How do I set up SSO for my web app?

Setting up SSO for a web app usually means integrating with an Identity Provider (IdP) like Okta, Azure AD / Entra ID, Google Workspace, Auth0, Ping, or Keycloak using a standard protocol:

• SAML 2.0 — common in enterprise environments
• OpenID Connect (OIDC) — modern choice for web apps and APIs, built on OAuth 2.0

If you’re building a new web app, OIDC is usually the best default.

High-level setup steps

1) Choose your SSO protocol

• OIDC if you want simpler implementation and better support for modern apps
• SAML if your customers are enterprise-heavy and require it

2) Pick an Identity Provider

Examples:

• Okta
• Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD)
• Google Workspace
• Auth0
• Keycloak (self-hosted)

3) Register your app with the IdP

You’ll configure:

• App name
• Redirect/callback URL
• Logout URL (optional)
• Allowed origins / CORS settings (if needed)
• Scopes/claims you need (email, profile, groups, etc.)

4) Implement the login flow in your app

For OIDC Authorization Code Flow:

1. User clicks “Sign in”
2. Your app redirects them to the IdP
3. User authenticates at the IdP
4. IdP redirects back to your callback URL with an authorization code
5. Your backend exchanges the code for tokens
6. Your app creates its own session

5) Validate tokens

On the backend:

• Verify the token signature using the IdP’s JWKS
• Check issuer (iss)
• Check audience (aud)
• Check expiration (exp)
• For OIDC, verify the nonce and state where applicable

6) Map the identity to your user model

Usually based on:

• email
• subject (sub) claim
• tenant/org ID
• group/role claims

You may:

• auto-provision users on first login
• link SSO accounts to existing accounts
• assign roles based on claims/groups

7) Add logout

Options:

• local app logout only
• single logout / federated logout if supported
• clear session cookies and revoke refresh tokens if applicable

8) Handle security basics

• Use HTTPS everywhere
• Use secure, HTTP-only cookies for sessions
• Protect against CSRF
• Use state and nonce
• Store client secrets securely
• Rotate keys/secrets as needed

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Typical OIDC architecture

Frontend

• Redirects to IdP for login
• Receives success/error states
• Never handles client secrets

Backend

• Handles callback
• Exchanges code for tokens
• Verifies tokens
• Creates app session

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Example flow for a web app

1. User visits /login
2. Your server redirects to: https://idp.example.com/authorize?...
3. IdP authenticates user
4. IdP redirects to: https://yourapp.com/callback?code=...&state=...
5. Your server calls token endpoint
6. Your server verifies ID token/access token
7. Your server creates a session cookie
8. User is logged into your app

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If you want to implement it quickly

Use a library/framework integration:

• Node.js: openid-client, Passport strategies, NextAuth/Auth.js
• Python: Authlib, django-allauth
• Ruby: omniauth-openid-connect
• Java: Spring Security OAuth2 Client
• .NET: Microsoft.Identity.Web / OpenIdConnect middleware
• Go: coreos/go-oidc

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Questions to answer before implementation

1. What framework/language is your web app using?
2. Which IdP do you want to support?
3. Do you need SAML, OIDC, or both?
4. Is your app multi-tenant?
5. Do you need just login, or also provisioning, groups, and logout?

If you tell me your stack and IdP, I can give you a concrete step-by-step setup and sample code.