Articles tagged javascript
Changes Are Coming to the Okta Developer Edition Organizations
As part of Okta’s Secure Identity Commitment (OSIC) to lead the industry in the fight against identity attacks, we are making changes to improve our architecture related to developer organizations. On May 22, 2025, our new Integrator Free Plan will become the default organization type when you sign up on developer.okta.com. If you are actively using an Okta Developer Edition org, please create an Integrator organization and migrate to it. The Okta Developer Edition terms...
Astronomy Geek to Oktanaut: Landing as a Dev Advocate at Okta
I’m Akanksha Bhasin, and I’m all about building community for developers. I come from a developer background, and for over six years, I’ve been building and growing communities for developers. On top of that, I’ve spent the last four years diving into Developer Relations. I’ve had the chance to work with some fast-growing companies, helping them build their communities worldwide. That means getting the word out about emerging tech to developers, organizing significant events and...
Supporting Devs Through Advocacy
Supporting developers is my modus operandi. I’ve been with Okta for three years, formerly as a Developer Support Engineer and now as a Developer Advocate. Before joining Okta, I graduated from Hackbright Academy, an all-women boot camp based in San Francisco. I learned to think like a programmer through coding in Python and Javascript. My full-stack capstone project was a web application that tracked sugar intake, inspired by the community health service volunteer work I...
How to Build a Secure React and Fastify API App
Note: In May 2025, the Okta Integrator Free Plan replaced Okta Developer Edition Accounts, and the Okta CLI was deprecated. We preserved this post for reference, but the instructions no longer work exactly as written. Replace the Okta CLI commands by manually configuring Okta following the instructions in our Developer Documentation. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is an independent agency of the US federal government, responsible for space exploration and research, with field...
Quick JavaScript Authentication with OktaDev Schematics
Hello, My name is Matt Raible, and I am a developer advocate at Okta. In early 2019, I created OktaDev Schematics to simplify my life when doing Angular demos. But let me step back a bit first. I’ve worked at Okta for over five years; before that, I was an independent consultant for 20 years, mainly doing Java and web development for clients. I’ve learned a lot about OpenID Connect (OIDC) and Okta’s JavaScript SDKs...
Practical Uses of Dependency Injection in Angular
Angular has an extensive system that uses *providers” to add and configure dependencies to the application you’re building. To create providers, you use the built-in Dependency Injection (DI) system. This post will cover Angular’s powerful DI system at a high level and demonstrate a few practical use cases and strategies for configuring your dependencies. Let’s get practical! Table of Contents Quick overview of Dependency Injection Angular’s Dependency Injection system Injection tokens in Angular Configuring providers...
Use Redux to Manage Authenticated State in a React App
Note: In May 2025, the Okta Integrator Free Plan replaced Okta Developer Edition Accounts, and the Okta CLI was deprecated. We preserved this post for reference, but the instructions no longer work exactly as written. Replace the Okta CLI commands by manually configuring Okta following the instructions in our Developer Documentation. There are a myriad of state management options available for React. React provides the option of using the built-in Context for when you have...
Build a Simple CRUD App with Spring Boot and Vue.js
Note: In May 2025, the Okta Integrator Free Plan replaced Okta Developer Edition Accounts, and the Okta CLI was deprecated. We preserved this post for reference, but the instructions no longer work exactly as written. Replace the Okta CLI commands by manually configuring Okta following the instructions in our Developer Documentation. You will use Vue and Spring Boot to build a todo list web application. The application will include CRUD abilities, meaning that you can...
How to Build and Deploy a Serverless React App on Azure
Note: In May 2025, the Okta Integrator Free Plan replaced Okta Developer Edition Accounts, and the Okta CLI was deprecated. We preserved this post for reference, but the instructions no longer work exactly as written. Replace the Okta CLI commands by manually configuring Okta following the instructions in our Developer Documentation. Microsoft’s Azure platform has as many high-tech products as anyone could ever want, including the Azure Static Web Apps service. As the name suggests,...
Creating a TypeScript React Application with Vite
Note: In May 2025, the Okta Integrator Free Plan replaced Okta Developer Edition Accounts, and the Okta CLI was deprecated. We preserved this post for reference, but the instructions no longer work exactly as written. Replace the Okta CLI commands by manually configuring Okta following the instructions in our Developer Documentation. Front-end applications are becoming ever bigger and more complex. It is not uncommon for a React app to have hundreds or even thousands of...
Build and Deploy a Node.js App to Heroku
Note: In May 2025, the Okta Integrator Free Plan replaced Okta Developer Edition Accounts, and the Okta CLI was deprecated. We preserved this post for reference, but the instructions no longer work exactly as written. Replace the Okta CLI commands by manually configuring Okta following the instructions in our Developer Documentation. Heroku is a platform as a service (PaaS) that supports many languages. Initially, it supported only Ruby sites but now supports various languages, including...
Three Ways to Configure Modules in Your Angular App
Note: In May 2025, the Okta Integrator Free Plan replaced Okta Developer Edition Accounts, and the Okta CLI was deprecated. We preserved this post for reference, but the instructions no longer work exactly as written. Replace the Okta CLI commands by manually configuring Okta following the instructions in our Developer Documentation. Configurations are part of a developer’s life. Configuration data is information your app needs to run and may include tokens for third-party systems or...
Create a Secure Serverless Application with FaunaDB
Note: In May 2025, the Okta Integrator Free Plan replaced Okta Developer Edition Accounts, and the Okta CLI was deprecated. We preserved this post for reference, but the instructions no longer work exactly as written. Replace the Okta CLI commands by manually configuring Okta following the instructions in our Developer Documentation. Fauna is a transactional database that is delivered to your application as a secure cloud API. Fauna hosts your database and then allows your...
Add OpenID Connect to Angular Apps Quickly
AngularJS 1.0 was released in October 2010. At the time, it was considered one of the most revolutionary and popular web frameworks ever to see the light of day. Developers loved it, and created many apps with it. However, as a pioneer in the JS framework space, AngularJS had some growing pains and significant issues. The team went back to the drawing board for a major breaking release with Angular 2. It took two years...
A Comparison of Cookies and Tokens for Secure Authentication
Access control in websites and web applications is a top priority for security, but how you set up access depends on how you store the data to be authenticated. This, in turn, enables user authorization. Cookies and tokens are two common ways of setting up authentication. Cookies are chunks of data created by the server and sent to the client for communication purposes. Tokens, usually referring to JSON Web Tokens (JWTs), are signed credentials encoded...
How to Build a Website With Eleventy
Note: In May 2025, the Okta Integrator Free Plan replaced Okta Developer Edition Accounts, and the Okta CLI was deprecated. We preserved this post for reference, but the instructions no longer work exactly as written. Replace the Okta CLI commands by manually configuring Okta following the instructions in our Developer Documentation. 11ty is a fantastic tool for quickly creating static sites using a variety of templating languages. 11ty makes designing and developing static sites simple....
Simplify Building Vue Applications with NuxtJS
Note: In May 2025, the Okta Integrator Free Plan replaced Okta Developer Edition Accounts, and the Okta CLI was deprecated. We preserved this post for reference, but the instructions no longer work exactly as written. Replace the Okta CLI commands by manually configuring Okta following the instructions in our Developer Documentation. Nuxt calls itself the intuitive Vue framework. It aims to make a developer-friendly experience while not sacrificing performance or degrading the integrity of your...
How to Create a React App with Storybook
Note: In May 2025, the Okta Integrator Free Plan replaced Okta Developer Edition Accounts, and the Okta CLI was deprecated. We preserved this post for reference, but the instructions no longer work exactly as written. Replace the Okta CLI commands by manually configuring Okta following the instructions in our Developer Documentation. UI designers and front-end developers are tasked with creating clean and consistent user interfaces. At the same time, testing is a cornerstone of software...
Loading Components Dynamically in an Angular App
Note: In May 2025, the Okta Integrator Free Plan replaced Okta Developer Edition Accounts, and the Okta CLI was deprecated. We preserved this post for reference, but the instructions no longer work exactly as written. Replace the Okta CLI commands by manually configuring Okta following the instructions in our Developer Documentation. Businesses have unique and complex needs. In addition to the user or organization-specific data to show, there might be a need to display different...
Build an Electron App with JavaScript and Authentication
Note: In May 2025, the Okta Integrator Free Plan replaced Okta Developer Edition Accounts, and the Okta CLI was deprecated. We preserved this post for reference, but the instructions no longer work exactly as written. Replace the Okta CLI commands by manually configuring Okta following the instructions in our Developer Documentation. Electron is one of the most popular desktop frameworks today. Electron uses HTML, JavaScript, and CSS for its front end and Node.js for its...
What You Need to Know about Angular v13
Angular v13 has arrived! And with it come a lot of exciting new features and updates. Angular continues to improve runtime performance, decrease compilation time, promote good software development practices, enhance developer experience, and keep up to date with dependencies such as TypeScript and RxJS. Is anyone else excited about RxJS v7?! 🤩 Let’s take a look at a few of the many new exciting features in Angular v13 with some code examples using authentication....
Kubernetes To The Cloud With AWS: Deploying a Node.js App to EKS
Since 2013 when it was released to the public, Docker has become an industry-standard tool for development teams to package applications into small executable containers. A year later, Kubernetes was released by Google to manage large amounts of containers, and provide features for high availability (HA) and auto-scaling. While Kubernetes adds many benefits to your container management, you might find the process of setting up Kubernetes within your on-premise infrastructure quite challenging, especially on the...
Build a Secure SPA with React Routing
Note: In May 2025, the Okta Integrator Free Plan replaced Okta Developer Edition Accounts, and the Okta CLI was deprecated. We preserved this post for reference, but the instructions no longer work exactly as written. Replace the Okta CLI commands by manually configuring Okta following the instructions in our Developer Documentation. When building an SPA (single page application) with React, routing is one of the fundamental processes a developer must handle. React routing is the...
Oktanaut Tanay, Reporting for Duty
Greetings Oktaverse! I’m Tanay 🖖 I have been following Okta for many years, and I am very excited to finally join you all and get a chance to serve this wonderful community. First things first, here’s a picture of me so that you can recognize me and say hi the next time we meet. 👇 Who I am and what I’ve done so far I started my journey into the world of tech communities and...
A Quick Guide to Angular and GraphQL
Note: In May 2025, the Okta Integrator Free Plan replaced Okta Developer Edition Accounts, and the Okta CLI was deprecated. We preserved this post for reference, but the instructions no longer work exactly as written. Replace the Okta CLI commands by manually configuring Okta following the instructions in our Developer Documentation. Over the past five years, GraphQL has established itself as the most popular alternative to REST APIs. GraphQL has several advantages over traditional REST-based...
Flying Into Okta
“Just follow your heart and keep smiling.” – Kiki’s Delivery Service I’m embarking on a new adventure and entering the wide world of Developer Advocacy at Okta! Much like Kiki setting out on her journey, I’m full of enthusiasm and curiosity and am ready to fly. I’m thrilled to be here at Okta and looking forward to everything. Now, I just need to get a talking cat… “Smile. We have to make a good first...
Spreading Some Okta Love to the DevOps World
Hello Oktaverse! So finally, I have landed at Okta on my second attempt 😉. I’m so excited about this new chapter in my career journey and can’t wait to see what’s in store. But first, introductions. Who am I I’m from the south of India, a village in Kerala to be specific, but I grew up in Chennai since my parents moved there looking for work when I was 12. I like to call myself...
Learn How to Build a Single-Page App with Vue and Spring Boot
In this tutorial, you are going to create a single-page application (SPA) that uses a Spring Boot resource server and a Vue front-end client. You’ll see how to configure Spring Boot to use JSON Web Tokens (JWT) for authentication and authorization, with Okta as an OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect (OIDC) provider. You’ll also see how to bootstrap a Vue client app with the Vue CLI and how to secure it using the Okta Sign-In...
Fixing Common Problems with CORS and JavaScript
Many websites have JavaScript functions that make network requests to a server, such as a REST API. The web pages and APIs are often in different domains. This introduces security issues in that any website can request data from an API. Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) provides a solution to these issues. It became a W3C recommendation in 2014. It makes it the responsibility of the web browser to prevent unauthorized access to APIs. All modern...
Create a Secure Chat Application with Socket.IO and React
Note: In May 2025, the Okta Integrator Free Plan replaced Okta Developer Edition Accounts, and the Okta CLI was deprecated. We preserved this post for reference, but the instructions no longer work exactly as written. Replace the Okta CLI commands by manually configuring Okta following the instructions in our Developer Documentation. The HTTP protocol powers the web. Traditionally, HTTP is a request-response protocol. This means that a client requests data from a server, and the...
Build a Secure NestJS Back End for Your React Application
Note: In May 2025, the Okta Integrator Free Plan replaced Okta Developer Edition Accounts, and the Okta CLI was deprecated. We preserved this post for reference, but the instructions no longer work exactly as written. Replace the Okta CLI commands by manually configuring Okta following the instructions in our Developer Documentation. NestJS is a node.js framework that boasts the ability to build efficient, reliable, and scalable applications. A NestJS application can serve as the backend...
Build Your First NestJS Application
Note: In May 2025, the Okta Integrator Free Plan replaced Okta Developer Edition Accounts, and the Okta CLI was deprecated. We preserved this post for reference, but the instructions no longer work exactly as written. Replace the Okta CLI commands by manually configuring Okta following the instructions in our Developer Documentation. NestJs is a popular Node.js framework that is built with typescript and makes use of object-oriented programming, functional programming, and functional reactive programming. NestJs...
Building and Securing a Go and Gin Web Application
Note: In May 2025, the Okta Integrator Free Plan replaced Okta Developer Edition Accounts, and the Okta CLI was deprecated. We preserved this post for reference, but the instructions no longer work exactly as written. Replace the Okta CLI commands by manually configuring Okta following the instructions in our Developer Documentation. Today, we are going to build a simple web application that implements a to-do list. The backend will be written in Go. It will...
A Quick Guide to React Login Options
Note: In May 2025, the Okta Integrator Free Plan replaced Okta Developer Edition Accounts, and the Okta CLI was deprecated. We preserved this post for reference, but the instructions no longer work exactly as written. Replace the Okta CLI commands by manually configuring Okta following the instructions in our Developer Documentation. Almost any web app needs some sort of access control, usually implemented by user login. Choosing how user authentication is implemented depends on the...
25 Years of JavaScript and Java! 🎉
The year is 1995… Java is born in May. So is JavaScript (but it’s called Mocha). Microsoft releases Windows 95 in August. JavaScript, as it’s known today, first appeared on this day, December 4th. Wow! It’s so crazy to look back and see so many influential software releases happen in such a short period. Congrats to both JavaScript and Java for doing so well over the last 25 years! Fun fact from the @JavaScriptDaily 👇...
Use the Okta CLI to Quickly Build Secure Angular Apps
The Okta CLI is a new tool we’ve created here at Okta. It’s designed to streamline creating new Okta accounts, registering apps, and getting started. Wwwhhaaattt, you might say?! That’s right, it’s super awesome! To show you how easy it is, I created a screencast that shows you how to use it with Angular. To create the same app as the one shown in this video, you’ll need to run okta start angular --branch widget....
Develop Secure Apps with WebSockets and Node.js
Note: In May 2025, the Okta Integrator Free Plan replaced Okta Developer Edition Accounts, and the Okta CLI was deprecated. We preserved this post for reference, but the instructions no longer work exactly as written. Replace the Okta CLI commands by manually configuring Okta following the instructions in our Developer Documentation. WebSockets is a technology for communicating between the client and the server in a web application, where an open socket creates a persistent connection...
Build a Video Chat Service with JavaScript, WebRTC, and Okta
If you are familiar with any sort of real-time communications over the internet such as GoToMeeting, Google Meet, or Discord then chances are you have used WebRTC. WebRTC is an open framework for handling real-time communications. It supports video, voice, or any data between peers. WebRTC is supported by Google, Apple, Microsoft, Mozilla, and many others. In this tutorial, you will learn how to build a web application that allows a user to broadcast their...
Build a Modern API using Fastify and Node.js
Fastify is just as the name implies, fast. Not just in terms of development speed—its low overhead means the server is fast as well. When writing APIs, speed on both sides is paramount. Fastify is a web framework for Node.js that was designed for efficiency. Fastify is fully extensible with hooks, plugins, and decorators. It is schema-based, meaning you can define your response and request objects in your routes and have Fastify do the data...
Migrate User Passwords with Okta's Password Hook
Okta is an identity platform focused on making authentication easy to build with minimal code. Our goal at Okta is to build a solution so flexible and easy to use, that you’ll never have to build authentication again. And while Okta can provide a lot of new functionality to your application, including multi-factor authentication (MFA) based on contextual policies, self-service password resets, and federation to enterprise identity providers and social media accounts, we’ve found that...
Build a React App with ANT Design Principles
Note: In May 2025, the Okta Integrator Free Plan replaced Okta Developer Edition Accounts, and the Okta CLI was deprecated. We preserved this post for reference, but the instructions no longer work exactly as written. Replace the Okta CLI commands by manually configuring Okta following the instructions in our Developer Documentation. For years the go-to HTML/CSS framework of choice for developers was Bootstrap. A new contender has appeared in the form of Ant Design. Ant...
Build Your First Deno App with Authentication
Note: In May 2025, the Okta Integrator Free Plan replaced Okta Developer Edition Accounts, and the Okta CLI was deprecated. We preserved this post for reference, but the instructions no longer work exactly as written. Replace the Okta CLI commands by manually configuring Okta following the instructions in our Developer Documentation. The creator of Node.js, Ryan Dahl, has authored a new framework for designing web applications. He went back and fixed some mistakes he made...
Build a Simple React Application Using Hooks
Note: In May 2025, the Okta Integrator Free Plan replaced Okta Developer Edition Accounts, and the Okta CLI was deprecated. We preserved this post for reference, but the instructions no longer work exactly as written. Replace the Okta CLI commands by manually configuring Okta following the instructions in our Developer Documentation. If you have been developing React applications, then you probably know that there are two ways of creating React components. You can create a...
Build and Deploy Secure Serverless Functions with Netlify
Note: In May 2025, the Okta Integrator Free Plan replaced Okta Developer Edition Accounts, and the Okta CLI was deprecated. We preserved this post for reference, but the instructions no longer work exactly as written. Replace the Okta CLI commands by manually configuring Okta following the instructions in our Developer Documentation. Serverless computing, sometimes referred to as “functions as a service” (FaaS), is an on-demand approach to providing backend application services. The serverless architecture is...
Quickly Build Node.js Apps with Sails.js
Sails.js is an exciting MVC framework for Node.js. Recently the team released version 1.0 and today you’re going to learn how to use the framework to rapidly build a new website. The hype around Sails.js is real. As a veteran MVC developer, I was impressed with the extensibility, organization, flow, and speed Sails.js provides. The team at Sails. js has done an excellent job of abstracting the MVC portion of the codebase away from the...
Node.js Login with Express and OIDC
{% include integrator-org-warning.html %} :page-liquid: :experimental: Node.js just celebrated its 11th birthday on May 27! With the state of things nows, it’s pretty crazy to think back to the massive JavaScript Renaissance boost of 2009. In case you’re not aware, the JavaScript Renaissance began in around 2004 with Ajax, increased exponentially with jQuery in the mid-2000s, and then really took off with Node.js and a plethora of early JavaScript web frameworks; including Backbone.js, Ember.js, and...
Vue Login and Access Control the Easy Way
Note: In May 2025, the Okta Integrator Free Plan replaced Okta Developer Edition Accounts, and the Okta CLI was deprecated. We preserved this post for reference, but the instructions no longer work exactly as written. Replace the Okta CLI commands by manually configuring Okta following the instructions in our Developer Documentation. Vue lets you create complex and high-performance web applications. As a front-end JavaScript framework, it’s becoming more popular than ever. Vue Router is the...
How to Build a Secure AWS Lambda API with Node.js and React
Note: In May 2025, the Okta Integrator Free Plan replaced Okta Developer Edition Accounts, and the Okta CLI was deprecated. We preserved this post for reference, but the instructions no longer work exactly as written. Replace the Okta CLI commands by manually configuring Okta following the instructions in our Developer Documentation. Serverless architecture with AWS Lambdas is quickly becoming a popular option for companies looking to deploy applications without the overhead of maintaining servers. AWS...
Build a React App with Styled Components
Note: In May 2025, the Okta Integrator Free Plan replaced Okta Developer Edition Accounts, and the Okta CLI was deprecated. We preserved this post for reference, but the instructions no longer work exactly as written. Replace the Okta CLI commands by manually configuring Okta following the instructions in our Developer Documentation. When you create React applications, at some point you have to make a decision on how to organize your CSS styles. For larger applications,...
Stop Writing Server-Based Web Apps
The World-Wide Web, as we know it, started around 1993 by serving static HTML files with links to other HTML files. It didn’t take long for developers to find ways of making websites more “dynamic” using technologies like Common Gateway Interface (CGI), Perl, and Python. Since the ’90s, I have built web applications using a variety of languages, platforms, and frameworks. I’ve written application frameworks, content management systems, a blog engine, and a social media...
Build a Secure NestJS API with Postgres
Note: In May 2025, the Okta Integrator Free Plan replaced Okta Developer Edition Accounts, and the Okta CLI was deprecated. We preserved this post for reference, but the instructions no longer work exactly as written. Replace the Okta CLI commands by manually configuring Okta following the instructions in our Developer Documentation. NestJS is a modern, progressive framework for building Node.js applications and APIs. NestJS is built on TypeScript, and is designed to use solid programming...
Build Reusable React Components
Note: In May 2025, the Okta Integrator Free Plan replaced Okta Developer Edition Accounts, and the Okta CLI was deprecated. We preserved this post for reference, but the instructions no longer work exactly as written. Replace the Okta CLI commands by manually configuring Okta following the instructions in our Developer Documentation. Who doesn’t love beer? When you drink a great beer you want to tell someone. You definitely want to be able to remind yourself...
Build Components in JavaScript Without a Framework
Everyone has their favorite framework, and most developers aren’t shy about sharing those opinions. I guarantee you right now two developers are arguing about their favorite frameworks. Personally, I’ve been using JavaScript frameworks since JQuery was introduced. I’ve written applications for clients using Knockout.js, Angular 1+, React (since before v15), and have made some small learning apps using Stencil and Vue. One of the great things that all of these frameworks bring to the table...
Use Sass with React to Build Beautiful Apps
Note: In May 2025, the Okta Integrator Free Plan replaced Okta Developer Edition Accounts, and the Okta CLI was deprecated. We preserved this post for reference, but the instructions no longer work exactly as written. Replace the Okta CLI commands by manually configuring Okta following the instructions in our Developer Documentation. When you are developing web applications with React, you know that writing the JavaScript code is only half of the story. The other half...
How to Customize Your Angular Build With Webpack
Note: In May 2025, the Okta Integrator Free Plan replaced Okta Developer Edition Accounts, and the Okta CLI was deprecated. We preserved this post for reference, but the instructions no longer work exactly as written. Replace the Okta CLI commands by manually configuring Okta following the instructions in our Developer Documentation. If you’re a frontend dev in the world today you’ve probably heard of (and possibly even used) webpack. The Angular build process uses webpack...
A Quick Guide to Integrating React and GraphQL
Note: In May 2025, the Okta Integrator Free Plan replaced Okta Developer Edition Accounts, and the Okta CLI was deprecated. We preserved this post for reference, but the instructions no longer work exactly as written. Replace the Okta CLI commands by manually configuring Okta following the instructions in our Developer Documentation. If your application consumes a ReST API from React, the default setup will give you ALL the data for a resource. But if you...
What's New for Node.js in 2020
In 2019, Node.js turned 10 years old, and the number of packages available on npm crossed one million. Downloads for Node.js itself continues to rise, growing 40% year over year. Another significant milestone is Node.js recently joined the OpenJS Foundation, which promises to improve project health and sustainability, as well as improve collaboration with the JavaScript community at large. As you can see, a lot has happened in a relatively short amount of time! Every...
Create a React Native App with Login in 10 Minutes
Note: In May 2025, the Okta Integrator Free Plan replaced Okta Developer Edition Accounts, and the Okta CLI was deprecated. We preserved this post for reference, but the instructions no longer work exactly as written. Replace the Okta CLI commands by manually configuring Okta following the instructions in our Developer Documentation. React Native is a mobile app development framework that allows you to use React to build native iOS and Android mobile apps. Instead of...
Use Vue and GraphQL to Build a Secure App
Note: In May 2025, the Okta Integrator Free Plan replaced Okta Developer Edition Accounts, and the Okta CLI was deprecated. We preserved this post for reference, but the instructions no longer work exactly as written. Replace the Okta CLI commands by manually configuring Okta following the instructions in our Developer Documentation. When you develop a new web application, you most likely split the application into two parts. The server-side provides access control and data persistence,...
Secure and Scalable: An Introduction to JAMStack
Note: In May 2025, the Okta Integrator Free Plan replaced Okta Developer Edition Accounts, and the Okta CLI was deprecated. We preserved this post for reference, but the instructions no longer work exactly as written. Replace the Okta CLI commands by manually configuring Okta following the instructions in our Developer Documentation. If you’re a web developer, chances are you have heard the term “JAMstack.” Curiously, JAMstack isn’t a solution to prevent clogged printers, something to...
Painless Node.js Authentication
Note: In May 2025, the Okta Integrator Free Plan replaced Okta Developer Edition Accounts, and the Okta CLI was deprecated. We preserved this post for reference, but the instructions no longer work exactly as written. Replace the Okta CLI commands by manually configuring Okta following the instructions in our Developer Documentation. User authentication is a critical component of just about every web application. Unfortunately, while authentication is a core part of all websites, it can...
Build a NodeJS App with TypeScript
As dynamically typed languages became prominent during the last decade, typeless (or should I say lawless?) programming became the norm for the backend as well as the frontend. Many people believe the simplicity of “just writing” code is efficient for providing a proof of concept or prototyping applications. However, as those applications grow, the typeless code used to build them often becomes incredibly convoluted and more difficult (some would say impossible) to manage. In the...
How to Connect Angular and MongoDB to Build a Secure App
Note: In May 2025, the Okta Integrator Free Plan replaced Okta Developer Edition Accounts, and the Okta CLI was deprecated. We preserved this post for reference, but the instructions no longer work exactly as written. Replace the Okta CLI commands by manually configuring Okta following the instructions in our Developer Documentation. MongoDB is often the first suggestion when it comes time to select a NoSQL database. But what is a NoSQL database, and why would...
Use Vue.js Data Binding Options for Reactive Applications
Note: In May 2025, the Okta Integrator Free Plan replaced Okta Developer Edition Accounts, and the Okta CLI was deprecated. We preserved this post for reference, but the instructions no longer work exactly as written. Replace the Okta CLI commands by manually configuring Okta following the instructions in our Developer Documentation. Vue.js is known as a “progressive framework for building user interfaces”. There’s a lot to unpack in this simple statement. It’s easy to get...
Add Authentication and Personalization to VuePress
Note: In May 2025, the Okta Integrator Free Plan replaced Okta Developer Edition Accounts, and the Okta CLI was deprecated. We preserved this post for reference, but the instructions no longer work exactly as written. Replace the Okta CLI commands by manually configuring Okta following the instructions in our Developer Documentation. There are several advantages to using a static site generator such as VuePress. With VuePress, you can focus on writing content using markdown, and...
Build a Phone System for Your Company With Twilio, Okta, and JavaScript
If you’ve ever worked for a company with more than a few employees, you’ve probably seen some interesting phone systems. When I used to work at Cisco, everyone was given a dedicated Cisco desk phone that hooked up to a server somewhere in the company and each employee was assigned a unique phone number and extension. I never really liked that setup. It annoyed me that I had this big, clunky desk phone taking up...
Angular Authentication with JWT
Note: In May 2025, the Okta Integrator Free Plan replaced Okta Developer Edition Accounts, and the Okta CLI was deprecated. We preserved this post for reference, but the instructions no longer work exactly as written. Replace the Okta CLI commands by manually configuring Okta following the instructions in our Developer Documentation. User registration and authentication are one of the features that almost no web application can do without. Authentication usually consists of a user entering...
Top 10 Visual Studio Code Extensions for Node.js
I am amazed at the adoption of Visual Studio Code by developers from all platforms and languages. According to the 2019 Stack Overflow Developer Survey, VS Code is dominating. The primary reasons I use VS Code are its great support for debugging JavaScript and Node.js code, and how easy it is to customize with free extensions available in Visual Studio Marketplace. However, there are thousands of extensions available! How do you know which ones are...
Is the OAuth 2.0 Implicit Flow Dead?
Note: In May 2025, the Okta Integrator Free Plan replaced Okta Developer Edition Accounts, and the Okta CLI was deprecated. We preserved this post for reference, but the instructions no longer work exactly as written. Replace the Okta CLI commands by manually configuring Okta following the instructions in our Developer Documentation. You may have heard some buzz recently about the OAuth 2.0 Implicit flow. The OAuth Working Group has published some new guidance around the...
Angular MVC - A Primer
Note: In May 2025, the Okta Integrator Free Plan replaced Okta Developer Edition Accounts, and the Okta CLI was deprecated. We preserved this post for reference, but the instructions no longer work exactly as written. Replace the Okta CLI commands by manually configuring Okta following the instructions in our Developer Documentation. When designing software with a user interface, it is important to structure the code in a way that makes it easy to extend and...
Build a Desktop Application with Angular and Electron
Note: In May 2025, the Okta Integrator Free Plan replaced Okta Developer Edition Accounts, and the Okta CLI was deprecated. We preserved this post for reference, but the instructions no longer work exactly as written. Replace the Okta CLI commands by manually configuring Okta following the instructions in our Developer Documentation. So, you have been learning all about web technologies including JavaScript, HTML, and CSS. The advantage of web technologies is, of course, that the...
Build a Secure Node.js App with SQL Server
Note: In May 2025, the Okta Integrator Free Plan replaced Okta Developer Edition Accounts, and the Okta CLI was deprecated. We preserved this post for reference, but the instructions no longer work exactly as written. Replace the Okta CLI commands by manually configuring Okta following the instructions in our Developer Documentation. I am a long-time relational database nerd, specifically SQL Server. At times in my career, I’ve focused on database design, deployments, migrations, administration, query...
Build a CRUD App with Angular and Firebase
Note: In May 2025, the Okta Integrator Free Plan replaced Okta Developer Edition Accounts, and the Okta CLI was deprecated. We preserved this post for reference, but the instructions no longer work exactly as written. Replace the Okta CLI commands by manually configuring Okta following the instructions in our Developer Documentation. Storage as a Service (SaaS) is becoming ever more popular with many businesses. The advantages are clear. Instead of maintaining your own backend server...
Devnexus 2019: Join the <dev/>olution
Hello, Developers! Have you ever been to the wonderful conference known as Devnexus? I attended for the first time two years ago and had a blast! It’s well organized, affordable, and has a diverse and fun crowd. This year, Okta is sponsoring Devnexus and we have a number of speakers sharing their wisdom. I thought it’d be fun to write a blog post that highlights my team members and what they’ll be talking about. If...
The Basics of JavaScript Generators
JavaScript does a pretty good job of iterating over collections. But what if you don’t know what the collection is, or how big it will be? What if the thing you want to iterate over doesn’t have an iterator to use? JavaScript generators can help! What Are JavaScript Generators? JavaScript generators are just ways to make iterators. They use the yield keyword to yield execution control back to the calling function and can then resume...
Modern Token Authentication in Node with Express
Note: In May 2025, the Okta Integrator Free Plan replaced Okta Developer Edition Accounts, and the Okta CLI was deprecated. We preserved this post for reference, but the instructions no longer work exactly as written. Replace the Okta CLI commands by manually configuring Okta following the instructions in our Developer Documentation. Token authentication is the hottest way to authenticate users to your web applications nowadays. There’s a lot of interest in token authentication because it...
If It Ain't TypeScript It Ain't Sexy
A few years ago I got “Jeep fever.” I began daydreaming about owning a Jeep, driving around with the top down, and going on trips into the mountains. That’s when it happened. Everywhere I went, I saw Jeeps. I passed countless Jeeps on the road. There were Jeeps in every parking lot. Practically everyone had a Jeep but me. Where did all these Jeeps come from?! Logically, I had to assume there was relatively the...
What's New in JavaScript for 2019
For the last several years, JavaScript has been evolving on a steady cadence with new language features. If you’re curious to see what’s in store for the next version of JavaScript, this post is for you! Before we talk about the latest features, it’s important to understand how new ideas become part of the JavaScript language. The Process for New JavaScript Language Features In a nutshell, the language specification that drives JavaScript is called ECMAScript....
The History (and Future) of Asynchronous JavaScript
Everyone knows that JavaScript is eating the world. The problem is, there are lots of developers responsible for building software with JavaScript without a particularly deep knowledge of the language. It is easy to learn the basics and be productive, but newer programmers have a tendency to misuse some of JavaScript. Asynchronous JavaScript is particularly misunderstood. In this post, I will show you the most common ways to make asynchronous JavaScript calls and when to...
Learn JavaScript in 2019
There’s never been a better time to be a programmer. Technology isn’t slowing down. Neither will the demand for innovative solutions to solve new challenges or take advantage of new opportunities. The key differentiation in the marketplace is often the one with the better technology. And companies are willing to pay big bucks for it. Not only are there new challenges and opportunities, but there are also better systems today to support programmers. Languages, code...
Build a Mobile App with React Native and Spring Boot
React Native is a framework for building mobile applications with React. React allows you to use a declarative style of programming to describe how your UI should look. It uses embedded HTML (called JSX) to render buttons, lists, scrollable views, and many other components. I’m a seasoned Java and JavaScript developer that loves Spring and TypeScript. Some might call me a Java hipster because I like JavaScript. In this post, I’m going to show you...
Build a Desktop App with Electron and Authentication
Note: In May 2025, the Okta Integrator Free Plan replaced Okta Developer Edition Accounts, and the Okta CLI was deprecated. We preserved this post for reference, but the instructions no longer work exactly as written. Replace the Okta CLI commands by manually configuring Okta following the instructions in our Developer Documentation. Electron is a framework for building cross-platform desktop applications with web technologies like JavaScript, HTML, and CSS. It was created for GitHub’s Atom editor...
Hey, Okta! Where's the Bacon?
I am so excited to announce I have joined Okta’s developer relations team as a Senior Developer Advocate! My focus is on all the JavaScripts: Node.js, Vue, React, and a bazillion other things! My Origin Story My first taste of programming was BASIC on the TRS-80. In the 90’s, I wrote a lot of DOS and Windows applications using Pascal and Visual Basic. Around 1998, I made the jump to building Web applications using “classic”...
Build a Health Tracking App with React, GraphQL, and User Authentication
Note: In May 2025, the Okta Integrator Free Plan replaced Okta Developer Edition Accounts, and the Okta CLI was deprecated. We preserved this post for reference, but the instructions no longer work exactly as written. Replace the Okta CLI commands by manually configuring Okta following the instructions in our Developer Documentation. I think you’ll like the story I’m about to tell you. I’m going to show you how to build a GraphQL API with Vesper...
How to Prevent Your Users from Using Breached Passwords
Not too long ago, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) officially recommended that user-provided passwords be checked against existing data breaches. Today I’m going to show you how you can easily add this functionality to any website you run using PassProtect, an open-source developer library we created specifically for this purpose. Why Check User Passwords? The new NIST recommendations mean that every time a user gives you a password, it’s your responsibility as...
Add Authentication to Any Web Page in 10 Minutes
Note: In May 2025, the Okta Integrator Free Plan replaced Okta Developer Edition Accounts, and the Okta CLI was deprecated. We preserved this post for reference, but the instructions no longer work exactly as written. Replace the Okta CLI commands by manually configuring Okta following the instructions in our Developer Documentation. × Heads up... this blog post is old! For updated instructions on adding authentication using the Okta Sign-in Widget, see Embedded Okta Sign-In Widget...
Secure a Node API with OAuth 2.0 Client Credentials
Note: In May 2025, the Okta Integrator Free Plan replaced Okta Developer Edition Accounts, and the Okta CLI was deprecated. We preserved this post for reference, but the instructions no longer work exactly as written. Replace the Okta CLI commands by manually configuring Okta following the instructions in our Developer Documentation. Securing server-to-server API services can be tricky. OAuth 2.0 is an excellent way to offload user authentication to another service, but what if there...
Add Authentication to Your Vanilla JavaScript App in 20 Minutes
Note: In May 2025, the Okta Integrator Free Plan replaced Okta Developer Edition Accounts, and the Okta CLI was deprecated. We preserved this post for reference, but the instructions no longer work exactly as written. Replace the Okta CLI commands by manually configuring Okta following the instructions in our Developer Documentation. “Sometimes nothing is good enough” is a phrase that software engineers don’t speak or hear often. In the fast-changing world of web development, there...
Announcing PassProtect - Proactive Web Security
If you’re reading this article you probably care about web security. You probably use a password manager to manage your passwords, you’ve probably got multi-factor authentication setup for all of your services, and you’re probably already subscribed to Have I Been Pwned? so you’re alerted when one of your logins have been involved in a data breach. But you’re not most people. Most web users are completely disconnected from the incredible advancements that have been...
Build a Video Chat Service with JavaScript, WebRTC, and Okta
Note: In May 2025, the Okta Integrator Free Plan replaced Okta Developer Edition Accounts, and the Okta CLI was deprecated. We preserved this post for reference, but the instructions no longer work exactly as written. Replace the Okta CLI commands by manually configuring Okta following the instructions in our Developer Documentation. As recently as seven short years ago, building video applications on the web was a massive pain. Remember the days of using Flash and...
Simple Node Authentication
Note: In May 2025, the Okta Integrator Free Plan replaced Okta Developer Edition Accounts, and the Okta CLI was deprecated. We preserved this post for reference, but the instructions no longer work exactly as written. Replace the Okta CLI commands by manually configuring Okta following the instructions in our Developer Documentation. Authenticating users for Node.js/Express.js web apps can be difficult. You have to set up a database, define a user schema (or use something more...
Hello, Okta. It's me, Dave
Spread Serverless Holiday Cheer with Lambda and API Gateway
It’s that time of year again: Christmas music on the radio, festive decorations in the workplace, and a chill in the air. Except in the Southern Hemisphere, where it’s warm and balmy. And on the International Space Station, where the temperature is strictly regulated. But I digress. It’s a season for reconnecting with loved ones, exchanging gifts, and eating delicious food. And, if you’re like me, a little downtime to work on fun projects. Looking...
Use OpenID Connect to Build a Simple Node.js Website
Note: In May 2025, the Okta Integrator Free Plan replaced Okta Developer Edition Accounts, and the Okta CLI was deprecated. We preserved this post for reference, but the instructions no longer work exactly as written. Replace the Okta CLI commands by manually configuring Okta following the instructions in our Developer Documentation. If you’ve ever spent time trying to figure out the best way to handle user authentication for your Node app and been confused: you’re...
Build a Preact App with Authentication
React is a fast, and lightweight library, which has led to fast adoption across the SPA (single-page app) ecosystem. Preact is an even lighter-and-faster alternative to React, weighing in at a measly 3kb! For less complex applications, it can be a great choice. In this tutorial, you’ll build a basic Preact application with a couple of pages and user authentication using the Okta Sign-In Widget. Bootstrap Your App With PreactCLI To get your project started,...
The Top 10 JavaOne 2017 Sessions for the Java Hipster
A “hipster” is defined as a person who is exceptionally aware of or interested in the latest trends and tastes. JHipster is an open source project whose name stands for “Java Hipster.” If you’re using JHipster, chances are you’re aware of and using the latest trends and techniques in Java development. Trendy things in server-side Java development include microservices, embedded app servers, deployment with containers, auto-configuration, and monitoring. JHipster supports all of these trends, embracing...
Build a Cryptocurrency Comparison Site with Vue.js
Vue.js is a simple JavaScript framework that lets you build dynamic front-end web applications. Lots of people compare it to React and Angular. As a back-end developer, and someone not incredibly experienced with frontend web applications, I’ve found Vue.js a lot simpler to learn, use, and be successful with vs. React and Angular. In this article, I’ll walk you through the basics of Vue.js, and in the process we’ll build a very simple single page...
Seven Awesome New Features In Visual Studio 2017
Microsoft developers have been using Visual Studio for their IDE since before .NET was even a thing. Visual Studio is twenty years old this year, and on March 7th, 2017 Microsoft released the latest version of its flagship developer product, Visual Studio. With this release are a bunch of new features, improvements, and exciting changes for the beloved Microsoft developer environment. Here are seven features in the new IDE that will excite developers using the...