An Illustrated Guide to OAuth and OpenID Connect (developer.okta.com)

Article summary

The article explains OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect (OIDC) using simplified illustrations, highlighting their roles in authorization and authentication. OAuth 2.0 allows one application to access data from another without sharing passwords, while OIDC adds login and profile information to OAuth. The article aims to clarify the standards and their differences. The goal is to provide a clear understanding of how these standards work, making it easier for developers to implement them.

Main themes

• OAuth 2.0
• OpenID Connect
• Authentication
• Authorization
• Identity Management
• Security

What commenters say

• Some commenters found the article helpful in understanding OAuth and OpenID Connect, particularly in explaining the differences between the two standards. Others questioned the value of using identity and access management services like Okta or Auth0, suggesting that self-hosted solutions like Keycloak could be more cost-effective. The complexity of OAuth and OpenID Connect was noted as a challenge, with some arguing that they are conceptually hard to understand and require expertise to implement securely. There was disagreement on whether OpenID Connect is primarily an authentication protocol or an extension of OAuth, with some arguing that it is both. Some commenters recommended using out-of-the-box solutions like Firebase for authentication, while others suggested that learning to implement authentication and authorization from scratch is necessary for true understanding. The importance of security and expertise in implementing identity and access management solutions was emphasized, with some warning against underestimating the complexity of these systems. The need for clear and simple explanations of complex technical topics like OAuth and OpenID Connect was also highlighted.