Introduction to OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect

Before introducing OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect, let’s clarify what we mean by authentication and authorization. Authentication means identifying a user by validating credentials supplied by the user, such as a username and password. Authorization is about giving access to various parts of, in our case, an API to an authenticated user.

OAuth 2.0 is an open standard for authorization delegation, and OpenID Connect is an add-on to OAuth 2.0 that enables client applications to verify the identity of users based on the authentication performed by the authorization server. Let’s look briefly at OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect separately to get an initial understanding of their purposes!

Introducing OAuth 2.0

OAuth 2.0 is a widely accepted open standard for authorization that enables a user to give consent for a third-party client application to access protected resources in the name of the user. Giving a third-party client...