Skip to main content

Installation

To get started with FluidAuth Express, follow these steps to install the required packages and understand their roles.

Why Cookie Parser and Body Parser?​

FluidAuth Express relies on cookie-parser and a body parser for handling sessions and request bodies. Here’s why:

  • Cookie Parser: FluidAuth Express does not handle cookie parsing itself. Therefore, you need cookie-parser to parse cookies in incoming requests. This allows FluidAuth Express to manage sessions effectively.

  • Body Parser: Some authentication providers may require request bodies to be parsed. For example, credential-based providers (like email/password) need to read data from request bodies. While express.json() is included by default in Express for JSON payloads, you can use any body parser as long as it correctly parses the request body.

Installation Steps​

  1. Install Required Packages

    Run the following command to install Express, cookie-parser, and FluidAuth Express:

    npm install express cookie-parser @fluidauth/express

  2. Set Up Your Application

    After installing the packages, configure your application as follows:

    import express from 'express';
    import cookieParser from 'cookie-parser';
    import { AuthService, Session } from '@fluidauth/express';

    const app = express();
    const PORT = process.env.PORT || 3000;

    const authService = new AuthService({
      providers: [/* your providers here */],
      session: new Session({ secret: "your-session-secret" }),
    });

    app.use(express.json()); // Parses JSON request bodies
    app.use(cookieParser()); // Parses cookies

    app.use(authService.session()); // Manages sessions
    app.use(authService.initialize()); // Initializes authentication

    app.listen(PORT, () => {
      console.log(`Server running on http://localhost:${PORT}`);
    });