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Concepts

MVP OpenID Connect (OIDC)

Andrios Robert

• 1 min read

MVP OpenID Connect (OIDC) means building the smallest, working version of authentication that actually runs in production. Nothing extra, no sprawling auth flows, no abandoned integrations. Just the core handshake between your app, the identity provider (IdP), and the end user.

OIDC is a thin identity layer on top of OAuth 2.0. OAuth handles authorization; OIDC adds authentication. The MVP setup focuses on these steps:

  1. Register your app with the IdP
    Get a client ID and client secret. Configure redirect URIs.
  2. Implement the Authorization Code Flow
    The client sends the user to the IdP’s authorization endpoint. After login, the IdP returns an authorization code to your redirect URI.
  3. Exchange the code for tokens
    Request an ID token and an access token from the token endpoint. The ID token carries user identity in a signed JWT.
  4. Verify the ID token
    Check the signature with the IdP’s public keys. Validate claims like iss, exp, and aud.
  5. Establish user session
    Map the verified claims to your application’s user model. Issue your own session or application token.

An MVP OIDC build strips away scopes you don’t need and extensions you can add later. Skip advanced claims, multi-tenancy, or deep profile integration until your core path is solid. This approach reduces surface area for bugs and security gaps while proving your integration works with live traffic.

Key elements to keep in mind when implementing OIDC at MVP scale:

  • Security first: Enforce HTTPS, validate all tokens and claims, protect secrets.
  • Standards compliance: Follow the OIDC spec to avoid vendor lock-in.
  • Observability: Log token exchanges and errors to debug in real time.
  • Scalability: Design the flow so it can expand into SSO, refresh tokens, or federated logins without rewrites.

This minimal integration still gives you full disruptive power: single sign-on, secure logins, compatibility across major IdPs like Google, Microsoft, Auth0, Okta, and custom OAuth servers. With OIDC in place, your product speaks the universal language of identity.

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