creating your application.
Enter the application name, e.g., "Bookstore," and click "Create application".

🎉 Ta-da! You just created your first application in Logto. You'll see a congrats page which includes a detailed integration guide. Follow the guide to see what the experience will be in your application.

Integrate Java Spring Boot with Logto

tip:

You may find the sample code for this guide in our spring-boot-sample github repository.
No official SDK is required to integrate Logto with your Java Spring Boot application. We will use the Spring Security and Spring Security OAuth2 libraries to handle the OIDC authentication flow with Logto.

Configure your Java Spring Boot application

Adding dependencies

For gradle users, add the following dependencies to your build.gradle file:

build.gradle
dependencies {
  implementation 'org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-thymeleaf'
	implementation 'org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-web'
  implementation 'org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-security'
	implementation 'org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-oauth2-client'
}

For maven users, add the following dependencies to your pom.xml file:

pom.xml
<dependency>
  <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
  <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-thymeleaf</artifactId>
</dependency>
<dependency>
  <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
  <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-web</artifactId>
</dependency>
<dependency>
  <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
  <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-security</artifactId>
</dependency>
<dependency>
  <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
  <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-oauth2-client</artifactId>
</dependency>

OAuth2 Client Configuration

Register a new Java Spring Boot application in Logto Console and get the client credential and IdP configurations for your web application.

Add the following configuration to your application.properties file:

application.properties
spring.security.oauth2.client.registration.logto.client-name=logto
spring.security.oauth2.client.registration.logto.client-id={{YOUR_CLIENT_ID}}
spring.security.oauth2.client.registration.logto.client-secret={{YOUR_CLIENT_ID}}
spring.security.oauth2.client.registration.logto.redirect-uri={baseUrl}/login/oauth2/code/{registrationId}
spring.security.oauth2.client.registration.logto.authorization-grant-type=authorization_code
spring.security.oauth2.client.registration.logto.scope=openid,profile,offline_access
spring.security.oauth2.client.registration.logto.provider=logto

spring.security.oauth2.client.provider.logto.issuer-uri={{LOGTO_ENDPOINT}}/oidc
spring.security.oauth2.client.provider.logto.authorization-uri={{LOGTO_ENDPOINT}}/oidc/auth
spring.security.oauth2.client.provider.logto.jwk-set-uri={{LOGTO_ENDPOINT}}/oidc/jwks

Implementation

Before we dive into the details, here's a quick overview of the end-user experience. The sign-in process can be simplified as follows:

Your app invokes the sign-in method.
The user is redirected to the Logto sign-in page. For native apps, the system browser is opened.
The user signs in and is redirected back to your app (configured as the redirect URI).

This authentication process follows the OpenID Connect (OIDC) protocol, and Logto enforces strict security measures to protect user sign-in.
If you have multiple apps, you can use the same identity provider (Logto). Once the user signs in to one app, Logto will automatically complete the sign-in process when the user accesses another app.

To learn more about the rationale and benefits of redirect-based sign-in, see Logto sign-in experience explained.

In order to redirect users back to your application after they sign in, you need to set the redirect URI using the client.registration.logto.redirect-uri property in the previous step.

Configure redirect URIs

Switch to the application details page of Logto Console. Add a redirect URI http://localhost:3000/callback.

Just like signing in, users should be redirected to Logto for signing out of the shared session. Once finished, it would be great to redirect the user back to your website. For example, add http://localhost:3000/ as the post sign-out redirect URI section.

Then click "Save" to save the changes.

Implement the WebSecurityConfig

Create a new class `WebSecurityConfig` in your project

The WebSecurityConfig class will be used to configure the security settings for your application. It is the key class that will handle the authentication and authorization flow. Please check the Spring Security documentation for more details.

WebSecurityConfig.java
package com.example.securingweb;

import org.springframework.context.annotation.Configuration;
import org.springframework.security.config.annotation.web.configuration.EnableWebSecurity;

@Configuration
@EnableWebSecurity

public class WebSecurityConfig {
 // ...
}

Create a `idTokenDecoderFactory` bean

This is required because Logto uses ES384 as the default algorithm, we need to overwrite the default OidcIdTokenDecoderFactory to use the same algorithm.

WebSecurityConfig.java
import org.springframework.context.annotation.Bean;
import org.springframework.security.oauth2.client.oidc.authentication.OidcIdTokenDecoderFactory;
import org.springframework.security.oauth2.client.registration.ClientRegistration;
import org.springframework.security.oauth2.jose.jws.SignatureAlgorithm;
import org.springframework.security.oauth2.jwt.JwtDecoderFactory;

public class WebSecurityConfig {
  // ...

  @Bean
  public JwtDecoderFactory<ClientRegistration> idTokenDecoderFactory() {
    OidcIdTokenDecoderFactory idTokenDecoderFactory = new OidcIdTokenDecoderFactory();
    idTokenDecoderFactory.setJwsAlgorithmResolver(clientRegistration -> SignatureAlgorithm.ES384);
    return idTokenDecoderFactory;
  }
}

We will redirect the user to the /user page after a successful login.

CustomSuccessHandler.java
package com.example.securingweb;

import java.io.IOException;

import org.springframework.security.core.Authentication;
import org.springframework.security.web.authentication.AuthenticationSuccessHandler;

import jakarta.servlet.ServletException;
import jakarta.servlet.http.HttpServletRequest;
import jakarta.servlet.http.HttpServletResponse;

public class CustomSuccessHandler implements AuthenticationSuccessHandler {
  @Override
  public void onAuthenticationSuccess(HttpServletRequest request, HttpServletResponse response,
      Authentication authentication) throws IOException, ServletException {
    response.sendRedirect("/user");
  }
}

Create a LogoutSuccessHandler class to handle the logout success event

Clear the session and redirect the user to the home page.

CustomLogoutHandler.java
package com.example.securingweb;

import java.io.IOException;

import org.springframework.security.core.Authentication;
import org.springframework.security.web.authentication.logout.LogoutSuccessHandler;

import jakarta.servlet.ServletException;
import jakarta.servlet.http.HttpServletRequest;
import jakarta.servlet.http.HttpServletResponse;
import jakarta.servlet.http.HttpSession;

public class CustomLogoutHandler implements LogoutSuccessHandler {
  @Override
  public void onLogoutSuccess(HttpServletRequest request, HttpServletResponse response, Authentication authentication)
      throws IOException, ServletException {
    HttpSession session = request.getSession();

    if (session != null) {
      session.invalidate();
    }

    response.sendRedirect("/home");
  }
}

Update the `WebSecurityConfig` class with a `securityFilterChain`

securityFilterChain is a chain of filters that are responsible for processing the incoming requests and responses.

We will configure the securityFilterChain to allow access to the home page and require authentication for all other requests. Use the CustomSuccessHandler and CustomLogoutHandler to handle the login and logout events.

WebSecurityConfig.java
import org.springframework.context.annotation.Bean;
import org.springframework.security.config.annotation.web.builders.HttpSecurity;
import org.springframework.security.web.DefaultSecurityFilterChain;

public class WebSecurityConfig {
  // ...

  @Bean
  public DefaultSecurityFilterChain securityFilterChain(HttpSecurity http) throws Exception {
    http
      .authorizeRequests(authorizeRequests ->
        authorizeRequests
          .antMatchers("/", "/home").permitAll() // Allow access to the home page
          .anyRequest().authenticated() // All other requests require authentication
      )
      .oauth2Login(oauth2Login ->
        oauth2Login
          .successHandler(new CustomSuccessHandler())
      )
      .logout(logout ->
        logout
          .logoutSuccessHandler(new CustomLogoutHandler())
      );
    return http.build();
  }
}

Create a home page

(You may skip this step if you already have a home page in your project)

HomeController.java
package com.example.securingweb;

import java.security.Principal;

import org.springframework.stereotype.Controller;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.GetMapping;

@Controller
public class HomeController {
  @GetMapping({ "/", "/home" })
  public String home(Principal principal) {
    return principal != null ? "redirect:/user" : "home";
  }
}

This controller will redirect the user to the user page if the user is authenticated, otherwise, it will show the home page. Add a sign-in link to the home page.

resources/templates/home.html
<body>
  <h1>Welcome!</h1>

  <p><a th:href="@{/oauth2/authorization/logto}">Login with Logto</a></p>
</body>

Create a user page

Create a new controller to handle the user page:

UserController.java
package com.example.securingweb;

import java.security.Principal;
import java.util.Map;

import org.springframework.security.oauth2.client.authentication.OAuth2AuthenticationToken;
import org.springframework.security.oauth2.core.user.OAuth2User;
import org.springframework.stereotype.Controller;
import org.springframework.ui.Model;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.GetMapping;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RequestMapping;

@Controller
@RequestMapping("/user")
public class UserController {

  @GetMapping
  public String user(Model model, Principal principal) {
    if (principal instanceof OAuth2AuthenticationToken) {
      OAuth2AuthenticationToken token = (OAuth2AuthenticationToken) principal;
      OAuth2User oauth2User = token.getPrincipal();
      Map<String, Object> attributes = oauth2User.getAttributes();

      model.addAttribute("username", attributes.get("username"));
      model.addAttribute("email", attributes.get("email"));
      model.addAttribute("sub", attributes.get("sub"));
    }

    return "user";
  }
}

Once the user is authenticated, we will retrieve the OAuth2User data from the authenticated principal object. Please refer OAuth2AuthenticationToken and OAuth2User for more details.

Read the user data and pass it to the user.html template.

resources/templates/user.html
<body>
  <h1>User Details</h1>
  <div>
    <p>
    <div><strong>name:</strong> <span th:text="${username}"></span></div>
    <div><strong>email:</strong> <span th:text="${email}"></span></div>
    <div><strong>id:</strong> <span th:text="${sub}"></span></div>
    </p>
  </div>

  <form th:action="@{/logout}" method="post">
    <input type="submit" value="Logout" />
  </form>
</body>

Request additional claims

You may find some user information are missing in the returned object from principal (OAuth2AuthenticationToken). This is because OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect (OIDC) are designed to follow the principle of least privilege (PoLP), and Logto is built on top of these standards.

By default, limited claims are returned. If you need more information, you can request additional scopes to access more claims.

info:

A "claim" is an assertion made about a subject; a "scope" is a group of claims. In the current case, a claim is a piece of information about the user.

Here's a non-normative example the scope - claim relationship:

tip:

The "sub" claim means "subject", which is the unique identifier of the user (i.e. user ID).

Logto SDK will always request three scopes: openid, profile, and offline_access.

To retrieve additional user information, you can add extra scopes to the application.properties file. For example, to request the email, phone, and urn:logto:scope:organizations scope, add the following line to the application.properties file:

application.properties

  spring.security.oauth2.client.registration.logto.scope=openid,profile,offline_access,email,phone,urn:logto:scope:organizations

Then you can access the additional claims in the OAuth2User object.

Run and test the application

Run the application and navigate to http://localhost:8080.

You will see the home page with a sign-in link.
Click on the link to sign in with Logto.
After successful authentication, you will be redirected to the user page with your user details.
Click on the logout button to sign out. You will be redirected back to the home page.

Add WeChat (Native) connector

To enable quick sign-in and improve user conversion, connect with Java Spring Boot as an identity provider. The Logto social connector helps you establish this connection in minutes by allowing several parameter inputs.

To add a social connector, simply follow these steps:

Navigate to Console > Connectors > Social Connectors.
Click "Add social connector" and select "WeChat (Native)".
Follow the README guide and complete required fields and customize settings.

note:

If you are following the in-place Connector guide, you can skip the next section.

Set up WeChat mobile app

Create a mobile app in the WeChat Open Platform

tip:

You can skip some sections if you have already finished.

Create an account

Open https://open.weixin.qq.com/, click the "Sign Up" button in the upper-right corner, then finish the sign-up process.

Create a mobile app

Sign in with the account you just created. In the "Mobile Application" (移动应用) tab, click the big green button "Create a mobile app" (创建移动应用).

Let's fill out the required info in the application form.

Basic info

Most of them are pretty straightforward, and we have several tips here:

If you just want to test WeChat sign-in and the app is not on the App Store, in the "App is available" section, choose "No" to skip the "App download link".
The "App operation flow chart" looks tricky. From our experience, you need to prepare a simple flowchart and several app screenshots to improve the possibility of passing the review.

Click "Next step" to move on.

Platform info

You can configure one or both iOS and Android platforms to integrate Logto with WeChat native sign-in.

iOS app

Check "iOS app" (iOS 应用), then check the target device type of your app accordingly.

If you chose "No" for the App Store availability, you cloud skip filling out the "AppStore download address" here.

Fill out Bundle ID, Test version Bundle ID, and Universal Links (actually, only one link is needed 😂).

note:

Bundle ID and Test version Bundle ID can be the same value.

tip:

WeChat requires universal link for native sign-in. If you haven't set up or don't know it, please refer to the Apple official doc.

Android app

Check "Android app" (Android 应用).

Fill out Application Signing Signature (应用签名) and Application Package Name (应用包名).

note:

You need to sign your app to get a signature. Refer to the Sign your app for more info.

After finish signing, you can execute the signingReport task to get the signing signature.

./gradlew your-android-project:signingReport

The MD5 value of the corresponding build variant's report will be the Application Signing Signature (应用签名), but remember to remove all semicolons from the value and lowercase it.

E.g. 1A:2B:3C:4D -> 1a2b3c4d.

Waiting for the review result

After completing the platform info, click "Submit Review" to continue. Usually, the review goes fast, which will end within 1-2 days.

We suspect the reviewer is allocated randomly on each submission since the standard is floating. You may get rejected the first time, but don't give up! State your status quo and ask the reviewer how to modify it.

iOS

We assume you have integrated Logto iOS SDK in your app. In this case, things are pretty simple, and you don't even need to read the WeChat SDK doc:

1. Configure universal link and URL scheme in your Xcode project

In the Xcode project -> Signing & Capabilities tab, add the "Associated Domains" capability and the universal link you configured before.

Then goes to the "Info" tab, add a custom URL scheme with the WeChat App ID.

Finally open your Info.plist, add weixinULAPI and weixin under LSApplicationQueriesSchemes.

note:

We know these actions are not very reasonable, but this is the minimum workable solution we found. See the magical official guide for more info.

2. Add LogtoSocialPluginWechat to your Xcode project

Add the framework:

And add -ObjC to your Build Settings > Linking > Other Linker Flags:

note:

The plugin includes WeChat Open SDK 1.9.2. You can directly use import WechatOpenSDK once imported the plugin.

3. Add the plugin to your LogtoClient init options

let logtoClient = LogtoClient(
  useConfig: config,
  socialPlugins: [LogtoSocialPluginWechat()]
)

4. Handle onOpenURL properly

note:

The function LogtoClient.handle(url:) will handle all the native connectors you enabled. You only need to call it once.

// SwiftUI
YourRootView()
  .onOpenURL { url in
      LogtoClient.handle(url: url)
  }

// or AppDelegate
func application(_ app: UIApplication, open url: URL, options: /*...*/) -> Bool {
  LogtoClient.handle(url: url)
}

Android

We assume you have integrated Logto Android SDK in your app. In this case, things are pretty simple, and you don't even need to read the WeChat SDK doc:

1. Add Wechat Open SDK to your project

Ensure the mavenCentral() repository is in your Gradle project repositories:

repositories {
  // ...
  mavenCentral()
}

Add the Wechat Open SDK to your dependencies:

dependencies {
  // ...
  api("com.tencent.mm.opensdk:wechat-sdk-android:6.8.0")  // kotlin-script
  // or
  api 'com.tencent.mm.opensdk:wechat-sdk-android:6.8.0'   // groovy-script
}

2. Introduce WXEntryActivity to your project

Create a wxapi package under your package root and add the WXEntryActivity in the wxapi package (Take com.sample.app as an example):

// WXEntryActivity.kt
package com.sample.app.wxapi

import io.logto.sdk.android.auth.social.wechat.WechatSocialResultActivity

class WXEntryActivity: WechatSocialResultActivity()

// WXEntryActivity.java
package com.sample.app.wxapi

import io.logto.sdk.android.auth.social.wechat.WechatSocialResultActivity

public class WXEntryActivity extends WechatSocialResultActivity {}

The final position of the WXEntryActivity under the project should look like this (Take Kotlin as an example):

src/main/kotlin/com/sample/app/wxapi/WXEntryActivity.kt

3. Modify the AndroidManifest.xml

Add the following line to your AndroidManifest.xml:

\<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
\<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
  package="com.sample.app">

  \<application>
    \<!-- line to be added -->
    \<activity android:name=".wxapi.WXEntryActivity" android:exported="true"/>
  \</application>

\</manifest>

Save your configuration

Double check you have filled out necessary values in the Logto connector configuration area. Click "Save and Done" (or "Save changes") and the WeChat (Native) connector should be available now.

Once you create a social connector successfully, you can enable it as a "Continue with WeChat (Native)" button in Sign-in Experience.

Navigate to Console > Sign-in experience > Sign-up and sign-in.
(Optional) Choose "Not applicable" for sign-up identifier if you need social login only.
Add configured WeChat (Native) connector to the "Social sign-in" section.

Testing and Validation

Return to your Java Spring Boot app. You should now be able to sign in with WeChat (Native). Enjoy!

Create an application in Logto​

Integrate Java Spring Boot with Logto​

Configure your Java Spring Boot application​

Adding dependencies​

OAuth2 Client Configuration​

Implementation​

Regarding redirect-based sign-in​

Configure redirect URIs​

Implement the WebSecurityConfig​

Create a new class WebSecurityConfig in your project​

Create a idTokenDecoderFactory bean​

Create a LoginSuccessHandler class to handle the login success event​

Create a LogoutSuccessHandler class to handle the logout success event​

Update the WebSecurityConfig class with a securityFilterChain​

Create a home page​

Create a user page​

Request additional claims​

Run and test the application​

Add WeChat (Native) connector​

Set up WeChat mobile app​

Create a mobile app in the WeChat Open Platform​

Create an account​

Create a mobile app​

Basic info​

Platform info​

Waiting for the review result​

Enable WeChat native sign-in in your app​

iOS​

Android​

Save your configuration​

Enable WeChat (Native) connector in Sign-in Experience​

Testing and Validation​

Further readings​

Create an application in Logto

Integrate Java Spring Boot with Logto

Configure your Java Spring Boot application

Adding dependencies

OAuth2 Client Configuration

Implementation

Regarding redirect-based sign-in

Configure redirect URIs

Implement the WebSecurityConfig

Create a new class `WebSecurityConfig` in your project

Create a `idTokenDecoderFactory` bean

Create a LoginSuccessHandler class to handle the login success event

Create a LogoutSuccessHandler class to handle the logout success event

Update the `WebSecurityConfig` class with a `securityFilterChain`

Create a home page

Create a user page

Request additional claims

Run and test the application

Add WeChat (Native) connector

Set up WeChat mobile app

Create a mobile app in the WeChat Open Platform

Create an account

Create a mobile app

Basic info

Platform info

Waiting for the review result

Enable WeChat native sign-in in your app

iOS

Android

Save your configuration

Enable WeChat (Native) connector in Sign-in Experience

Testing and Validation

Further readings