HOWTO

This article explains how to try out FedCM in Google Chrome.

We will do our best to keep these instructions up to date as protocol and API changes occur. It will subsequently roll into downstream channels, but with lag in functionality and bug fixes since this is under development.

Available functionality

As of December 2022, FedCM API is available by default on Chrome (versions 108+). See here for a detailed guide on how to use the parts of the API that have been shipped!

Testing the API

Testing can be easier in Incognito mode, Guest mode or with single-use profiles if sign-up status persistence is not desired.

At the moment the only way to reset the sign-up status is to clear browsing data on the Chrome profile. This can be done from the [ClearBrowsing Data (chrome://settings/clearBrowserData)] [Settings] dialog. Under [Advanced] select the [Site Settings] checkbox. Also be sure the time range of data being cleared includes the time when the sign-up status was set.

Experimental functionality

To test experimental functionality:

Download Google Chrome Canary. It is best to experiment with the latest build possible to get the most up-to-date implementation.
FedCM is blocked if third party cookies are blocked. Ensure the Chrome version you're using is not blocking third party cookies by navigating to chrome://settings/cookies.
Enable your experimental FedCM feature. This can be done directly from chrome://flags and searching 'fedcm' to see all available features.

The list of experimental features can be found here.

Logout

We have been experimenting with methods for helping session management features continue to work that currently rely on third-party cookies. So far the only implemented proposal is an API for Logout.

The Logout API, IdentityCredential.logoutRPs() which is being explored as a way to preserve OIDC front-channel logout and SAML Single Signout with loss of access to third-party cookies in embedded contexts. It is intended to replace situations where an IDP logging out a user also must log out the user in RP contexts and would normally do it using iframes with each RP's known logout URL.

The API takes an array of URLs as an argument. For each URL, the browser determines if the user is known to have previously logged in to the RP using that IDP, and if it has, it sends a credentialed GET request to that URL.

IdentityCredential.logoutRPs([{
  url: "https://rp1.example/logout",
  accountId: "123",
}, {
  url: "https://rp2.example/logout",
  accountId: "456",
}]);

For security reasons, the IDP does not learn whether any of the network requests succeeded or failed.

LoginHint

To use the LoginHint API:

Add an array of hints to the accounts described in the accounts endpoint:

{
  accounts: [{
    id: "accountId",
    email: "account@email.com",
    hints: ["hint", "otherHint"],
    ...
  }, ...]
}

Invoke the API with the loginHint parameter like so:

  return await navigator.credentials.get({
      identity: {
        providers: [{
          configURL: "https://idp.example/config.json",
          clientId: "123",
          nonce: nonce,
          loginHint : "hint"
        }]
      }
  });

Now, only accounts with the "hint" provided will show in the chooser.

UserInfo

To use the UserInfo API:

The RP must embed an IDP iframe, which will perform the query.
The embedded iframe must receive permissions to invoke FedCM (via Permissions Policy).
The user first needs to go through the FedCM flow once before invoking UserInfo.
In a subsequent site visit, the IDP iframe may invoke UserInfo:

const user_info = await IdentityProvider.getUserInfo({
    configUrl: "https://idp.example/config.json",
    clientId: "client1234"
});

user_info.forEach( info => {
  // It's up to the IDP regarding how to display the returned accounts.
  // Accounts are sorted based on RP registration status.
  const name = info.name;
  const given_name = info.given_name;
  const picture = info.picture;
  const email = info.email;
}

RP Context

To use the RP Context API:

Provide the context value in JS, like so:

const {token} = await navigator.credentials.get({
  identity: {
    context: "signup", 
    providers: [{
          configURL: "https://idp.example/fedcm.json",
          clientId: "1234",
    }],
  }
});

Now, the browser UI will be different based on the value provided.

IdP Sign-in Status API

To use the IdP Sign-in Status API:

Enable the experimental feature FedCM with FedCM IDP sign-in status in chrome://flags.
When the user logs-in to the IdP, use the following HTTP header IdP-SignIn-Status: action=signin.
When the user logs-out of all of their accounts in the IdP, use the following HTTP header IdP-SignIn-Status: action=signed-out.
Add a signin_url": "/idp_login.html property to the configURL configuration.
The browser is going load the signin_url when the user is signed-out of the IdP.
Call IdentityProvider.close() when the user is done logging-in to the IdP.

Error API

To use the Error API:

Enable the experimental feature FedCmError in chrome://flags.
Provide an error in the ID assertion endpoint instead of a token:

{
  "error" : {
     "code" : "access_denied",
     "url" : "https://idp.example/error?type=foo"
  }
}

Note that the error field in the response including both code and url is optional. As long as the flag is enabled, Chrome will render an error UI when the token request fails. The error field is used to customize the flow when an error happens. Chrome will show a customized UI with proper error message if the code is "invalid_request", "unauthorized_client", "access_denied", "server_error", or "temporarily_unavailable". If a url field is provided and same-site with the IdP's configURL, Chrome will add an affordance for users to open a new page (e.g., via pop-up window) with that URL to learn more about the error on that page.

Auto-selected Flag API

To use the Auto-selected Flag API:

Enable the experimental feature FedCmAutoSelectedFlag in chrome://flags.

The browser will send a new boolean to represent whether auto re-authentication was triggered such that the account was auto selected by the browser in the flow to both the IdP and the API caller.

For IdP, the browser will include is_auto_selected in the request sent to the ID assersion endpoint:

POST /fedcm_assertion_endpoint HTTP/1.1
Host: idp.example
Origin: https://rp.example/
Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded
Cookie: 0x23223
Sec-Fetch-Dest: webidentity

account_id=123&client_id=client1234&nonce=Ct60bD&disclosure_text_shown=true&is_auto_selected=true

For the API caller, the browser will include a boolean when resolving the promise:

const cred = await navigator.credentials.get({
  identity: {
    providers: [{
      configURL: "https://idp.example/manifest.json",
      clientId: "1234"
    }]
  }
});

const token = cred.token;
if (cred.isAutoSelected !== undefined) {
  const isAutoSelected = cred.isAutoSelected;
}

DomainHint

To use the DomainHint:

Ensure that chrome://version shows 121.0.6146.0 or higher.
Enable the experimental feature FedCmDomainHint in chrome://flags.
Add an array of domain_hints to the accounts described in the accounts endpoint:

{
  accounts: [{
    id: "karenCorp1",
    email: "karen@corp1.com",
    name: "Karen",
    domain_hints: ["corp1", "corp2"],
  }, {
    id: "otherId",
    email: "karen@mail.com",
    name: "Karen",
  }, {
    id: "karenCorp3",
    email: "karen@corp3.com,
    name: "Karen",
    domain_hints: ["corp3"],
  }
  }, ...]
}

Invoke the API with the domainHint parameter like so:

  // This will show the karenCorp1 account.
  return await navigator.credentials.get({
      identity: {
        providers: [{
          configURL: "https://idp.example/config.json",
          clientId: "123",
          nonce: nonce,
          domainHint : "corp1"
        }]
      }
  });

Now, only accounts matching the hint provided will show in the chooser.

You may also use "any" to show only accounts which list at least one domain hint.

  // This will show the karenCorp1 and karenCorp3 accounts.
  return await navigator.credentials.get({
      identity: {
        providers: [{
          configURL: "https://idp.example/config.json",
          clientId: "123",
          nonce: nonce,
          domainHint : "any"
        }]
      }
  });

Disconnect API

To use the Disconnect API:

Ensure that chrome://version shows 121.0.6145.0 or higher.
Enable the experimental feature FedCmDisconnect in chrome://flags.

Add a disconnect endpoint to the FedCM config file. It must be same-origin with the config file.

{
  "accounts_endpoint": "/accounts",
  "id_assertion_endpoint": "/assertion",
...
  "disconnect_endpoint": "/disconnect"
}

Implement the disconnect_endpoint. It is fetched using a POST credentialed request with CORS mode:

POST /disconnect HTTP/1.1
Host: idp.example
Referer: rp.example
Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded
Cookie: 0x123
Sec-Fetch-Dest: webidentity

account_hint=account456&client_id=rp123

The IdP can then disconnect the account and respond with the Access-Control-Allow-Origin and Access-Control-Allow-Credentials headers to satisfy CORS, and in the body of the response it should include a JSON with the account ID of the account that has been disconnected.

{
  "account_id": "account456Id"
}

When a user goes through the FedCM flow, the browser stores that (RP, IDP, account) knowledge in browser storage in order to allow auto reauthn and User Info API to work correctly in the future. If the browser finds an account in local storage matching the ID provided, it will note the disconnection of that account. If the IdP fails by either returning some network error or saying that the disconnection was unsuccessful, or if the account_id is nowhere to be found, the browser will remove from local storage all of the federated accounts associated with the (RP, IDP).

Button Flow

The button flow differs from the widget flow in several ways. The most significant difference is that the button flow requires a user gesture such as clicking on a sign-in button. This means that a user must be able to successfully sign in with a federated account using this flow. In contrast, the widget flow is an optimized flow that can reduce sign-in friction. This means that if the widget flow is unavailable, a user can still click a "Sign in with IdP" button to continue. See illustrative mocks here.

Button Mode API

To use the Button Mode API:

Enable the experimental feature FedCmButtonMode in chrome://flags.
Make sure to invoke the API behind transient user activation.

Invoke the API with the mode parameter like so:

  return await navigator.credentials.get({
      identity: {
        providers: [{
          configURL: "https://idp.example/config.json",
          clientId: "123",
          nonce: nonce
        }],
        mode: "button"
      }
  });

The browser will send a new parameter to the IdP representing the request type by including mode=button in the request sent to the ID assersion endpoint:

POST /fedcm_assertion_endpoint HTTP/1.1
Host: idp.example
Origin: https://rp.example/
Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded
Cookie: 0x23223
Sec-Fetch-Dest: webidentity

account_id=123&client_id=client1234&nonce=Ct60bD&disclosure_text_shown=true&is_auto_selected=false
&mode=button

Note that we currently only include the new parameter in the button flow. Other flow types such as "widget" (name TBD) will be added when Chrome ships this feature.

Use Other Account API

This API allows users to use other accounts in the account chooser when, for example, IdPs support multiple accounts or replacing the existing account.

To use the Use Other Account API:

Enable the experimental feature FedCmUseOtherAccount in chrome://flags.
IdP specifies the following in the FedCM config file:

{
  "accounts_endpoint" : ...,
  "modes: {
    "button": {
      "supports_use_other_account": true|false,
    }
  }
}

Continuation API

This API lets the IdP request that the authorization flow should continue in a popup window that is controlled by the IdP. This can be used to request additional permission, to ask a user to confirm their account details, or for a variety of other use cases.

To use this feature:

Enable the experimental feature FedCmAuthz in chrome://flags
Return a "continue_on" field with a URL instead of a token from the ID assertion endpoint. For example:
```
{
  "continue_on": "https://idp.example/finish_login?account_id=123"
}
```
When the authorization flow finishes, call IdentityProvider.resolve to close the popup and provide the token that will be passed to the RP:
```
  IdentityProvider.resolve("this is the token");
```
If the account ID has changed (for example, if the popup provided a "Switch User" function), you can specify it in a second parameter:
```
  IdentityProvider.resolve("this is the token", {accountId: "123"});
```
If the user cancels the login flow, call IdentityProvider.close to close the popup and reject the promise that was returned from navigator.credentials.get:
```
  IdentityProvider.close();
```

Parameters API

This feature lets RPs specify additional key/value pairs that will get sent to the ID assertion endpoint.

To use this feature:

Enable the experimental feature FedCmAuthz in chrome://flags

Add a params field to the navigator.credentials.get call:

  navigator.credentials.get({
      identity: {
        providers: [{
          configURL: "https://idp.example/config.json",
          clientId: "123",
          nonce: nonce,
          params: {
            "key": "value",
            "anything_goes": "yes",
            "really": "yes",
            "scopes": "calendar.readonly",
            "dpop": "something",
            "moar": "sure",
          }
        }],
      }
  });

These key/value pairs will be sent as-is in the ID assertion request: account_id=123&key=value&anything_goes=yes&really=yes&scopes=calendar.readonly&dpop=something&moar=sure&...

Multiple configURLs

This feature lets you have multiple different config files under the same eTLD+1 as long as they all have the same accounts_endpoint. This can be useful to specify different branding or different ID assertion endpoints.

To use this feature:

Enable the experimental feature FedCmAuthz in chrome://flags

Add the login_url and accounts_endpoint to the .well-known/web-identity file:

{
  "provider_urls": [
    // keep this unchanged
  ],
  "accounts_endpoint": "https://fedcm.idp.example/accounts",
  "login_url": "https://fedcm.idp.example/login.html"
}

Account labels

The account labels API lets IdPs give a list of labels to an account and lets different config files specify a filter for those labels.

To use the API:

Enable the experimental feature FedCmAuthz in chrome://flags

Add a labels field to accounts in the account endpoint:

{
  "name": "John Smith",
  //...
  "labels": ["label1"]
}

Add the desired label to the config file:

{
  "accounts_endpoint": "...",
  // ...
  "accounts": {
    "include": "label1"
  }
}

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HOWTO-chrome.md

HOWTO-chrome.md

HOWTO

Available functionality

Testing the API

Experimental functionality

Logout

LoginHint

UserInfo

RP Context

IdP Sign-in Status API

Error API

Auto-selected Flag API

DomainHint

Disconnect API

Button Flow

Button Mode API

Use Other Account API

Continuation API

Parameters API

Multiple configURLs

Account labels

Files

HOWTO-chrome.md

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HOWTO-chrome.md

File metadata and controls

HOWTO

Available functionality

Testing the API

Experimental functionality

Logout

LoginHint

UserInfo

RP Context

IdP Sign-in Status API

Error API

Auto-selected Flag API

DomainHint

Disconnect API

Button Flow

Button Mode API

Use Other Account API

Continuation API

Parameters API

Multiple configURLs

Account labels