oidc-client vs react-oidc-context
OpenID Connect Client Libraries Comparison
1 Year
oidc-clientreact-oidc-contextSimilar Packages:
What's OpenID Connect Client Libraries?

These libraries facilitate authentication and authorization in web applications using the OpenID Connect protocol. They help developers manage user sessions, handle tokens, and integrate with identity providers, streamlining the process of implementing secure user authentication in applications. The oidc-client library is a general-purpose JavaScript library for handling OpenID Connect, while react-oidc-context is specifically designed for React applications, providing a context-based approach to manage authentication state and user information.

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oidc-client178,9472,436-1164 years agoApache-2.0
react-oidc-context175,430882113 kB884 months agoMIT
Feature Comparison: oidc-client vs react-oidc-context

Framework Compatibility

  • oidc-client:

    oidc-client is a standalone library that can be used with any JavaScript framework or even vanilla JavaScript. It provides a flexible API for managing OpenID Connect authentication flows, making it suitable for various types of applications beyond just React.

  • react-oidc-context:

    react-oidc-context is specifically tailored for React applications, leveraging React's context API to provide authentication state and methods throughout the component tree. This makes it highly compatible with React's component-based architecture.

State Management

  • oidc-client:

    oidc-client requires manual management of authentication state, which gives developers the flexibility to implement their own state management solutions, but also adds complexity. Developers need to handle token storage, renewal, and session management explicitly.

  • react-oidc-context:

    react-oidc-context simplifies state management by using React's context API. It automatically provides authentication state and methods to any component that needs them, reducing boilerplate code and making it easier to manage user sessions in a React application.

Ease of Use

  • oidc-client:

    oidc-client has a steeper learning curve due to its more generic approach and the need for manual configuration of authentication flows. Developers need to understand the OpenID Connect protocol well to implement it effectively.

  • react-oidc-context:

    react-oidc-context offers a more intuitive and straightforward API for React developers. It abstracts much of the complexity involved in managing authentication, allowing developers to focus on building their applications without getting bogged down in the details of the authentication process.

Token Management

  • oidc-client:

    oidc-client provides comprehensive support for handling tokens, including access tokens, ID tokens, and refresh tokens. It allows developers to implement custom logic for token storage and renewal, which can be beneficial for advanced use cases.

  • react-oidc-context:

    react-oidc-context automatically handles token management for you, including storage and renewal, which simplifies the implementation process. However, it may offer less flexibility for custom token handling compared to oidc-client.

Community and Support

  • oidc-client:

    oidc-client has a broad user base and is widely used across various JavaScript applications. This means there is a wealth of community resources, documentation, and support available for developers.

  • react-oidc-context:

    react-oidc-context, while more niche, is specifically designed for the React community. It benefits from React's ecosystem and has good documentation, but may have fewer community resources compared to the more general oidc-client.

How to Choose: oidc-client vs react-oidc-context
  • oidc-client:

    Choose oidc-client if you need a versatile and framework-agnostic solution that can be integrated into various JavaScript applications, not limited to React. It is suitable for projects where you want to have more control over the authentication flow and manage the state manually.

  • react-oidc-context:

    Choose react-oidc-context if you are developing a React application and prefer a more streamlined approach to managing authentication state. This package provides React hooks and context, making it easier to access authentication information throughout your component tree without the need for prop drilling.

README for oidc-client

npm package

oidc-client

Library to provide OpenID Connect (OIDC) and OAuth2 protocol support for client-side, browser-based JavaScript client applications. Also included is support for user session and access token management.

Install

Node.js

Node.js v4.4 or later required.

NPM

npm install oidc-client --save

NOTE: if you're not already using babel-polyfill make sure you run npm install --save babel-polyfill as well. Then include it in your build.

CommonJS

If you don't use a package manager or a module loader, then you can get the library from the dist folder on github here.

Including in the browser

If you intend to use this library directly in a browser and are not using UMD/AMD then there is a compiled version in the ~/dist folder. It is already bundled/minified and contains the necessary dependencies and polyfills (mainly for ES6 features such as Promises).

If you are using UMD/AMD and/or you already have included an ES6 polyfill (such as babel-polyfill.js) then you can include the UMD packaged version of the file from the ~/lib folder.

Building the Source

git clone https://github.com/IdentityModel/oidc-client-js.git
cd oidc-client-js
npm install
npm run build

Running the Sample

npm start

and then browse to http://localhost:15000.

Running the Tests

npm test

Docs

Some initial docs are here.

Feedback, Feature requests, and Bugs

All are welcome on the issue tracker.