Security and authentication

ArcGIS supports secure access to location services and private data. It ensures that only valid, authorized users and services access protected information. To make authenticated requests to secure resources, you need to implement an authentication method.

An authentication method is a process used to verify the identity of a user or client who attempts to access a secured resource. Your application must present an identity whenever it makes an authenticated request to a secured resource.

This SDK supports the following authentication methods:

• API key: a permanent token that grants your application access to location services and, with an ArcGIS Developer account, private content (currently in beta). API keys currently only work with ArcGIS Online services.
• ArcGIS identity (formerly named user)
  • OAuth 2.0: manages ArcGIS authentication and grants a short-lived token generated via OAuth 2.0. This gives your application permission to access ArcGIS secured services authorized to an existing ArcGIS user's account.
  • Tokens: manages ArcGIS authentication and grants a short-lived token generated via Esri's proprietary token-based authentication mechanism. This gives your application permission to access ArcGIS secured services authorized to an existing ArcGIS user's account.
  • Network Credentials: manages network authentication (also known as web-tier authentication) for ArcGIS Enterprise. This gives your application permission to access network secured services authorized to your web-tier's identity store user accounts. Supports HTTP Basic/Digest, Integrated Windows Authentication (IWA), Kerberos, and Public Key Infrastructure (PKI).

For more information, see Security and authentication in the Mapping APIs and location services guide.

API keys

An API key is a permanent access token that grants your public-facing application access to specific, ready-to-use services, and, with an ArcGIS Developer account, private content, items, and limited client referrers (currently in beta).

Use API keys when you want to:

• Quickly write applications that consume ready-to-use services.
• Provide access to services without requiring users to sign in with an ArcGIS account.
• Use an access token that doesn't expire.

Use API keys in your app

An API key can be used to authorize access to specific ArcGIS Online services and resources from your app, as well as to monitor access to those services. An API key is created and managed in the ArcGIS developer dashboard and is tied to your ArcGIS account.

You can set an API key on the ArcGISEnvironment, which will apply the key to all requests your app makes for ArcGIS Online services and resources. You can also set an API key on any class that implements ApiKeyResource. When you set an API key for a specific class, it will override any key you may have set on ArcGISEnvironment, enabling more granular usage telemetry and management for ArcGIS Online resources used by your app.

Classes that implement ApiKeyResource include:

• Basemap
• ArcGISSceneLayer
• ArcGISTiledLayer
• ArcGISVectorTiledLayer
• ServiceFeatureTable
• ExportVectorTilesTask
• LocatorTask
• GeodatabaseSyncTask
• ClosestFacilityTask
• RouteTask
• ServiceAreaTask
• ExportTileCacheTask

ArcGIS identity

An ArcGIS identity, also known as a named user login, grants a temporary access token giving your application permission to access the content and services authorized to your application user's ArcGIS Online or ArcGIS Enterprise account. This temporary token is created using the OAuth 2.0 protocol and authorizes your application to act on the user's behalf without revealing their secure password to your application. Any service credits your application consumes are billed to the authenticated user's ArcGIS subscription and, during the authenticated period, your app can access your user's content on their behalf.

Use ArcGIS identity when you want to:

• Ensure users are signed in and authenticated with their own ArcGIS account.
• Use your app user's credits to pay for their private data, content, or service transactions.
• Limit the length of time users can be signed in to your app with a temporary token.
• Distribute your app through ArcGIS Marketplace.

Choose an authentication method

The choice of which type of authentication to implement is primarily dependent upon the resources required by your application. Also consider the strengths and limitations of the API or SDK technology on which your application is built. Your choice of authentication method is also affected by the API with which you build your application. For example, this API provides an AuthenticationManager, with helper methods and patterns to implement ArcGIS identity workflows.

Authentication manager

To manage the authentication process you must the AuthenticationManager that is available as a static property on the ArcGISEnvironment.

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ArcGISEnvironment.authenticationManager

The AuthenticationManager provides:

• ArcGIS and network challenge handlers that allow you to respond to the authentication challenges. For example, you can write code to present the user with a login screen and then continue to authenticate with those credentials. For more information, see Handle authentication challenges.
• The credential stores are available for you to place ArcGIS and network credentials. These stores are automatically checked when your application attempts to connect to secure resources. These stores can also be persisted so that the user does not have to sign in again when the application is re-launched. For more information, see Create and store credentials.

Handle authentication challenges

If your application attempts to access a secure resource and there is no matching credential in the credential store, an authentication challenge is raised:

• ArcGISAuthenticationChallenge is raised if the ArcGIS secured resource requires OAuth or ArcGIS Token authentication.
• NetworkAuthenticationChallenge is raised if the ArcGIS secured resource requires network credentials, such as Integrated Windows Authentication (IWA) or Public Key Infrastructure (PKI).

Catch and respond to these authentication challenges using the ArcGISAuthenticationChallengeHandler and NetworkAuthenticationChallengeHandler, respectively. These are functional interfaces that each implement a single abstract method called handleArcGISAuthenticationChallenge and handleNetworkAuthenticationChallenge respectively. Instead of creating a class that implements the interface, you can use a lambda expression.

ArcGIS authentication challenge handler

The ArcGISAuthenticationChallengeHandler is used to handle authentication challenges from ArcGIS secured resources that require OAuth or ArcGIS Token authentication. Handle the challenge by returning the ArcGISAuthenticationChallengeResponse. It has the following options:

• ContinueWithCredential - Handles the challenge with the specified credential.
• ContinueAndFail - Handles the challenge without a credential, causing it to fail with the original authentication error
• ContinueAndFailWithError - Handles the challenge with an error that occurred while trying to generate a credential. The request which issued the authentication challenge will fail with the given error.
• Cancel - Cancels the request that initiated the challenge.

Create a custom ArcGISAuthenticationChallengeHandler and pass it to the AuthenticationManager.arcGISAuthenticationChallengeHandler.

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ArcGISEnvironment.authenticationManager.arcGISAuthenticationChallengeHandler =
    ArcGISAuthenticationChallengeHandler { challenge ->
        // If OAuth user configuration is available for the challenge then create `OAuthUserCredential`
        if (oAuthConfiguration.canBeUsedForUrl(challenge.requestUrl)) {
            // Prompt to open browser and login with OAuth username and password
            // ...
            ArcGISAuthenticationChallengeResponse
                .ContinueWithCredential(oAuthUserCredential)
        } else {
            // Prompt user for getting the username and password to create the `TokenCredential`
            // ...
            // Create TokenCredential
            val tokenCredential = TokenCredential.createWithChallenge(challenge, username, password, 30).getOrNull()
            tokenCredential?.let { ArcGISAuthenticationChallengeResponse.ContinueWithCredential(it) } ?: ArcGISAuthenticationChallengeResponse.ContinueAndFail
        }
    }

Network authentication challenge handler

The NetworkAuthenticationChallengeHandler is used to handle authentication challenges from ArcGIS secured resources that require network credentials, such as Integrated Windows Authentication (IWA) or Public Key Infrastructure (PKI). Handle the challenge by returning the NetworkAuthenticationChallengeResponse. It has the following options:

• ContinueWithCredential - Handles the challenge with the specified credential.
• ContinueAndFail - Handles the challenge without a credential, causing it to fail with the original authentication error
• ContinueAndFailWithError - Handles the challenge with an error that occurred while trying to generate a credential. The request which issued the authentication challenge will fail with the given error.
• Cancel - Cancels the request that initiated the challenge.

Create a custom NetworkAuthenticationChallengeHandler and pass it to the AuthenticationManager.networkAuthenticationChallengeHandler.

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ArcGISEnvironment.authenticationManager.networkAuthenticationChallengeHandler =
    NetworkAuthenticationChallengeHandler { authenticationChallenge ->
        when (authenticationChallenge.networkAuthenticationType) {
            is NetworkAuthenticationType.UsernamePassword ->
                // Create the Password Credential
                val credential = PasswordCredential(username, password)
                NetworkAuthenticationChallengeResponse.ContinueWithCredential(credential)
            is NetworkAuthenticationType.ServerTrust ->
                NetworkAuthenticationChallengeResponse.ContinueWithCredential(ServerTrust)
            is NetworkAuthenticationType.Certificate -> {
                val selectedAlias = showCertificatePicker(activityContext)
                selectedAlias?.let {
                    NetworkAuthenticationChallengeResponse.ContinueWithCredential(CertificateCredential(it))
                } ?: NetworkAuthenticationChallengeResponse.ContinueAndFail
            }
        }
    }

Create and store credentials

You can create a credential in the authentication challenge handler when an authentication challenge is triggered. For more information, see Handle authentication challenges. The AuthenticationManager stores these ArcGIS and network credentials in the following stores:

• ArcGISCredentialStore stores ArcGIS credentials.
• NetworkCredentialStore stores Network credentials.

These credential stores exist for the lifetime of the application and ensure that an authentication challenge is not raised if a matching credential exists in the store. If you want to avoid prompting users for credentials between application sessions, make them persistent using the companion functions ArcGISCredentialStore.createWithPersistence() and NetworkCredentialStore.createWithPersistence(). This uses Android's EncryptedSharedPreferences.

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lifecycleScope.launch {
  val arcGISCredentialStore = ArcGISCredentialStore.createWithPersistence().getOrThrow()
  ArcGISEnvironment.authenticationManager.arcGISCredentialStore = arcGISCredentialStore

  val networkCredentialStore = NetworkCredentialStore.createWithPersistence().getOrThrow()
  ArcGISEnvironment.authenticationManager.networkCredentialStore = networkCredentialStore
}

During application sign-out you should revoke all OAuth user tokens and then clear all credentials from the credential stores.

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// Iterate through the collection of `OAuthUserCredential` objects stored in the `ArcGISCredentialStore`.
// Revoke the refresh and access token of each `OAuthUserCredential`.
oAuthUserCredential.revokeToken()

// Clear all ArcGIS and network credentials from their respective stores.
ArcGISEnvironment.authenticationManager.arcGISCredentialStore.removeAll()
ArcGISEnvironment.authenticationManager.networkCredentialStore.removeAll()

ArcGIS credentials

You can access resources secured with an ArcGIS identity using the following credential types:

• OAuthUserCredential - A credential object used to access OAuth token-secured ArcGIS resources.
• TokenCredential - A credential object used to access token-secured ArcGIS resources.
• PregeneratedTokenCredential - A credential object used to access token-secured ArcGIS resources using a token that is generated outside of your application.

If you know the services domain/server context, you can create an ArcGIS credential independent of loading the specific resource and store it in the ArcGISCredentialStore.

OAuthUserCredential

To create an OAuthUserCredential, provide an OAuthUserConfiguration with a valid portal URL, client ID, and redirect URL. You must present a prompt, in a browser supported by the device, for the user to enter the username and password. The response from the browser should be handled within your activity or the fragment that launched the browser prompt. Once the OAuthUserCredential is created, you will be able to access the token information from the asynchronous tokenInfo property.

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// Define OAuthConfiguration
private val oAuthConfiguration = OAuthUserConfiguration(
    "<portal URL>",
    "<ClientID>",
    "<redirectURI>"
)

// Create OAuthUserCredential by passing OAuthConfiguration and initiate OAuth login process by invoking the provided startSignIn lambda
val oAuthUserCredential = OAuthUserCredential.create(oAuthConfiguration) { oAuthUserSignIn ->
        promptForOAuthUserSignIn(oAuthUserSignIn)
    }.getOrThrow()

See the Android details about how to launch custom chrome tabs in android and working with getting result from an activity

To see this authentication in action, look at to the authenticate-with-oauth sample.

TokenCredential

To create a TokenCredential, provide a secured service URL, valid username, and password. Optionally, you can specify token expiration minutes. Once a TokenCredential is created, you will be able to access token information from the asynchronous tokenInfo property.

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scope.launch {
    TokenCredential.create(requestUrl,username, password, 30).onSuccess {
        // Get accesstoken from credential
        var tokenInfo = it.getTokenInfo().getOrNull()
        var accessToken = tokenInfo?.accessToken
    }
}

PregeneratedTokenCredential

To create a PregeneratedTokenCredential, provide a previously generated short or long-lived access token. Use this when the access token is created using the generateToken REST endpoint directly. You must provide the referer if one was used while generating the token.

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var accessToken = "xxxxxxx"
var tokenInfo = val tokenInfo = TokenInfo(accessToken, Instant.now().plus(2, ChronoUnit.HOURS), true)
var pregeneratedTokenCredential = PregeneratedTokenCredential(requestUrl, tokenInfo)

Network credentials

You can access resources secured by network authentication using the following credential types:

• PasswordCredential - A credential object that is used to authenticate HTTP Basic/Digest or Integrated Windows Authentication (IWA) secured resources.
• CertificateCredential - A credential object that is used to authenticate Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) secured resources.

PasswordCredential

The PasswordCredential is used to authenticate HTTP Basic/Digest, Integrated Windows Authentication (IWA) secured resources.

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var passwordCredential = PasswordCredential("username", "password")

CertificateCredential

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private suspend fun showCertificatePicker(activityContext: Activity): String? =
    suspendCancellableCoroutine { continuation ->
        val aliasCallback = KeyChainAliasCallback { alias ->
            continuation.resume(alias)
        }
        KeyChain.choosePrivateKeyAlias(
            activityContext, aliasCallback, null, null, null, null
        )
}
val selectedAlias = showCertificatePicker(activityContext)
var certificateCredential = selectedAlias?.let { CertificateCredential(it) } ?: null

Samples

Authenticate with OAuth