Accounts

The Meteor Accounts system builds on top of the userId support in publish and methods. The core packages add the concept of user documents stored in the database, and additional packages add secure password authentication, integration with third party login services, and a pre-built user interface.

The basic Accounts system is in the accounts-base package, but applications typically include this automatically by adding one of the login provider packages: accounts-password, accounts-facebook, accounts-github, accounts-google, accounts-meetup, accounts-twitter, or accounts-weibo.

Read more about customizing user accounts in the Accounts article in the Meteor Guide.

Anywhere but publish functions

Meteor.user()

import { Meteor } from 'meteor/meteor' (accounts-base/accounts_common.js, line 245)

Get the current user record, or null if no user is logged in. A reactive data source.

Retrieves the user record for the current user from the Meteor.users collection.

On the client, this will be the subset of the fields in the document that are published from the server (other fields won’t be available on the client). By default the server publishes username, emails, and profile (writable by user). See Meteor.users for more on the fields used in user documents.

On the server, this will fetch the record from the database. To improve the latency of a method that uses the user document multiple times, save the returned record to a variable instead of re-calling Meteor.user().

Anywhere but publish functions

Meteor.userId()

import { Meteor } from 'meteor/meteor' (accounts-base/accounts_common.js, line 236)

Get the current user id, or null if no user is logged in. A reactive data source.

Anywhere

Meteor.users

import { Meteor } from 'meteor/meteor' (accounts-base/server_main.js, line 21)

A Mongo.Collection containing user documents.

This collection contains one document per registered user. Here’s an example user document:

{
  _id: "bbca5d6a-2156-41c4-89da-0329e8c99a4f",  // Meteor.userId()

  username: "cool_kid_13", // unique name

  emails: [
    // each email address can only belong to one user.

    { address: "[email protected]", verified: true },
    { address: "[email protected]", verified: false }
  ],
  createdAt: Wed Aug 21 2013 15:16:52 GMT-0700 (PDT),
  profile: {
    // The profile is writable by the user by default.

    name: "Joe Schmoe"

  },
  services: {
    facebook: {
      id: "709050", // facebook id

      accessToken: "AAACCgdX7G2...AbV9AZDZD"

    },
    resume: {
      loginTokens: [
        { token: "97e8c205-c7e4-47c9-9bea-8e2ccc0694cd",
          when: 1349761684048 }
      ]
    }
  }
}

A user document can contain any data you want to store about a user. Meteor treats the following fields specially:

• username: a unique String identifying the user.
• emails: an Array of Objects with keys address and verified; an email address may belong to at most one user. verified is a Boolean which is true if the user has verified the address with a token sent over email.
• createdAt: the Date at which the user document was created.
• profile: an Object which the user can create and update with any data. Do not store anything on profile that you wouldn’t want the user to edit unless you have a deny rule on the Meteor.users collection.
• services: an Object containing data used by particular login services. For example, its reset field contains tokens used by forgot password links, and its resume field contains tokens used to keep you logged in between sessions.

Like all Mongo.Collections, you can access all documents on the server, but only those specifically published by the server are available on the client.

By default, the current user’s username, emails and profile are published to the client. You can publish additional fields for the current user with:

// server
Meteor.publish("userData", function () {
  if (this.userId) {
    return Meteor.users.find({_id: this.userId},
                             {fields: {'other': 1, 'things': 1}});
  } else {
    this.ready();
  }
});

// client
Meteor.subscribe("userData");

If the autopublish package is installed, information about all users on the system is published to all clients. This includes username, profile, and any fields in services that are meant to be public (eg services.facebook.id, services.twitter.screenName). Additionally, when using autopublish more information is published for the currently logged in user, including access tokens. This allows making API calls directly from the client for services that allow this.

Users are by default allowed to specify their own profile field with Accounts.createUser and modify it with Meteor.users.update. To allow users to edit additional fields, use Meteor.users.allow. To forbid users from making any modifications to their user document:

Meteor.users.deny({update: function () { return true; }});

Client

Meteor.loggingIn()

import { Meteor } from 'meteor/meteor' (accounts-base/accounts_client.js, line 137)

True if a login method (such as Meteor.loginWithPassword, Meteor.loginWithFacebook, or Accounts.createUser) is currently in progress. A reactive data source.

For example, the accounts-ui package uses this to display an animation while the login request is being processed.

Client

Meteor.logout([callback])

import { Meteor } from 'meteor/meteor' (accounts-base/accounts_client.js, line 345)

Log the user out.

Arguments

callback Function

Optional callback. Called with no arguments on success, or with a single Error argument on failure.

Client

Meteor.logoutOtherClients([callback])

import { Meteor } from 'meteor/meteor' (accounts-base/accounts_client.js, line 355)

Log out other clients logged in as the current user, but does not log out the client that calls this function.

Arguments

callback Function

Optional callback. Called with no arguments on success, or with a single Error argument on failure.

For example, when called in a user’s browser, connections in that browser remain logged in, but any other browsers or DDP clients logged in as that user will be logged out.

Client

Meteor.loginWithPassword(user, password, [callback])

import { Meteor } from 'meteor/meteor' (accounts-password/password_client.js, line 24)

Log the user in with a password.

Arguments

user Object or String

Either a string interpreted as a username or an email; or an object with a single key: email, username or id. Username or email match in a case insensitive manner.

password String

The user's password.

callback Function

Optional callback. Called with no arguments on success, or with a single Error argument on failure.

If there are multiple users with a username or email only differing in case, a case sensitive match is required. Although createUser won’t let you create users with ambiguous usernames or emails, this could happen with existing databases or if you modify the users collection directly.

This function is provided by the accounts-password package. See the Passwords section below.

Client

Meteor.loginWith([options], [callback])

import { Meteor } from 'meteor/meteor' (accounts-oauth/oauth_client.js, line 3)

Log the user in using an external service.

Arguments

callback Function

Optional callback. Called with no arguments on success, or with a single Error argument on failure. The callback cannot be called if you are using the "redirect" loginStyle, because the app will have reloaded in the meantime; try using client-side login hooks instead.

Options

requestPermissions Array of Strings

A list of permissions to request from the user.

requestOfflineToken Boolean

If true, asks the user for permission to act on their behalf when offline. This stores an additional offline token in the services field of the user document. Currently only supported with Google.

loginUrlParameters Object

Provide additional parameters to the authentication uri. Currently only supported with Google {@url https://developers.google.com/identity/protocols/OpenIDConnect#authenticationuriparameters}.

loginHint String

An email address that the external service will use to pre-fill the login prompt. Currently only supported with Meteor developer accounts and Google accounts. If used with Google, the Google User ID can also be passed.

loginStyle String

Login style ("popup" or "redirect", defaults to the login service configuration). The "popup" style opens the login page in a separate popup window, which is generally preferred because the Meteor application doesn't need to be reloaded. The "redirect" style redirects the Meteor application's window to the login page, and the login service provider redirects back to the Meteor application which is then reloaded. The "redirect" style can be used in situations where a popup window can't be opened, such as in a mobile UIWebView. The "redirect" style however relies on session storage which isn't available in Safari private mode, so the "popup" style will be forced if session storage can't be used.

redirectUrl String

If using "redirect" login style, the user will be returned to this URL after authorisation has been completed.

Available functions are:

• Meteor.loginWithMeteorDeveloperAccount
• Meteor.loginWithFacebook
• Meteor.loginWithGithub
• Meteor.loginWithGoogle
• Meteor.loginWithMeetup
• Meteor.loginWithTwitter
• Meteor.loginWithWeibo

These functions initiate the login process with an external service (eg: Facebook, Google, etc), using OAuth. When called they open a new pop-up window that loads the provider’s login page. Once the user has logged in with the provider, the pop-up window is closed and the Meteor client logs in to the Meteor server with the information provided by the external service.

Requesting Permissions

In addition to identifying the user to your application, some services have APIs that allow you to take action on behalf of the user. To request specific permissions from the user, pass the requestPermissions option the login function. This will cause the user to be presented with an additional page in the pop-up dialog to permit access to their data. The user’s accessToken — with permissions to access the service’s API — is stored in the services field of the user document. The supported values for requestPermissions differ for each login service and are documented on their respective developer sites:

• Facebook: http://developers.facebook.com/docs/authentication/permissions/
• GitHub: http://developer.github.com/v3/oauth/#scopes
• Google: https://developers.google.com/identity/protocols/googlescopes
• Meetup: http://www.meetup.com/meetup_api/auth/#oauth2-scopes
• Twitter, Weibo, Meteor developer accounts: requestPermissions currently not supported

External login services typically require registering and configuring your application before use. The easiest way to do this is with the accounts-ui package which presents a step-by-step guide to configuring each service. However, the data can be also be entered manually in the ServiceConfiguration.configurations collection, which is exported by the service-configuration package.

Configuring Services

First, add the service configuration package:

meteor add service-configuration

Then, in your app:

ServiceConfiguration.configurations.upsert(
  { service: "weibo" },
  {
    $set: {
      clientId: "1292962797",
      loginStyle: "popup",
      secret: "75a730b58f5691de5522789070c319bc"

    }
  }
);

Each external service has its own login provider package and login function. For example, to support GitHub login, run in your terminal:

meteor add accounts-github

and use the Meteor.loginWithGithub function:

Meteor.loginWithGithub({
  requestPermissions: ['user', 'public_repo']
}, function (err) {
  if (err)
    Session.set('errorMessage', err.reason || 'Unknown error');
});

Login service configuration is sent from the server to the client over DDP when your app starts up; you may not call the login function until the configuration is loaded. The function Accounts.loginServicesConfigured() is a reactive data source that will return true once the login service is configured; you should not make login buttons visible or active until it is true.

Ensure that your $ROOT_URL matches the authorized domain and callback URL that you configure with the external service (for instance, if you are running Meteor behind a proxy server, $ROOT_URL should be the externally-accessible URL, not the URL inside your proxy).

Popup versus redirect flow

When configuring OAuth login with a provider (such as Facebook or Google), Meteor lets you choose a popup- or redirect-based flow. In a popup-based flow, when a user logs in, they will be prompted to login at the provider in a popup window. In a redirect-based flow, the user’s whole browser window will be redirected to the login provider, and the window will redirect back to your app when the login is completed.

You can also pick which type of login to do by passing an option to Meteor.loginWith<ExternalService>

Usually, the popup-based flow is preferable because the user will not have to reload your whole app at the end of the login flow. However, the popup-based flow requires browser features such as window.close and window.opener that are not available in all mobile environments. In particular, we recommend using Meteor.loginWith<ExternalService>({ loginStyle: "redirect" }) in the following environments:

• Inside UIWebViews (when your app is loaded inside a mobile app)
• In Safari on iOS8 (window.close is not supported due to a bug)

{{ currentUser }}

(accounts-base/accounts_client.js, line 422)

Calls Meteor.user(). Use {{#if currentUser}} to check whether the user is logged in.

{{ loggingIn }}

(accounts-base/accounts_client.js, line 432)

Calls Meteor.loggingIn().

Client

Accounts.ui.config(options)

import { Accounts } from 'meteor/accounts-base' (accounts-ui-unstyled/accounts_ui.js, line 27)

Configure the behavior of {{> loginButtons}}.

Options

requestPermissions Object

Which permissions to request from the user for each external service.

requestOfflineToken Object

To ask the user for permission to act on their behalf when offline, map the relevant external service to true. Currently only supported with Google. See Meteor.loginWithExternalService for more details.

forceApprovalPrompt Object

If true, forces the user to approve the app's permissions, even if previously approved. Currently only supported with Google.

passwordSignupFields String

Which fields to display in the user creation form. One of 'USERNAME_AND_EMAIL', 'USERNAME_AND_OPTIONAL_EMAIL', 'USERNAME_ONLY', or 'EMAIL_ONLY' (default).

Example:

Accounts.ui.config({
  requestPermissions: {
    facebook: ['user_likes'],
    github: ['user', 'repo']
  },
  requestOfflineToken: {
    google: true

  },
  passwordSignupFields: 'USERNAME_AND_OPTIONAL_EMAIL'

});