How Do I Implement AWS Cognito User Pools and Identity Federation?

Introduction

In this guide, we’ll walk through the steps to implement AWS Cognito user pools and configure identity federation using Pulumi. We’ll create the user pool, add a user pool client, and then set up identity federation to allow users to authenticate using an external identity provider like Google.

Description

This guide provides a detailed explanation of how to implement AWS Cognito User Pools and set up identity federation using Pulumi. We will cover the creation of a user pool, configuration of a user pool client, and the setup of an external identity provider. Each step will be explained to help you understand the process and how it fits into your application’s authentication system.

Step-by-Step Implementation

1. Set Up Pulumi Environment:

   • Ensure you have Pulumi installed on your machine. You can install it by following the instructions on the Pulumi website.
   • Initialize a new Pulumi project using pulumi new aws-typescript to set up the necessary files and dependencies for your project.

2. Create a Cognito User Pool:

   • Define a new Cognito User Pool using Pulumi’s AWS SDK. This user pool will store user profiles and manage authentication.
   • Specify a password policy and set up email as an auto-verified attribute to enhance security.

3. Configure a User Pool Client:

   • Create a user pool client that your application will use to interact with the Cognito user pool.
   • Set OAuth flows and scopes to determine how users will authenticate and what permissions they will have.

4. Set Up Identity Federation:

   • Define an identity provider (e.g., Google) within the Cognito user pool to enable federated login.
   • Provide necessary details like client ID and client secret from the external provider, and map attributes such as email and profile.

5. Deploy the Configuration:

   • Use pulumi up to deploy your configuration to AWS. Pulumi will provision the necessary resources as defined in your code.

6. Export Outputs:

   • Export important outputs like the user pool ID and user pool client ID for use in your application.

import * as pulumi from "@pulumi/pulumi";
import * as aws from "@pulumi/aws";

// Create a Cognito User Pool
const userPool = new aws.cognito.UserPool("user_pool", {
    name: "example_user_pool",
    passwordPolicy: {
        minimumLength: 8,
        requireLowercase: true,
        requireUppercase: true,
        requireNumbers: true,
        requireSymbols: true,
    },
    schemas: [{
        name: "email",
        required: true,
        attributeDataType: "String",
        mutable: false,
    }],
    autoVerifiedAttributes: ["email"],
});

// Create a User Pool Client
const userPoolClient = new aws.cognito.UserPoolClient("user_pool_client", {
    name: "example_user_pool_client",
    userPoolId: userPool.id,
    generateSecret: false,
    allowedOauthFlows: ["code"],
    allowedOauthScopes: [
        "phone",
        "email",
        "openid",
        "profile",
    ],
    supportedIdentityProviders: [
        "COGNITO",
        "Google",
    ],
});

// Define an Identity Provider for Federated Login (e.g., Google)
const google = new aws.cognito.IdentityProvider("google", {
    userPoolId: userPool.id,
    providerName: "Google",
    providerType: "Google",
    providerDetails: {
        client_id: "YOUR_GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID",
        client_secret: "YOUR_GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET",
        authorize_scopes: "openid email profile",
    },
    attributeMapping: {
        email: "email",
        given_name: "given_name",
        family_name: "family_name",
        profile: "profile",
    },
});

export const userPoolId = userPool.id;
export const userPoolClientId = userPoolClient.id;

Key Points

• AWS Cognito User Pool: Defined a user pool with a robust password policy and email verification.
• User Pool Client: Configured a client to enable application interaction with the user pool.
• Identity Provider: Set up Google as an external provider for identity federation.

Conclusion

In this guide, you learned how to implement AWS Cognito User Pools and set up identity federation using Pulumi. By following these steps, you can provide your application with a scalable and secure authentication system, allowing users to authenticate using their Google accounts or other external identity providers. Pulumi simplifies the infrastructure as code process, making it easier to manage and deploy AWS resources.