N
Nuxt•3w ago
developers_easternts

Challenges in Implementing Server-Side Rendering (SSR) with Authentication and Refresh Token Logic

Hi everyone! I'm facing some major challenges with implementing SSR in my Nuxt.js app, which uses a Laravel backend as the main server. The main issues are around authentication and refresh token logic. Here's a quick summary: 1. Tokens stored in local storage can't be accessed on the server side. 2. useCookie (Nuxt composable) works only on the client side, so token cookies can't be accessed server-side. 3. Using setCookie (H3) works server-side only if httpOnly and secure are disabled, which compromises security. 4. Making the Nuxt server a mediator solves some issues but increases latency and API calls. 5. Refresh token logic requires interceptors, but Nuxt's oFetch lacks support. I'm using Axios, but managing token access between the server and client (especially for refresh tokens) is tricky. The Laravel backend handles some parts of the refresh token logic, which adds complexity. 6. Handling everything on the client side hurts SEO, which is critical for this SSR app. Has anyone encountered these issues or found a good approach to handle this? I'd appreciate any advice or recommendations! Thank you!
4 Replies
kapa.ai
kapa.ai•3w ago
Hi @developers_easternts. I'm kapa.ai, your friendly support bot. I will try to answer your question by searching through the knowledge base. :wave: ---------------------- Your question touches on several important aspects of implementing Server-Side Rendering (SSR) with authentication in Nuxt.js. I'll address the challenges you've mentioned based on the information available in the knowledge sources. 1. Tokens in localStorage: You're correct that localStorage is not accessible on the server-side. This is a common issue when transitioning from client-side to server-side rendering. 2. useCookie on server-side: Contrary to what you've mentioned, useCookie does work on both client and server sides in Nuxt 3. According to the Stack Overflow post, you can use useCookie to handle tokens: 
const accessToken = useCookie("accessToken");

accessToken.value = undefined; // this deletes cookie;
accessToken.value = "ezY.."; // this sets the value of cookie;
const accessToken = useCookie("accessToken");

accessToken.value = undefined; // this deletes cookie;
accessToken.value = "ezY.."; // this sets the value of cookie;
This code will run on both server-side and client-side. 3. setCookie and security: The knowledge sources don't provide specific information about setCookie and its security settings. However, it's generally recommended to use secure cookies for authentication tokens. 4. Nuxt server as mediator: While this approach might increase latency, it can be a valid solution in some cases. The Nuxt documentation provides an example of how to pass cookies from server-side API calls to the SSR response: 
export const fetchWithCookie = async (event: H3Event, url: string) => {
  const res = await $fetch.raw(url)
  const cookies = res.headers.getSetCookie()
  for (const cookie of cookies) {
    appendResponseHeader(event, 'set-cookie', cookie)
  }
  return res._data
}
export const fetchWithCookie = async (event: H3Event, url: string) => {
  const res = await $fetch.raw(url)
  const cookies = res.headers.getSetCookie()
  for (const cookie of cookies) {
    appendResponseHeader(event, 'set-cookie', cookie)
  }
  return res._data
}
5. Refresh token logic and interceptors: While Nuxt's $fetch doesn't have built-in interceptors like Axios, you can implement similar functionality using useFetch or useAsyncData with custom error handling. Here's an example from a Stack Overflow answer: 
const { data, pending, error, refresh } = useFetch('/pages', {
  // ... other options
  onResponseError({ response, options }) {
    if (response.status === 401) {
      // Implement refresh token logic here
    }
  }
})
const { data, pending, error, refresh } = useFetch('/pages', {
  // ... other options
  onResponseError({ response, options }) {
    if (response.status === 401) {
      // Implement refresh token logic here
    }
  }
})
6. SEO concerns: Your concern about SEO is valid. SSR is indeed beneficial for SEO, which is why finding a solution that works with SSR is important. To address these challenges, consider the following approach: 1. Use useCookie to store and retrieve tokens on both client and server sides. 2. Implement a plugin or middleware to handle authentication state and token refresh logic. 3. Use useRequestFetch for making authenticated requests during SSR, as mentioned in the Nuxt documentation. 4. For complex scenarios, you might need to implement custom logic to handle token refresh and request retrying, similar to the example provided in the Stack Overflow answer. Remember that handling authentication in an SSR application can be complex, and you might need to adjust your backend (Laravel) to work seamlessly with this setup. For more detailed information on implementing authentication in Nuxt 3, you might want to check out the official Nuxt documentation or consider using a dedicated authentication module like @nuxtjs/auth-next if it's compatible with your Nuxt version. ---------------------- Note: you can ask me a follow up question by @ mentioning me again :speech_balloon: ----------------------
kapa.ai
kapa.ai•3w ago
<@1280075996271349796> Kapa.ai is still learning and improving, please let me know how I did by reacting below.
developers_easternts
developers_easterntsOP•3w ago
I want to handle the 401 status globally across all the API calls!
Mittchel
Mittchel•3w ago
Custom fetch cmposable 
return useFetch(
    request, {
      baseURL: options?.baseURL ? options.baseURL : config.public.baseURL,
      onRequest() { // request, options
        // Set the request headers
      },
      onRequestError() { // request, options, error
        // Handle the request errors
      },
      onResponse({ response }) { // request, response, options
        // Process the response data
        return response._data;
      },
      onResponseError() { // request, response, options
        // Handle the response errors
      },
      ...options
    }
  );
}
return useFetch(
    request, {
      baseURL: options?.baseURL ? options.baseURL : config.public.baseURL,
      onRequest() { // request, options
        // Set the request headers
      },
      onRequestError() { // request, options, error
        // Handle the request errors
      },
      onResponse({ response }) { // request, response, options
        // Process the response data
        return response._data;
      },
      onResponseError() { // request, response, options
        // Handle the response errors
      },
      ...options
    }
  );
}

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