You can let your users authenticate with Firebase using their GitHub accounts
by integrating web-based generic OAuth Login into your app using the Firebase
SDK to carry out the end to end sign-in flow.
Before you begin
To sign in users using GitHub accounts, you must first enable GitHub as a
sign-in provider for your Firebase project:
If you haven't already,
add Firebase to your Android project
.
- In the
Firebase console
, open the
Auth
section.
- On the
Sign in method
tab, enable the
GitHub
provider.
- Add the
Client ID
and
Client Secret
from that provider's developer console to the
provider configuration:
- Register your app
as a developer application on GitHub and get your app's OAuth 2.0
Client ID
and
Client Secret
.
- Make sure your Firebase
OAuth redirect URI
(e.g.
my-app-12345.firebaseapp.com/__/auth/handler
)
is set as your
Authorization callback URL
in your app's settings page on your
GitHub app's config
.
- Click
Save
.
In your
module (app-level) Gradle file
(usually
<project>/<app-module>/build.gradle.kts
or
<project>/<app-module>/build.gradle
),
add the dependency for the Firebase Authentication library for Android. We recommend using the
Firebase Android BoM
to control library versioning.
dependencies {
// Import the BoM for the Firebase platform
implementation(platform("com.google.firebase:firebase-bom:32.8.1"))
// Add the dependency for the Firebase Authentication library
// When using the BoM, you don't specify versions in Firebase library dependencies
implementation("com.google.firebase:firebase-auth")
}
By using the
Firebase Android BoM
,
your app will always use compatible versions of Firebase Android libraries.
(Alternative)
Add Firebase library dependencies
without
using the BoM
If you choose not to use the Firebase BoM, you must specify each Firebase library version
in its dependency line.
Note that if you use
multiple
Firebase libraries in your app, we strongly
recommend using the BoM to manage library versions, which ensures that all versions are
compatible.
dependencies {
// Add the dependency for the Firebase Authentication library
// When NOT using the BoM, you must specify versions in Firebase library dependencies
implementation("com.google.firebase:firebase-auth:22.3.1")
}
Looking for a Kotlin-specific library module?
Starting in
October 2023
(Firebase BoM 32.5.0)
, both Kotlin and Java developers can
depend on the main library module (for details, see the
FAQ about this initiative
).
If you haven't yet specified your app's SHA-1 fingerprint, do so from the
Settings page
of the Firebase console. Refer to
Authenticating Your Client
for details on how to get your app's SHA-1 fingerprint.
Handle the sign-in flow with the Firebase SDK
If you are building an Android app, the easiest way to authenticate your users
with Firebase using their GitHub accounts is to handle the entire sign-in
flow with the Firebase Android SDK.
To handle the sign-in flow with the Firebase Android SDK, follow these steps:
Construct an instance of an
OAuthProvider
using its
Builder
with the
provider ID
github.com
Kotlin+KTX
val provider = OAuthProvider.newBuilder("github.com")
Java
OAuthProvider.Builder provider = OAuthProvider.newBuilder("github.com");
Optional
: Specify additional custom OAuth parameters that you want to
send with the OAuth request.
Kotlin+KTX
// Target specific email with login hint.
provider.addCustomParameter("login", "your-email@gmail.com")
Java
// Target specific email with login hint.
provider.addCustomParameter("login", "your-email@gmail.com");
For the parameters GitHub supports, see the
GitHub OAuth documentation
.
Note that you can't pass Firebase-required parameters with
setCustomParameters()
. These parameters are
client_id
,
response_type
,
redirect_uri
,
state
,
scope
and
response_mode
.
Optional
: Specify additional OAuth 2.0 scopes beyond basic profile that
you want to request from the authentication provider. If your application
requires access to private user data from GitHub APIs, you'll need to
request permissions to access GitHub APIs under
API Permissions
in the
GitHub developer console. Requested OAuth scopes must be exact matches to
the preconfigured ones in the app's API permissions.
Kotlin+KTX
// Request read access to a user's email addresses.
// This must be preconfigured in the app's API permissions.
provider.scopes = listOf("user:email")
Java
// Request read access to a user's email addresses.
// This must be preconfigured in the app's API permissions.
List<String> scopes =
new ArrayList<String>() {
{
add("user:email");
}
};
provider.setScopes(scopes);
Authenticate with Firebase using the OAuth provider object. Note that unlike
other FirebaseAuth
operations, this will take control of your UI by popping up a
Custom Chrome Tab
.
As a result, do not reference your Activity in the
OnSuccessListener
and
OnFailureListener
that you attach as they will immediately detach when
the operation starts the UI.
You should first check if you've already received a response. Signing in via
this method puts your Activity in the background, which means that it can be
reclaimed by the system during the sign in flow. In order to make sure that
you don't make the user try again if this happens, you should check if a
result is already present.
To check if there is a pending result, call
getPendingAuthResult
:
Kotlin+KTX
val pendingResultTask = firebaseAuth.pendingAuthResult
if (pendingResultTask != null) {
// There's something already here! Finish the sign-in for your user.
pendingResultTask
.addOnSuccessListener {
// User is signed in.
// IdP data available in
// authResult.getAdditionalUserInfo().getProfile().
// The OAuth access token can also be retrieved:
// ((OAuthCredential)authResult.getCredential()).getAccessToken().
// The OAuth secret can be retrieved by calling:
// ((OAuthCredential)authResult.getCredential()).getSecret().
}
.addOnFailureListener {
// Handle failure.
}
} else {
// There's no pending result so you need to start the sign-in flow.
// See below.
}
Java
Task<AuthResult> pendingResultTask = firebaseAuth.getPendingAuthResult();
if (pendingResultTask != null) {
// There's something already here! Finish the sign-in for your user.
pendingResultTask
.addOnSuccessListener(
new OnSuccessListener<AuthResult>() {
@Override
public void onSuccess(AuthResult authResult) {
// User is signed in.
// IdP data available in
// authResult.getAdditionalUserInfo().getProfile().
// The OAuth access token can also be retrieved:
// ((OAuthCredential)authResult.getCredential()).getAccessToken().
// The OAuth secret can be retrieved by calling:
// ((OAuthCredential)authResult.getCredential()).getSecret().
}
})
.addOnFailureListener(
new OnFailureListener() {
@Override
public void onFailure(@NonNull Exception e) {
// Handle failure.
}
});
} else {
// There's no pending result so you need to start the sign-in flow.
// See below.
}
To start the sign in flow, call
startActivityForSignInWithProvider
:
Kotlin+KTX
firebaseAuth
.startActivityForSignInWithProvider(activity, provider.build())
.addOnSuccessListener {
// User is signed in.
// IdP data available in
// authResult.getAdditionalUserInfo().getProfile().
// The OAuth access token can also be retrieved:
// ((OAuthCredential)authResult.getCredential()).getAccessToken().
// The OAuth secret can be retrieved by calling:
// ((OAuthCredential)authResult.getCredential()).getSecret().
}
.addOnFailureListener {
// Handle failure.
}
Java
firebaseAuth
.startActivityForSignInWithProvider(/* activity= */ this, provider.build())
.addOnSuccessListener(
new OnSuccessListener<AuthResult>() {
@Override
public void onSuccess(AuthResult authResult) {
// User is signed in.
// IdP data available in
// authResult.getAdditionalUserInfo().getProfile().
// The OAuth access token can also be retrieved:
// ((OAuthCredential)authResult.getCredential()).getAccessToken().
// The OAuth secret can be retrieved by calling:
// ((OAuthCredential)authResult.getCredential()).getSecret().
}
})
.addOnFailureListener(
new OnFailureListener() {
@Override
public void onFailure(@NonNull Exception e) {
// Handle failure.
}
});
On successful completion, the OAuth access token associated with the
provider can be retrieved from the
OAuthCredential
object returned.
Using the OAuth access token, you can call the
GitHub API
.
For example, to get basic profile information, you can call the REST API,
passing the access token in the
Authorization
header:
While the above examples focus on sign-in flows, you also have the
ability to link a GitHub provider to an existing user using
startActivityForLinkWithProvider
. For example, you can link multiple
providers to the same user allowing them to sign in with either.
Kotlin+KTX
// The user is already signed-in.
val firebaseUser = firebaseAuth.currentUser!!
firebaseUser
.startActivityForLinkWithProvider(activity, provider.build())
.addOnSuccessListener {
// Provider credential is linked to the current user.
// IdP data available in
// authResult.getAdditionalUserInfo().getProfile().
// The OAuth access token can also be retrieved:
// authResult.getCredential().getAccessToken().
// The OAuth secret can be retrieved by calling:
// authResult.getCredential().getSecret().
}
.addOnFailureListener {
// Handle failure.
}
Java
// The user is already signed-in.
FirebaseUser firebaseUser = firebaseAuth.getCurrentUser();
firebaseUser
.startActivityForLinkWithProvider(/* activity= */ this, provider.build())
.addOnSuccessListener(
new OnSuccessListener<AuthResult>() {
@Override
public void onSuccess(AuthResult authResult) {
// Provider credential is linked to the current user.
// IdP data available in
// authResult.getAdditionalUserInfo().getProfile().
// The OAuth access token can also be retrieved:
// authResult.getCredential().getAccessToken().
// The OAuth secret can be retrieved by calling:
// authResult.getCredential().getSecret().
}
})
.addOnFailureListener(
new OnFailureListener() {
@Override
public void onFailure(@NonNull Exception e) {
// Handle failure.
}
});
The same pattern can be used with
startActivityForReauthenticateWithProvider
which can be used to retrieve
fresh credentials for sensitive operations that require recent login.
Kotlin+KTX
// The user is already signed-in.
val firebaseUser = firebaseAuth.currentUser!!
firebaseUser
.startActivityForReauthenticateWithProvider(activity, provider.build())
.addOnSuccessListener {
// User is re-authenticated with fresh tokens and
// should be able to perform sensitive operations
// like account deletion and email or password
// update.
}
.addOnFailureListener {
// Handle failure.
}
Java
// The user is already signed-in.
FirebaseUser firebaseUser = firebaseAuth.getCurrentUser();
firebaseUser
.startActivityForReauthenticateWithProvider(/* activity= */ this, provider.build())
.addOnSuccessListener(
new OnSuccessListener<AuthResult>() {
@Override
public void onSuccess(AuthResult authResult) {
// User is re-authenticated with fresh tokens and
// should be able to perform sensitive operations
// like account deletion and email or password
// update.
}
})
.addOnFailureListener(
new OnFailureListener() {
@Override
public void onFailure(@NonNull Exception e) {
// Handle failure.
}
});
Next steps
After a user signs in for the first time, a new user account is created and
linked to the credentials—that is, the user name and password, phone
number, or auth provider information—the user signed in with. This new
account is stored as part of your Firebase project, and can be used to identify
a user across every app in your project, regardless of how the user signs in.
-
In your apps, you can get the user's basic profile information from the
FirebaseUser
object. See
Manage Users
.
In your Firebase Realtime Database and Cloud Storage
Security Rules
, you can
get the signed-in user's unique user ID from the
auth
variable,
and use it to control what data a user can access.
You can allow users to sign in to your app using multiple authentication
providers by
linking auth provider credentials to an
existing user account.
To sign out a user, call
signOut
:
Kotlin+KTX
Firebase.auth.signOut()
Java
FirebaseAuth.getInstance().signOut();