Need Help Retrieving Authentication Context After Redirect from Shopify Store

[vasubajaj09]

I'm currently working on integrating my external website with a Shopify store, and I've run into a bit of a roadblock when it comes to handling authentication after a user is redirected to my site from Shopify.

My challenge is this: I need to retrieve the authentication context or some kind of token or information that verifies the user's identity and session after they are redirected to my website.

Has anyone here encountered a similar scenario or can provide guidance on how to obtain this authentication context securely and efficiently? Any code examples or best practices would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance for your help!

[Liam]

Hi Vasubajaj09,

The standard way to handle authentication is being using OAuth, which is the protocol that Shopify uses for authentication and authorization.

Here's a high-level overview of how you could handle this:

1. Redirect to Shopify's OAuth endpoint: When the user attempts to install your app, you should direct them to the authentication URL on Shopify's end. This URL includes your app's API key and the scopes your app needs to function properly.

2. Shopify prompts the user for access: On this page, Shopify will ask the user to authorize your app to access their store.

3. Shopify redirects back to your app: If the user grants your app access, Shopify will redirect the user back to your site's redirection endpoint. The URL of this redirection will include a temporary code parameter, which you can exchange for an access token.

4. Your app exchanges the code for an access token: To get an access token, you'll need to make a POST request to Shopify including the code parameter and your app's API key and secret. If successful, the response will include an access token that you can use to make authenticated requests to the Shopify API.

Here's an example of how you could do this in Node.js:

const axios = require('axios');
const querystring = require('querystring');

// Step 1: Redirect to Shopify's OAuth endpoint
app.get('/shopify', (req, res) => {
  const shop = req.query.shop;
  const authUrl = `https://${shop}/admin/oauth/authorize?client_id=${apiKey}&scope=${scopes}&redirect_uri=${redirectUri}&state=${state}`;

  res.redirect(authUrl);
});

// Step 3: Shopify redirects back to your app
app.get('/shopify/callback', (req, res) => {
  const { shop, code } = req.query;

  // Step 4: Your app exchanges the code for an access token
  axios.post(`https://${shop}/admin/oauth/access_token`, querystring.stringify({
    client_id: apiKey,
    client_secret: apiSecret,
    code,
  })).then(response => {
    // Save the access token (response.data.access_token) for later use
  }).catch(error => console.error('Access token request error:', error));
});

This is a simplified example and doesn't include error handling or security measures that you should include in a production app however. For detailed instructions, you can refer to the OAuth guide in our developer docs. 

Hope this helps get you started though - let us know if you run into any issues!