C#

Using the OAuth2 Authorization Token in REST API Calls

See more OAuth2 Examples

Demonstrates how to use an OAuth2 authorization token in REST API calls after obtaining it. C#

bool success = false;

//  This example assumes the Chilkat API to have been previously unlocked.
//  See Global Unlock Sample for sample code.

//  This example demonstrates how to include the OAuth2 authorization token in HTTP requests (REST API calls).
//  An OAuth2 authorization token is typically in JSON format, and looks something like this:

//  {
//    "token_type": "Bearer",
//    "scope": "openid profile User.ReadWrite Mail.ReadWrite Mail.Send Files.ReadWrite User.Read Calendars.ReadWrite Group.ReadWrite.All",
//    "expires_in": 3600,
//    "ext_expires_in": 3600,
//    "access_token": "EwCQA8l6...rW5az09bI0C",
//    "refresh_token": "MCZhZ...6jBNRcpuQW",
//    "id_token": "eyJ0eXAi...kcuQQrT03jMyA",
//    "expires_on": "1569281808"
//  }

//  A few notes about the JSON above:
//  
//  1) Different OAuth2 implementations (servers) may have different JSON members. 
//     The important ones for this discussion are "access_token" and "refresh_token".   
//     These members should always be named exactly "access_token" and "refresh_token".  
//     (I've never seen them named differently, although I don't think it's a formal standard.)
//  
//  2) The "id_token" is present if you obtained the OAuth2 authorization token including "openid" in the scope.
//     It contains information about the user.  It is a JWT (per the OIDC specification) and here is the Chilkat
//     example for decoding the id_token.
//  
//  3) If you don't have a "refresh_token" in your JSON, some REST API's require "offline_access" to be included
//     in the scope when obtaining the OAuth2 token.
//  
//  4) IMPORTANT: Quite often, access_token's are only valid for a limited amount of time.  (Often just 1 hour (i.e. 3600 seconds)).
//     When the access token expires, your HTTP request will fail with a 401 Unauthorized status response.  This is where your application
//     can automatically recover by fetching a new access_token and re-sending the request.  I'll explain...  
//     Usually getting an OAuth2 token for a user requires interactive approval from the user in a browser.
//     However, refreshing the access_token does NOT require user interaction.  You should design
//     your application to automatically recover from an expired access token by 
//     (A) Automatically fetch a new access_token using the refresh_token as shown in this example.
//     (B) Persist the new JSON to wherever you're storing the access token, such as in a file or database record.  You'll need it for the next time you refresh.
//     (C) Update the http.AuthToken or rest.Authorization property (as shown below)
//     (D) Re-send the request using the updated auth token.
//     The above 4 steps (A, B, C, D) can be automatic such that the user never notices, except for a small delay in performance.

//  When your application obtains the OAuth2 access token, it should store the JSON in persistent manner, such as in 
//  a file, a database record, etc.  The "access_token" is used by your application when sending REST requests.  Typically, it is sent
//  in the Authorization request header.  For example:
//  
//  Authorization: Bearer <token>
//  

//  -----
//  Chilkat has two classes for sending HTTP requests.  One is named "Http" and the other is named "Rest".  Either can be used.  
//  Once you become familiar with both, you'll find that some requests are more convenient to code in one or the other.
//  
//  I'll demonstrate how to get the access_token from the JSON and add the Authorization header for both cases.
//  

//  ----
//  ---- (1) Get the access_token ----
Chilkat.JsonObject json = new Chilkat.JsonObject();
success = json.LoadFile("qa_data/tokens/myToken.json");
if (success == false) {
    Debug.WriteLine(json.LastErrorText);
    return;
}

//  Get the access_token member.
string accessToken = json.StringOf("access_token");

//  ----
//  ---- (2) Demonstrate adding the "Authorization: Bearer <token>" header using Chilkat Http ----
Chilkat.Http http = new Chilkat.Http();

//  Setting the AuthToken property causes the "Authorization: Bearer <token>" header to be added to each request.
http.AuthToken = accessToken;

//  For example:
string responseStr = http.QuickGetStr("https://example.com/someApiCall");

//  Another example:
Chilkat.HttpRequest req = new Chilkat.HttpRequest();

req.HttpVerb = "POST";
req.ContentType = "application/x-www-form-urlencoded";
//  ...

Chilkat.HttpResponse resp = new Chilkat.HttpResponse();
success = http.HttpReq("https://example.com/someApiCall",req,resp);
if (success == false) {
    Debug.WriteLine(http.LastErrorText);
    return;
}

//  In both of the above cases, the "Authorization: Bearer <token>" header is automatically added to each request.

//  ----
//  ---- (3) Add the Authorization header using Chilkat Rest ----
Chilkat.Rest rest = new Chilkat.Rest();

success = rest.Connect("example.com",443,true,true);
//  ...

//  Set the Authorization property to "Bearer <token>"
Chilkat.StringBuilder sbAuthHeaderVal = new Chilkat.StringBuilder();
sbAuthHeaderVal.Append("Bearer ");
sbAuthHeaderVal.Append(accessToken);
rest.Authorization = sbAuthHeaderVal.GetAsString();

//  All requests sent by the rest object will now include the "Authorization: Bearer <token>" header.

//  For example:
responseStr = rest.FullRequestNoBody("GET","/someApiCall");