Vue.js Authentication Made Easy: Vuex, Vue Router, and Auth0

Secure Your Vue App with Auth0: A Step-by-Step Guide

Why Authentication Matters

In today’s digital landscape, authentication is a critical aspect of web app security. Without it, your users’ data is vulnerable to unauthorized access, posing significant security risks. Instead of building authentication from scratch, many modern web apps rely on Auth0, a versatile and adaptable authentication and authorization platform.

Getting Started with Vue CLI

To begin, we’ll use the Vue CLI to kickstart our project. If you haven’t installed Vue CLI globally, run the following command:

npm install -g @vue/cli

Next, create a new project using:

vue create my-auth0-app

Choose the Manually select features option and select Babel, Vuex, Router, and Linter/Formatter. You can opt for ESLint and Prettier as your linter.

Setting Up Auth0

To integrate Auth0 into our Vue app, we’ll need to sign up, create a new tenant, and select our region. Then, follow these steps:

1. On your dashboard, click on Applications and create a new application.
2. Select Single Page Web Applications and choose Vue as your framework.
3. Configure your Auth0 settings, including Domain, Client ID, and Application URLs.

Configuring Environmental Variables

Create a .env file in your project folder and add the following environmental variables:

VUE_APP_AUTH0_CONFIG_DOMAIN=<your-domain>
VUE_APP_AUTH0_CONFIG_CLIENTID=<your-client-id>
VUE_APP_AUTH0_CONFIG_CALLBACK_URL=<your-callback-url>

These variables will be used throughout our project.

Implementing Authentication with Vuex

We’ll use Vuex as our single source of truth, handling data and authentication within our application. First, import auth0-js and set up our state, initializing Auth0 with our environmental variables. We’ll also add a userIsAuthorized property to our state to track the user’s authentication status.

Authenticating Users

To authenticate users, we’ll create a login action that redirects users to the Auth0 portal. After successful authentication, we’ll receive an access token and ID token, which we’ll store locally and use to verify the user’s identity.

Routing and Route Guards

Using Vue Router, we’ll create routes with meta objects to identify public and protected routes. We’ll also implement route guards to check the user’s authentication status and redirect them accordingly.

Deploying Your App

To deploy your app, update your Auth0 settings with your live URL and create a new .env file with the live URL.

The Power of Auth0

By leveraging Auth0, you can focus on building your app while ensuring the security of your users’ data. Explore our codebase on GitHub and demo site to see it in action. For more information, check out Auth0’s documentation.

Debugging Vue Apps with LogRocket

Debugging Vue apps can be challenging, but with LogRocket, you can monitor and track Vue mutations in production, gaining valuable insights into your app’s behavior. Try LogRocket today and modernize your debugging process!