A simple Flask blog with user registration and login.

• Author: Randall Degges
• Email: r@rdegges.com
• Site: https://www.rdegges.com

This example app showcases how to build simple Flask web apps. It demonstrates how to work with databases and handle user management (registration, login, etc.) using OpenID Connect and Okta.

I wrote this to showcase how to get stuff working in a simple way.

To install the sample app you need to have Python 2.7 or 3.4+ installed. You can then install the project dependencies by running:

$ pip install -e .

This will install all the project dependencies.

This app requires Okta to run. Okta is a free-to-use API service that stores user accounts and makes authentication and authorization simpler. Go create a free Okta developer account before continuing: https://developer.okta.com/signup

Next, you need to create a client_secrets.json file. This holds the OpenID Connect information necessary for the app to function. Create a file named client_secrets.json in the root of your project folder and add the following contents.

{
  "web": {
    "client_id": "{{ OKTA_CLIENT_ID }}",
    "client_secret": "{{ OKTA_CLIENT_SECRET }}",
    "auth_uri": "{{ OKTA_ORG_URL }}/oauth2/default/v1/authorize",
    "token_uri": "{{ OKTA_ORG_URL }}/oauth2/default/v1/token",
    "issuer": "{{ OKTA_ORG_URL }}/oauth2/default",
    "userinfo_uri": "{{ OKTA_ORG_URL }}/oauth2/default/userinfo",
    "redirect_uris": [
      "http://localhost:5000",
      "http://localhost:5000/oidc/callback"
    ]
  }
}

Next, define some necessary environment variables.

export FLASK_APP=blog
export SECRET_KEY={{ RANDOM_STRING_HERE }}
export OKTA_ORG_URL={{ OKTA_ORG_URL }}
export OKTA_AUTH_TOKEN={{ OKTA_AUTH_TOKEN }}

Set the SECRET_KEY variable to a long, random string. This will be used to secure your sessions (cookies). Then set the other two Okta variables appropriately.

Next, run the web server.

flask run

Finally, go visit http://localhost:5000 and explore the site!