Authorize a Web Application

Introduction

When developing web applications using a server-side framework, use the following procedures to set up your authorization.

Before you begin

This guide assumes you have:

• Registered a web app with the necessary scopes for your use case. If you have not created an application, open the My Apps page under your Profile menu to create one. For this guide, the application type is Web App.
• The client_id and the client_secret supplied when you created your application.
• This tutorial requires a redirect URI of https://developer.bentley.com/redirect-tutorial. Please add this redirect URI to the App Details for your application. The App Details page can be accessed through the My Apps page.

User Authorization Code Flow

Web applications can use the OAuth 2.0 Authorization Code Flow to enable data owners to authorize third-party apps to access user data. This flow includes features like customer login and consent handling to obtain authorization from the resource owner.

The following steps provide an overview of the process.

1. The application makes a request to the authorization server endpoint.
2. The end-user provides their authentication information and consents for the application to access resources on their behalf.
3. The authorization server returns an authorization code to the Redirect URI specified when creating the application.
4. Exchange the authorization code for an access token.
5. Use the access token to call the API on behalf of the user.

Set up Authorization for your App

The following steps guide you through setting up your application and retrieving an access token with the needed permissions for your web application.

Register a web application

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1. Click your profile button in the upper-right corner of the page. You must be logged in to the Developer Portal.
2. Select My Apps from the drop-down.
3. Click the Register New button.
4. Enter the name of your application. Web apps have a maximum of 128 characters, the following characters are not allowed: ,;[]=\<>?"{}|+!@#\$%\^*`~
5. Select the appropriate scopes for your application in API associations.
   Selected scopes are listed in the Allowed scope list box.
6. In Application Type, click Web App to indicate you are creating a web application.
7. In Redirect URIs, enter the callback URL to use during the authorization process. This is the URL to which the authorization code is sent.
   Optionally, you can set a Post logout URI to which the user will be redirected when logging out of the app.
8. Click Save.
9. On the Success dialog, click Copy to copy the client_id and client_secret created for your app. Make sure you save this data in a secure location. It is required to obtain a token.
   Close the dialog by clicking the X in the upper-right corner or clicking outside the box.

Obtain an Access Token

To obtain an access token for your app, follow these steps:

1. When the user opens the Web app, redirect them to the authorization server endpoint.

   https://ims.bentley.com/connect/authorize?client_id=<client_id>&redirect_uri=<redirect_uri>&scope=<scopes>+offline_access&response_type=code

   The request for an authorization code requires the following parameters:

   Parameter

   Description

   response_type

   Set to code to indicate that an authorization code is needed.

   client_id

   The ID of the app you created. If you forgot the ID, find it on the My Apps page. Locate your app in the list, and the Client ID is in the same-named column.

   redirect_uri

   The callback URL you entered when registering your application. The returned authorization code is sent to this URL.

   scope

   Add the scopes assigned to your app during registration. Separate multiple scopes with a space. Your end user will consent to the app accessing this information on their behalf during the login process. When requesting a refresh token, include the scope offline_access. For all other scopes, check the reference documentation for each respective API.

   state

   (Optional) Used by the client to maintain state between a request and a callback. Recommended to prevent cross-site request forgery. The authorization server includes this value when redirecting the user-agent to the client.
   Redirect

   Copy

   Remove

   Remove

   Remove

   RemoveAdd

   Navigate

2. The user signs in to authenticate and consents for the application to access resources on their behalf. This page is managed by the Bentley authorization server and does not require any implementation in your application.

   

   Once authenticated, the Bentley authorization server returns an authorization code to the Redirect URI registered with your application. Extract the code in the response from the redirect_uri field.

   Note

   Authorization codes are time-sensitive. If your code expires, send a new request to the authorization server for a new code.

3. Send a request to the token endpoint to exchange the authorization code for an access token.

   POST

   https://ims.bentley.com/connect/token

   The authorization request requires the following parameters:

   Field Name

   Description

   client_id

   Identification generated during application creation. Found in the My Apps page or in the first step if generated during the tutorial.

   client_secret

   Secret created during application creation.

   grant_type

   Set to authorization_code Indicates the type of grant being used. This tells the service you are exchanging the code for a token.

   code

   This is the authorization code returned in the previous request.

   redirect_uri

   The callback URL you entered when registering your application. This URL must match the URL provided in the initial request.
   Execute

4. The authorization server confirms the information sent in the request and returns an access token. Bentley’s authorization server completes this step. There is no implementation needed in your application. A successful response includes the access_token, an expiry of 3600 seconds, and a refresh_token. Tokens are Bearer type, which must be specified in your API calls.

5. Use the access token to call the API. Tokens are added to the Authorization header with Bearer type in subsequent requests.
   Successfully sending a request to an API requires the end user to have the correct account permissions. Use the Access Control API to ensure your user can access the required resources.

Request a new access token with a refresh token

When your access token is close to the expiry time, you must request a new one using the refresh token provided in the original request. The response contains a new token and a new refresh token. Tokens are Bearer type, which must be specified in your API calls.

Validate your token

If you received a 200 OK response to your request for a token, it is not necessary to validate it. However, the users/me endpoint is provided if you would like to do so. This request returns the profile information for the user account associated with the token received.

Remember, the iTwin Platform Base URI is api.bentley.com.

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