@harrisahmad/simpleauth

Link to the package: @harrisahmad/simpleauth

A simple and extensible authentication system using Passport.js for session-based authentication.

Installation

You can install the package using npm:

npm install @harrisahmad/simpleauth

Introduction

This package provides a simple and extensible authentication system using Passport.js. Passport.js is an authentication middleware for Node.js, which is designed to be simple, unobtrusive, and flexible. It supports a wide range of authentication strategies.

What is Session-Based Authentication?

Session-based authentication is a method of maintaining user authentication state across multiple requests. It involves storing user authentication information in a session, typically managed by the server. This information is then used to identify the user in subsequent requests without requiring them to log in again.

How It Works

This package uses Passport.js with the passport-local strategy for handling username and password-based authentication. It integrates seamlessly with Express applications, managing sessions with express-session.

Passport.js Overview

Passport.js uses strategies to authenticate requests. Strategies can range from verifying username and password credentials, OAuth tokens, or other mechanisms. Passport provides a consistent interface for managing authentication regardless of the strategy used.

Usage

Here is an example of how to use simpleauth in your Node.js application:

1. Setup

Create a .env file to store environment variables:

DB_HOST=your_host
DB_USER=your_user
DB_PASSWD=your_password
DB_NAME=your_database_name
DB_PORT=5432
DB_DIALECT=postgres
SECRET_KEY=your_secret_key

2. Configure Your Application

Create an index.js file and set up your Express application with the simpleauth package:

require('dotenv').config();
const express = require('express');
const session = require('express-session');
const simpleauth = require('@harrisahmad/simpleauth');

const app = express();

// Middleware setup
app.use(express.json());
app.use(express.urlencoded({ extended: false }));

// Session setup
app.use(session({
  secret: process.env.SECRET_KEY,
  resave: false,
  saveUninitialized: true
}));

// Initialize simpleauth
simpleauth(app, {
  sessionSecret: process.env.SECRET_KEY,
  usernameField: 'username',
  passwordField: 'password'
});

const PORT = process.env.PORT || 3000;
app.listen(PORT, () => {
  console.log(`Server is running on port ${PORT}`);
});

3. Routes

Register User

Register a new user by sending a POST request to /auth/register with the user's credentials.

curl -X POST http://localhost:3000/auth/register -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"username":"testuser","password":"testpassword"}'

Login User

Authenticate a user by sending a POST request to /auth/login with the user's credentials.

curl -X POST http://localhost:3000/auth/login -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"username":"testuser","password":"testpassword"}'

Logout User

Log out a user by sending a GET request to /auth/logout.

curl -X GET http://localhost:3000/auth/logout

API

Initialization

The simpleauth function accepts an Express app instance and an options object to configure the authentication system.

Options

• sessionSecret: A secret key for session encryption.
• usernameField (default: 'username'): The field name for the username.
• passwordField (default: 'password'): The field name for the password.

Routes

The package includes the following routes for authentication:

• POST /auth/register: Registers a new user.
• POST /auth/login: Logs in a user.
• GET /auth/logout: Logs out the user.

Example

Here is a complete example of an Express application using the simpleauth package:

require('dotenv').config();
const express = require('express');
const session = require('express-session');
const simpleauth = require('@harrisahmad/simpleauth');

const app = express();

// Middleware setup
app.use(express.json());
app.use(express.urlencoded({ extended: false }));

// Session setup
app.use(session({
  secret: process.env.SECRET_KEY,
  resave: false,
  saveUninitialized: true
}));

// Initialize simpleauth
simpleauth(app, {
  sessionSecret: process.env.SECRET_KEY,
  usernameField: 'username',
  passwordField: 'password'
});

// Define additional routes if needed
app.get('/', (req, res) => {
  res.send('Home Page');
});

app.get('/login', (req, res) => {
  res.send('Login Page');
});

const PORT = process.env.PORT || 3000;
app.listen(PORT, () => {
  console.log(`Server is running on port ${PORT}`);
});

License

This project is licensed under the ISC License.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please open an issue or submit a pull request for any improvements or bug fixes.

Acknowledgements

• Passport.js: Authentication middleware for Node.js.
• Express: Fast, unopinionated, minimalist web framework for Node.js.