Implement JWT in your application

After completing the JWT configuration in Document360, your application needs a backend route to handle the final step of the login flow.

This route:

• Validates that the user is already authenticated in your application
• Sends a secure request to Document360's Code generation URL
• Retrieves a one-time authorization code
• Redirects the user to the knowledge base site with that code

Code samples

The examples below show how to implement the backend authentication route in C#, Node.js, and Java.

C#

/// <summary>
/// Example endpoint to authenticate a user and retrieve a token from the identity server,
/// and redirect the user to the Knowledge Base (KB) using the token code.
/// </summary>
/// <param name="clientId">Client ID issued for your application</param>
/// <param name="clientSecret">Client secret associated with the client ID</param>
/// <returns>Redirects to the KB with the issued code</returns>
[HttpGet]
[Route("authenticate")]
public async Task<IActionResult> AuthenticateAsync(string clientId, string clientSecret)
{
    if (!HttpContext.User.Identity.IsAuthenticated)
    {
        // user is not authenticated, redirect to an error or login page
        return Unauthorized(new { message = "User not authenticated" });
    }

    // Ensure you have the correct client ID and secret from your Document360 JWT configuration
    var authToken = Encoding.ASCII.GetBytes($"{clientId}:{clientSecret}");

    // Create an HttpClient instance
    using var httpClient = new HttpClient();

    // Set the Authorization header with Basic authentication
    httpClient.DefaultRequestHeaders.Authorization = new AuthenticationHeaderValue("Basic", Convert.ToBase64String(authToken));

    // Prepare the payload with user information
    var payload = new
    {
        username = User.Identity.Name,
        firstName = "FirstName", // Replace or customize as needed
        lastName = "LastName",
        emailId = "user@example.com", // Replace with actual user email
        readerGroupIds = new List<string> { "group1", "group2" }, // Replace with actual reader group IDs if needed (Optional)
        tokenValidity = 3600 // Token validity in seconds (Optional, default is 5 minutes)
    };

    var payloadContent = new StringContent(JsonConvert.SerializeObject(payload), Encoding.UTF8, "application/json");

    // Identity server token endpoint - replace with your actual URL
    string identityServerUrl = "codeGeneration endpoint, you can find that in JWT config portal";
    // KB login URL to redirect after successful token issuance
    string kbLoginUrl = "https://{your subdomain}.document360.io";

    var response = await httpClient.PostAsync(identityServerUrl, payloadContent);

    if (response.IsSuccessStatusCode)
    {
        var content = await response.Content.ReadAsStringAsync();
        var tokenJson = JObject.Parse(content);
        // Extract the code from the response
        var tokenCode = (string)tokenJson.SelectToken("code");

        // Construct the KB login URL with code query parameter
        string finalRedirectUrl = $"{kbLoginUrl}?code={tokenCode}";

        return Redirect(finalRedirectUrl);
    }
    else
    {
        // Handle error response from the identity server
        var error = await response.Content.ReadAsStringAsync();
        return StatusCode((int)response.StatusCode, new { error = "Token request failed", details = error });
    }
}

Node.js

const express = require('express');
const https = require('https');
const axios = require('axios');
const app = express();

app.use(express.json());

const clientId = 'your-client-id';
const clientSecret = 'your-client-secret';
const codeGenerationUrl = 'https://identity.document360.net/jwt/generateCode';
const kbLoginUrl = 'https://your-subdomain.document360.net/jwt/authorize';

app.get('/authenticate', async (req, res) => {
  try {
    const isAuthenticated = true; // Replace with your actual auth logic

    if (!isAuthenticated) {
      return res.status(401).json({ message: 'User not authenticated' });
    }

    const authHeader = Buffer.from(`${clientId}:${clientSecret}`).toString('base64');

    const payload = {
      username: 'john.doe',
      firstName: 'John',
      lastName: 'Doe',
      emailId: 'john.doe@example.com',
      readerGroupIds: ['group1', 'group2'],
      tokenValidity: 3600
    };

    const response = await axios.post(
      codeGenerationUrl,
      payload,
      {
        headers: {
          'Authorization': `Basic ${authHeader}`,
          'Content-Type': 'application/json',
          'Accept': 'application/json'
        },
        httpsAgent: new https.Agent({ maxVersion: 'TLSv1.2' })
      }
    );

    const tokenCode = response.data?.code;

    if (!tokenCode) {
      return res.status(500).json({ message: 'No code received from Document360' });
    }

    console.log("Redirecting to:", `${kbLoginUrl}?code=${tokenCode}`);
    return res.redirect(`${kbLoginUrl}?code=${tokenCode}`);

  } catch (error) {
    return res.status(500).json({
      message: 'JWT SSO failed',
      details: error.response?.data || error.message
    });
  }
});

Java

import org.springframework.http.*;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.*;
import org.springframework.web.client.RestTemplate;
import org.springframework.web.util.UriComponentsBuilder;

import java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets;
import java.util.*;

@RestController
public class JwtSsoController {

    private final String clientId = "your-client-id";
    private final String clientSecret = "your-client-secret";
    private final String codeGenerationUrl = "https://identity.document360.io/api/jwt/generate-code";
    private final String kbLoginUrl = "https://your-subdomain.document360.io/jwt/authorize";

    @GetMapping("/authenticate")
    public ResponseEntity<?> authenticate() {
        // Example: Check if user is authenticated in your system
        boolean isAuthenticated = true; // Replace with actual logic
        if (!isAuthenticated) {
            return ResponseEntity.status(HttpStatus.UNAUTHORIZED).body("User not authenticated");
        }

        // Create Basic Auth header
        String auth = clientId + ":" + clientSecret;
        String encodedAuth = Base64.getEncoder().encodeToString(auth.getBytes(StandardCharsets.UTF_8));
        HttpHeaders headers = new HttpHeaders();
        headers.setContentType(MediaType.APPLICATION_JSON);
        headers.set("Authorization", "Basic " + encodedAuth);
        headers.setAccept(Collections.singletonList(MediaType.APPLICATION_JSON));

        // Construct payload
        Map<String, Object> payload = new HashMap<>();
        payload.put("username", "john.doe");
        payload.put("firstName", "John");
        payload.put("lastName", "Doe");
        payload.put("emailId", "john.doe@example.com");
        payload.put("readerGroupIds", Arrays.asList("group1", "group2"));
        payload.put("tokenValidity", 3600);

        HttpEntity<Map<String, Object>> request = new HttpEntity<>(payload, headers);
        RestTemplate restTemplate = new RestTemplate();

        try {
            ResponseEntity<Map> response = restTemplate.postForEntity(codeGenerationUrl, request, Map.class);

            if (response.getStatusCode() == HttpStatus.OK && response.getBody() != null) {
                String tokenCode = (String) response.getBody().get("code");

                if (tokenCode == null || tokenCode.isEmpty()) {
                    return ResponseEntity.status(HttpStatus.INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR)
                            .body("No code returned from Document360");
                }

                // Redirect to the KB site with code
                String redirectUrl = UriComponentsBuilder.fromHttpUrl(kbLoginUrl)
                        .queryParam("code", tokenCode)
                        .toUriString();

                HttpHeaders redirectHeaders = new HttpHeaders();
                redirectHeaders.setLocation(java.net.URI.create(redirectUrl));
                return new ResponseEntity<>(redirectHeaders, HttpStatus.FOUND);

            } else {
                return ResponseEntity.status(HttpStatus.BAD_GATEWAY)
                        .body("Failed to get code from Document360: " + response.getStatusCode());
            }

        } catch (Exception ex) {
            return ResponseEntity.status(HttpStatus.INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR)
                    .body("JWT SSO error: " + ex.getMessage());
        }
    }
}

Developer checklist

Before going live, verify the following:

• Register the Login URL, Callback URL, and Code generation URL in your JWT settings.
• Store the Client Secret securely. It is displayed only once at the time of creation.
• Implement backend logic to call the Code generation URL using HTTP Basic Auth.
• Sign the JWT in your backend using your client secret. Never expose signing logic on the client side.
• Enforce HTTPS on all endpoints involved in the authentication flow.
• Test session behavior, token expiry, and automatic session renewal before going live.
• Monitor backend logs for 401 errors, which typically indicate expired authorization codes or token mismatches.

Redirecting to a specific page after login

By default, after logging in, readers are redirected to the Home page of your knowledge base.

• If your Home page is unpublished, readers are redirected to the /docs page.
• To redirect readers to a different page in your knowledge base, configure the redirection using the following URL pattern.

URL pattern

https://<Knowledge base URL>/jwt/authorize?code=<code>&redirectUrl=<redirect path>

Parameters

• <Knowledge base URL>: the main URL of your knowledge base site.
• <code>: the code generated by the Document360 code generation endpoint.
• <redirect path>: the URL where you want readers to land after login.

Example

https://example.document360.io/jwt/authorize?code=FOTaS_SW6dLGytQXvrG_rRFGhyPvrDDrgxJAZzYvJcY&redirectUrl=/docs/5-basic-things-to-get-started