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02.

Guard: Joyful Authentication

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My favorite new feature for Symfony 2.8 is Guard. It makes creating custom and crazy authentication systems really really easy. I'm a bit biased: Guard was my creation, inspired by a lot of people and projects.

The Weirdest Login Form Ever

Later, I'll do some in-depth screencasts about Guard, but I want to give you a taste of what's possible. In this project, I have a tradition login system:

42 lines | src/AppBundle/Controller/DefaultController.php
// ... lines 1 - 21
/**
* @Route("/login", name="login")
*/
public function sillyLoginAction()
{
$error = $this->get('security.authentication_utils')
->getLastAuthenticationError();
return $this->render('default/login.html.twig', [
'error' => $error
]);
}
// ... lines 34 - 42

The /login controller renders a login template and this template builds a form that POSTs right back to that same loginAction:

32 lines | app/Resources/views/default/login.html.twig
// ... lines 1 - 9
<form action="{{ path('login') }}" method="POST">
// ... line 11
<label for="exampleInputEmail1">Username</label>
<input type="text" name="_username" class="form-control" id="exampleInputEmail1" placeholder="Username">
// ... lines 14 - 15
<label for="exampleInputPassword1">Password</label>
<input type="password" name="_password" class="form-control"
id="exampleInputPassword1" placeholder="Password">
// ... lines 19 - 20
<label for="the-answer">The answer to life the universe and everything</label>
<input type="text" name="the_answer" class="form-control" id="the-answer">
// ... lines 23 - 25
<input type="checkbox" name="terms"> I agree to want to be logged in
// ... lines 27 - 28
<button type="submit" class="btn btn-default">Login</button>
</form>
// ... lines 31 - 32

It has a username field, a password field and then a couple of extra fields. One of them is "the answer to life the universe and everything", which of course must be set to 42. The user also needs to check this "agreement" checkbox.

So how can we make a login system that checks four fields instead of just the usual username and password? Hello Guard.

Before coding, start the built-in web server, which is now bin/console server:run:

bin/console server:run

Try out /login.

Creating the Authenticator Class

To use guard, we need a new class. I'll create a new directory called Security, but that's not important. Call the class WeirdFormAuthenticator.Next, make this class implement GuardAuthenticatorInterface or extend the slightly easier AbstractGuardAuthenticator:

44 lines | src/AppBundle/Security/WeirdFormAuthenticator.php
// ... lines 1 - 2
namespace AppBundle\Security;
// ... lines 4 - 10
use Symfony\Component\Security\Guard\AbstractGuardAuthenticator;
class WeirdFormAuthenticator extends AbstractGuardAuthenticator
{
// ... lines 15 - 42
}

In PhpStorm, I'll open the generate menu and select "Implement Methods". Select all of them, including start(), which is hiding at the bottom. Also move the start() method to the bottom of the class: it'll fit more thematically down there:

44 lines | src/AppBundle/Security/WeirdFormAuthenticator.php
// ... lines 1 - 4
use Symfony\Component\HttpFoundation\Request;
// ... line 6
use Symfony\Component\Security\Core\Authentication\Token\TokenInterface;
use Symfony\Component\Security\Core\Exception\AuthenticationException;
use Symfony\Component\Security\Core\User\UserInterface;
use Symfony\Component\Security\Core\User\UserProviderInterface;
// ... lines 11 - 12
class WeirdFormAuthenticator extends AbstractGuardAuthenticator
{
public function getCredentials(Request $request)
{
}
public function getUser($credentials, UserProviderInterface $userProvider)
{
}
public function checkCredentials($credentials, UserInterface $user)
{
}
public function onAuthenticationFailure(Request $request, AuthenticationException $exception)
{
}
public function onAuthenticationSuccess(Request $request, TokenInterface $token, $providerKey)
{
}
public function supportsRememberMe()
{
}
public function start(Request $request, AuthenticationException $authException = null)
{
}
}

Your job is simple: fill in each of these methods.

getCredentials()

Once we hook it up, the getCredentials() method will be called on the authenticator on every single request. This is your opportunity to collect the username, password, API token or whatever "credentials" the user is sending in the request.

For this system, we don't need to bother looking for the credentials unless the user is submitting the login form. Add an if statement: if $request->getPathInfo() - that's the current, cleaned URL - != /login or !$request->isMethod('POST'), then return null:

101 lines | src/AppBundle/Security/WeirdFormAuthenticator.php
// ... lines 1 - 28
public function getCredentials(Request $request)
{
if ($request->getPathInfo() != '/login' || !$request->isMethod('POST')) {
return;
}
// ... lines 34 - 40
}
// ... lines 42 - 101

When you return null from getCredentials(), no other methods will be called on the authenticator.

Below that, return an array that contains any credential information we need. Add a username key set to $request->request->get('_username'): that's the name of the field in the form:

101 lines | src/AppBundle/Security/WeirdFormAuthenticator.php
// ... lines 1 - 28
public function getCredentials(Request $request)
{
// ... lines 31 - 34
return [
'username' => $request->request->get('_username'),
// ... lines 37 - 39
];
}
// ... lines 42 - 101

Repeat that for password and answer. In the form, answer's name is the_answer and the last is named terms. Finish the array by fetching the_answer and terms:

101 lines | src/AppBundle/Security/WeirdFormAuthenticator.php
// ... lines 1 - 28
public function getCredentials(Request $request)
{
// ... lines 31 - 34
return [
'username' => $request->request->get('_username'),
'password' => $request->request->get('_password'),
'answer' => $request->request->get('the_answer'),
'terms' => $request->request->get('terms'),
];
}
// ... lines 42 - 101

The keys on the right are obviously the names of the submitted form fields. The keys on the left can be anything: you'll see how to use them soon.

getUser()

If getCredentials() returns a non-null value, then getUser() is called next. I have a really simple User entity that has basically just one field: username:

56 lines | src/AppBundle/Entity/User.php
// ... lines 1 - 11
class User implements UserInterface
{
// ... lines 14 - 20
/**
* @ORM\Column(type="string")
*/
private $username;
// ... lines 25 - 54
}

I'm not even storing a password. Whatever your situation, just make sure you have a User class that implements UserInterface and a "user provider" for it that's configured in security.yml:

31 lines | app/config/security.yml
// ... lines 1 - 2
security:
// ... lines 4 - 5
providers:
my_entity_users:
entity:
class: AppBundle:User
// ... lines 10 - 31

See the $credentials variable? That's equal to whatever you returned from getCredentials(). Set a new $username variable by grabbing the username key from it:

101 lines | src/AppBundle/Security/WeirdFormAuthenticator.php
// ... lines 1 - 17
class WeirdFormAuthenticator extends AbstractGuardAuthenticator
{
// ... lines 20 - 42
public function getUser($credentials, UserProviderInterface $userProvider)
{
$username = $credentials['username'];
// ... lines 46 - 53
}
// ... lines 55 - 99
}

Let's get crazy and say: "Hey, if you have a username that starts with an @ symbol, that's not okay and you can't login". To fail authentication, return null:

101 lines | src/AppBundle/Security/WeirdFormAuthenticator.php
// ... lines 1 - 42
public function getUser($credentials, UserProviderInterface $userProvider)
{
$username = $credentials['username'];
// this looks like a weird username
if (substr($username, 0, 1) == '@') {
return;
}
// ... lines 51 - 53
}
// ... lines 55 - 101

Now, query for the User! We need the entity manager, so add a private $em property and generate the constructor. Type-hint it with EntityManager:

101 lines | src/AppBundle/Security/WeirdFormAuthenticator.php
// ... lines 1 - 5
use Doctrine\ORM\EntityManager;
// ... lines 7 - 17
class WeirdFormAuthenticator extends AbstractGuardAuthenticator
{
private $em;
// ... lines 21 - 22
public function __construct(EntityManager $em, RouterInterface $router)
{
$this->em = $em;
// ... line 26
}
// ... lines 28 - 99
}

Back in getUser(), this is easy: return $this->em->getRepository('AppBundle:User')->findOneBy() with username equals $username:

101 lines | src/AppBundle/Security/WeirdFormAuthenticator.php
// ... lines 1 - 42
public function getUser($credentials, UserProviderInterface $userProvider)
{
$username = $credentials['username'];
// ... lines 46 - 51
return $this->em->getRepository('AppBundle:User')
->findOneBy(['username' => $username]);
}
// ... lines 55 - 101

The job of getUser() is to return a User object or null to fail authentication. It's perfect.

checkCredentials()

If getUser() does return a User, checkCredentials() is called. This is where you check if the password is valid or anything else to determine that the authentication request is legitimate.

And surprise! The $credentials argument is once again what you returned from getCredentials().

Let's check a few things. First, the user doesn't have a password stored in the database. In my system, the password for everybody is the same: symfony3. If it doesn't equal symfony3, return null and authentication will fail:

101 lines | src/AppBundle/Security/WeirdFormAuthenticator.php
// ... lines 1 - 55
public function checkCredentials($credentials, UserInterface $user)
{
if ($credentials['password'] != 'symfony3') {
return;
}
// ... lines 61 - 70
}
// ... lines 72 - 101

Second, if the answer does not equal 42, return null. And finally, if the terms weren't checked, you guessed it, return null. Authentication will fail unless checkCredentials() exactly returns true. So return that at the bottom:

101 lines | src/AppBundle/Security/WeirdFormAuthenticator.php
// ... lines 1 - 55
public function checkCredentials($credentials, UserInterface $user)
{
// ... lines 58 - 61
if ($credentials['answer'] != 42) {
return;
}
if (!$credentials['terms']) {
return;
}
return true;
}
// ... lines 72 - 101

Handling Authentication Success and Failure

That's it! The last few methods handle what happens on authentication failure and success. Both should return a Response object, or null to do nothing and let the request continue.

onAuthenticationFailure()

The $exception passed to onAuthenticationFailure holds details about what went wrong:

101 lines | src/AppBundle/Security/WeirdFormAuthenticator.php
// ... lines 1 - 72
public function onAuthenticationFailure(Request $request, AuthenticationException $exception)
{
// ... lines 75 - 79
}
// ... lines 81 - 101

Was the user not found? Were the credentials wrong? Store this in the session so we can show it to the user. For the key, use the constant: Security::AUTHENTICATION_ERROR:

101 lines | src/AppBundle/Security/WeirdFormAuthenticator.php
// ... lines 1 - 72
public function onAuthenticationFailure(Request $request, AuthenticationException $exception)
{
$request->getSession()->set(Security::AUTHENTICATION_ERROR, $exception);
// ... lines 76 - 79
}
// ... lines 81 - 101

This is exactly what the normal form login system does: it adds an error to this same key on the session.

In the controller, the security.authentication.utils service reads this key from the session when you call getLastAuthenticationError():

42 lines | src/AppBundle/Controller/DefaultController.php
// ... lines 1 - 8
class DefaultController extends Controller
{
// ... lines 11 - 21
/**
* @Route("/login", name="login")
*/
public function sillyLoginAction()
{
$error = $this->get('security.authentication_utils')
->getLastAuthenticationError();
// ... lines 29 - 32
}
// ... lines 34 - 40
}

Other than storing the error, what we really want to do when authentication fails is redirect back to the login page. To do this, add the Router as an argument to the constructor and use that to set a new property. I'll do that with a shortcut:

101 lines | src/AppBundle/Security/WeirdFormAuthenticator.php
// ... lines 1 - 9
use Symfony\Component\Routing\RouterInterface;
// ... lines 11 - 17
class WeirdFormAuthenticator extends AbstractGuardAuthenticator
{
// ... line 20
private $router;
public function __construct(EntityManager $em, RouterInterface $router)
{
// ... line 25
$this->router = $router;
}
// ... lines 28 - 99
}

Now it's simple: $url = $this->router->generate() and pass it login - that's the route name to my login page. Then, return a new RedirectResponse:

101 lines | src/AppBundle/Security/WeirdFormAuthenticator.php
// ... lines 1 - 72
public function onAuthenticationFailure(Request $request, AuthenticationException $exception)
{
// ... lines 75 - 76
$url = $this->router->generate('login');
return new RedirectResponse($url);
}
// ... lines 81 - 101

onAuthenticationSuccess()

When authentication works, keep it simple and redirect back to the homepage. In a real app, you'll want to redirect them back to the previous page:

101 lines | src/AppBundle/Security/WeirdFormAuthenticator.php
// ... lines 1 - 81
public function onAuthenticationSuccess(Request $request, TokenInterface $token, $providerKey)
{
$url = $this->router->generate('homepage');
return new RedirectResponse($url);
}
// ... lines 88 - 101

There's a base class called AbstractFormLoginAuthenticator that can help with this.

start() - Inviting the User to Authentication

The start() method is called when the user tries to access a page that requires login as an anonymous user. For this situation, redirect them to the login page:

101 lines | src/AppBundle/Security/WeirdFormAuthenticator.php
// ... lines 1 - 88
public function start(Request $request, AuthenticationException $authException = null)
{
$url = $this->router->generate('login');
return new RedirectResponse($url);
}
// ... lines 95 - 101

supportsRememberMe()

Finally, if you want to be able to support remember me functionality, return true from supportsRememberMe():

101 lines | src/AppBundle/Security/WeirdFormAuthenticator.php
// ... lines 1 - 95
public function supportsRememberMe()
{
return true;
}
// ... lines 100 - 101

You'll still need to configure the remember_me key in the firewall.

Configuring the Authenticator

That's it! Now we need to tell Symfony about the authentication with two steps. The first shouldn't surprise you: register this as a service. In services.yml create a new service - how about weird_authenticator. The class is WeirdFormLoginAuthenticator and there are two arguments: the entity manager and the router:

10 lines | app/config/services.yml
// ... lines 1 - 5
services:
weird_authenticator:
class: AppBundle\Security\WeirdFormAuthenticator
arguments: ['@doctrine.orm.entity_manager', '@router']

Finally, hook this up in security.yml. Under your firewall, add a guard key and an authenticators key below that. Add one authenticator - weird_authenticator - the service name:

31 lines | app/config/security.yml
// ... lines 1 - 2
security:
// ... lines 4 - 10
firewalls:
// ... lines 12 - 16
main:
anonymous: ~
// ... lines 19 - 21
guard:
authenticators:
- weird_authenticator
// ... lines 25 - 31

Now, getCredentials() will be called on every request. If it returns something other than null, getUser() will be called. If this returns a User, then checkCredentials() will be called. And if this returns true, authentication will pass.

Test the Login

Try it out! With a blank form, it says Username could not be found. It is looking for the credentials on the request, but it fails on the getUser() method. I do have one user in the database: weaverryan. Put symfony3 for the password but set the answer to 50. This fails with "Invalid Credential". Finally, fill in everything correctly. And it works! The web debug toolbar congratulates us: logged in as weaverryan.

Customize the Error Messages

We saw two different error messages, depending on whether authentication failed in getUser() or checkCredentials(). But you can completely control these messages by throwing a CustomUserMessageAuthenticationException(). I know, it has a long name, but it's job is clear: pass it the message you want want to show the user, like:

108 lines | src/AppBundle/Security/WeirdFormAuthenticator.php
// ... lines 1 - 12
use Symfony\Component\Security\Core\Exception\CustomUserMessageAuthenticationException;
// ... lines 14 - 43
public function getUser($credentials, UserProviderInterface $userProvider)
{
// ... lines 46 - 48
if (substr($username, 0, 1) == '@') {
throw new CustomUserMessageAuthenticationException(
'Starting a username with @ is weird, don\'t you think?'
);
}
// ... lines 54 - 56
}
// ... lines 58 - 108

Below if the answer is wrong, do the same thing: throw new CustomUserMessageAuthenticationException() with:

108 lines | src/AppBundle/Security/WeirdFormAuthenticator.php
// ... lines 1 - 58
public function checkCredentials($credentials, UserInterface $user)
{
// ... lines 61 - 64
if ($credentials['answer'] != 42) {
throw new CustomUserMessageAuthenticationException(
'Don\'t you read any books?'
);
}
// ... lines 70 - 77
}
// ... lines 79 - 108

And in case the terms checkbox isn't checked, throw a new CustomUserMessageAuthenticationException and threaten them to agree to our terms!

108 lines | src/AppBundle/Security/WeirdFormAuthenticator.php
// ... lines 1 - 58
public function checkCredentials($credentials, UserInterface $user)
{
// ... lines 61 - 70
if (!$credentials['terms']) {
throw new CustomUserMessageAuthenticationException(
'Agree to our terms!!!'
);
}
return true;
}
// ... lines 79 - 108

Try it out with @weaverryan. There's the first message! Try 50 for the answer: there's the second message. And if you fill in everything right but have no checkbox, you see the final message.

That's Guard authentication: create one class and do whatever the heck that you want. I showed a login form, but it's even easier to use for API authentication. Basically, authentication is not hard anymore. Invent whatever insane system you want and give the user exactly the message you want. If you want to return JSON on authentication failure and success instead of redirecting, awesome, do it.