Passwordless

Overview

This page contains the APIs that are used to authenticate users without passwords using magic links and codes.

You also may find the Magic Links guide helpful.

Prior to version 1.41.0, magic links and codes were the only form of passwordless authentication supported by FusionAuth.

Therefore the user interface and API use the term passwordless, even though versions 1.41.0 and beyond support multiple kinds of passwordless authentication.

This API has been available since 1.11.0

This API allows you to generate a passwordless code that can be used to complete login. This is the first step in completing a passwordless login.

If you plan to utilize the FusionAuth login page then you will not need to use this API. Instead, once passwordless authentication is enabled for the FusionAuth Application, a new button will be presented to the user on the login page which will allow them to request an email.

Request

Generate a passwordless login code

POST /api/passwordless/start

Request Headers

X-FusionAuth-TenantIdString

The unique Id of the tenant used to scope this API request.

The tenant Id is not required on this request even when more than one tenant has been configured because the tenant can be identified based upon the request parameters or it is otherwise not required.

Specify a tenant Id on this request when you want to ensure the request is scoped to a specific tenant. The tenant Id may be provided through this header or by using a tenant locked API key to achieve the same result.

See Making an API request using a Tenant Id for additional information.

Request Body

applicationIdStringrequired

The unique Id of the Application you are requesting to log into.

loginIdStringrequired

The login identifier of the user. The login identifier can be either the email or the username .

stateObject

An optional object that will be returned un-modified when you complete the passwordless login request. This may be useful to return the user to particular state once they complete login using the passwordless code.

Example Request JSON

{
  "applicationId": "10000000-0000-0002-0000-000000000001",
  "loginId": "jared@piedpiper.com",
  "state": {
    "client_id": "10000000-0000-0002-0000-000000000001",
    "redirect_uri": "https://piedpiper.com/callback",
    "response_type": "code",
    "scope": "openid",
    "state": "CSRF123"
  }
}

Response

Response Codes

Code	Description
200	The request was successful.
400	The request was invalid and/or malformed. The response will contain an Errors JSON Object with the specific errors.
401	You did not supply a valid Authorization header. The header was omitted or your API key was not valid. The response will be empty. See Authentication.
404	The user was not found. The response will be empty.
500	There was an internal error. A stack trace is provided and logged in the FusionAuth log files. The response will be empty.

Response Body

codeString

The unique code used to complete the login request.

Example Response JSON

{
  "code": "CynAUMCHLxCCAWyHXOVWPQd8ZY0a6U0e3YpYkT0MNxs"
}

This API allows you to send an email to a user that will contain a code that can be used to complete login. This API should be used if you want to build your own login page.

This API does not require authentication.

Request

Available Since Version 1.11.0.

Send the provided code via email

POST /api/passwordless/send

Request Headers

X-FusionAuth-TenantIdString

The unique Id of the tenant used to scope this API request.

See Making an API request using a Tenant Id for additional information.

Request Body

codeStringrequiredAvailable since 1.11.0

The unique code to send via email, used to complete the login request. This value can be generated with a call to the Start Passwordless Login API.

Example Request JSON

{
  "code": "CynAUMCHLxCCAWyHXOVWPQd8ZY0a6U0e3YpYkT0MNxs"
}

Generate a code and send a login link via email

POST /api/passwordless/send

This usage of the API may be removed at a later date. Once available prefer the usage outlined above which is available beginning in 1.11.0 which means you will need to use the Start API prior to calling this API.

Request Headers

X-FusionAuth-TenantIdString

The unique Id of the tenant used to scope this API request.

See Making an API request using a Tenant Id for additional information.

Request Body

applicationIdStringrequired

The unique Id of the Application you are requesting to log into.

loginIdStringrequired

The login identifier of the user. The login identifier can be either the email or the username .

stateObject

Example Request JSON

{
  "applicationId": "10000000-0000-0002-0000-000000000001",
  "loginId": "jared@piedpiper.com",
  "state": {
    "client_id": "10000000-0000-0002-0000-000000000001",
    "redirect_uri": "https://piedpiper.com/callback",
    "response_type": "code",
    "scope": "openid",
    "state": "CSRF123"
  }
}

Response

The response for this API does not contain a body. It only contains a status code.

Response Codes

Code	Description
200	The request was successful.
400	The request was invalid and/or malformed. The response will contain an Errors JSON Object with the specific errors.
500	There was an internal error. A stack trace is provided and logged in the FusionAuth log files. The response will be empty.

This API is used to complete the passwordless login request. This API should be used if you want to build your own login page.

This API does not require authentication.

Request

POST /api/passwordless/login

Request Headers

X-Forwarded-ForString

The IP address of a client requesting authentication. If the IP address is provided it will be stored for login history of the user. It is generally preferred to specify the IP address in the request body. If it is not provided in the request body this header value will be used if available, the request body value will take precedence.

X-FusionAuth-TenantIdString

The unique Id of the tenant used to scope this API request.

See Making an API request using a Tenant Id for additional information.

Request Cookies

fusionauth.trustString

The Two Factor Trust identifier returned by the Two Factor Login API response. This value may be provided to bypass the Two Factor challenge when a User has Two Factor enabled. When this cookie exists on the request it will take precedence over the twoFactorTrustId if provided in the request body.

Request Parameters

applicationIdString

The unique Id of the Application you are requesting to log into. If omitted, no application-specific settings such as lambdas or email templates will be applied.

codeStringrequired

The unique code sent via email used to complete the login request.

ipAddressString

The IP address of the end-user that is logging into FusionAuth. If this value is omitted FusionAuth will attempt to obtain the IP address of the client, the value will be that of the X-Forwarded-For header if provided or the last proxy that sent the request. The IP address will be stored in the User login history.

metaData.device.descriptionString

A human readable description of the device used during login. This meta data is used to describe the refresh token that may be generated for this login request.

metaData.device.nameString

A human readable name of the device used during login. This meta data is used to describe the refresh token that may be generated for this login request.

metaData.device.typeString

The type of device represented by the device parameter. This meta data is used to describe the refresh token that may be generated for this login request.

Prior to version 1.46.0, this value was restricted to the following types:

BROWSER
DESKTOP
LAPTOP
MOBILE
OTHER
SERVER
TABLET
TV
UNKNOWN

In version 1.46.0 and beyond, this value can be any string value you’d like, have fun with it!

noJWTBooleanDefaults to false

When this value is set to true a JWT will not be issued as part of this request. The response body will not contain the token or refreshToken fields, and the access_token and refresh_token cookies will not be written to the HTTP response.

This optional parameter may be helpful when performing high volume authentication requests and the JWT is not being utilized, in this scenario removing the additional latency required to issue and sign the JWT may have a measurable cumulative effect on performance.

twoFactorTrustIdString

The Two Factor Trust identifier returned by the Two Factor Login API response. This value may be provided to bypass the Two Factor challenge when a User has Two Factor enabled.

Example Request JSON

{
  "applicationId": "10000000-0000-0002-0000-000000000001",
  "code": "CynAUMCHLxCCAWyHXOVWPQd8ZY0a6U0e3YpYkT0MNxs"
}

Response

Response Codes

Code	Description
200	The authentication was successful. The response will contain the User object that was authenticated.
202	The user was authenticated successfully. The user is not registered for the application specified by the `applicationId` on the request. The response will contain the User object that was authenticated.
203	The user was authenticated successfully. The user is required to change their password, the response will contain the `changePasswordId` to be used on the Change Password API. Since version `1.15.0`, the response will also contain a `changePasswordReason` field which can have one of the following values: `Administrative` - An administrator has required this user to change their password. `Breached` - The password has been found to have belonged to a breached dataset and must be changed, per the Reactor configuration. `Expired` - The password has expired, per the expiration setting in the tenant configuration. `Validation` - The password fails the validation rules configured in the tenant password settings. Example Response JSON `{ "changePasswordId": "XOgai4Ro68xfGiex0ngXiJ2bbhduM4Pm7h3lvF0xibQ", "changePasswordReason": "Expired" }`
212	The user’s email address has not yet been verified. The response will contain the User object that was authenticated. If the emailConfiguration.verificationStrategy has been set to `FormField`, the response will contain the emailVerificationId that was generated for the user.
213	The user’s registration has not yet been verified. The response will contain the User object that was authenticated. If the emailConfiguration.verificationStrategy has been set to `FormField`, the response will contain the registrationVerificationId that was generated for the user. Prior to version `1.27.0`, this status code was not returned, and you will see a `200` instead.
242	The user was authenticated successfully. The user has two factor authentication enabled. Since version `1.42.0`, this status code is also returned when two factor authentication is required. The response will contain the `twoFactorId` to be used on the Complete Two Factor Authentication API. Example Response JSON `{ "methods": [ { "authenticator": { "algorithm": "HmacSHA1", "codeLength": 6, "timeStep": 30 }, "id": "2KSZ", "method": "authenticator" }, { "email": "richard@fusionauth.io", "id": "KLRT", "method": "email" } ], "twoFactorId": "YkQY5Gsyo4RlfmDciBGRmvfj3RmatUqrbjoIZ19fmw4" }`
400	The request was invalid and/or malformed. The response will contain an Errors JSON Object with the specific errors.
404	The user was not found or the password was incorrect. The response will be empty.
409	The user is currently in an action that has prevented login. The response will contain the actions that prevented login. Example Response JSON `{ "actions": [ { "actionId": "00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000042", "actionerUserId": "00000000-0000-0001-0000-000000000000", "expiry": 1571786483322, "localizedName": "Prevent Login Action", "localizedReason": "Hard Lock", "name": "Prevent Login Action", "reason": "Hard Lock", "reasonCode": "hard_lock" } ] }`
410	The user has expired. The response will be empty.
423	The user is locked and cannot login. The response will be empty. Prior to version `1.9.0` a `404` status code will be returned instead.
500	There was an internal error. A stack trace is provided and logged in the FusionAuth log files. The response will be empty.
503	The search index is not available or encountered an exception so the request cannot be completed. The response will contain a JSON body.
504	One or more Webhook endpoints returned an invalid response or were unreachable. Based on the transaction configuration for this event your action cannot be completed. A stack trace is provided and logged in the FusionAuth log files.

Response Body

refreshTokenString

The refresh token that can be used to obtain a new access token once the provided one has expired.

Because a refresh token is per user and per application, this value will only be returned when an applicationId was provided on the login request and the user is registered to the application.

You must explicitly allow generation of refresh tokens when using the Login API.

Configure the application.loginConfiguration.generateRefreshTokens setting via the API or enable the setting by navigating to the Application -> My Application -> Security tab.

refreshTokenIdStringAvailable since 1.37.0

When the refreshToken is returned in the response, this field will also be returned. This unique Id is the persistent identifier for this refresh token, and will not change even when using one-time use refresh tokens. This value may optionally be used to revoke the token using the Refresh Token API.

stateObject

If authenticated using a One Time Password and state was provided during the Change Password request this value will be returned exactly as it was provided.

tokenStringAvailable since 1.16.0

The access token, this string is an encoded JSON Web Token (JWT).

tokenExpirationInstantLongAvailable since 1.33.0

The instant the token will expire. If the response does not contain a token , this field will also be omitted from the response.

user.activeBoolean

True if the User is active. False if the User has been deactivated. Deactivated Users will not be able to login.

user.birthDateString

The User’s birthdate formatted as YYYY-MM-DD

user.breachedPasswordLastCheckedInstantLong

The instant this user’s password was last checked to determine if it is compromised.

user.connectorIdUUIDAvailable since 1.18.0

The unique Id of the Connector associated with the System of Record being used to authenticate the user.

user.cleanSpeakIdUUID

This Id is used by FusionAuth when the User’s username is sent to CleanSpeak to be moderated (filtered and potentially sent to the approval queue). It is the content Id of the username inside CleanSpeak.

user.dataObject

An object that can hold any information about the User that should be persisted.

user.data.emailString

This field will be used as the email address if no user.email field is found.

This feature was removed in version 1.26.0 and added back in 1.27.2.

user.emailString

The User’s email address.

user.expiryLong

The expiration instant of the User’s account. An expired user is not permitted to login.

user.firstNameString

The first name of the User.

user.fullNameString

The User’s full name as a separate field that is not calculated from firstName and lastName .

user.idUUID

The User’s unique Id.

user.imageUrlString

The URL that points to an image file that is the User’s profile image.

user.insertInstantLong

The instant when the user was created.

user.lastLoginInstantLong

The instant when the User logged in last.

user.lastNameString

The User’s last name.

user.lastUpdateInstantLong

The instant when the User was last updated.

user.membershipsArray

The list of memberships for the User.

user.memberships[x].dataObject

An object that can hold any information about the User for this membership that should be persisted.

user.memberships[x].groupIdUUID

The Id of the Group of this membership.

user.memberships[x].idUUID

The unique Id of this membership.

user.memberships[x].insertInstantLong

The instant that the membership was created.

user.middleNameString

The User’s middle name.

user.mobilePhoneString

The User’s mobile phone number. This is useful if you will be sending push notifications or SMS messages to the User.

user.parentEmailStringAvailable since 1.7.0

The email address of the user’s parent or guardian. If this value was provided during a create or update operation, this value will only remain until the child is claimed by a parent.

user.passwordChangeRequiredBoolean

Indicates that the User’s password needs to be changed during their next login attempt.

user.passwordLastUpdateInstantLong

The instant that the User last changed their password.

user.preferredLanguagesArray<String>

An array of locale strings that give, in order, the User’s preferred languages. These are important for email templates and other localizable text. See Locales.

user.registrationsArray

The list of registrations for the User. This will include registrations for inactive applications.

user.registrations[x].applicationIdUUID

The Id of the Application that this registration is for.

user.registrations[x].authenticationTokenString

The Authentication Token for this registration (if one exists).

user.registrations[x].cleanSpeakIdUUID

This Id is used by FusionAuth when the User’s username for this registration is sent to CleanSpeak to be moderated (filtered and potentially sent to the approval queue). It is the content Id of the username inside CleanSpeak.

user.registrations[x].dataObject

An object that can hold any information about the User for this registration that should be persisted.

user.registrations[x].idUUID

The Id of this registration.

user.registrations[x].insertInstantLong

The instant that this registration was created.

user.registrations[x].lastLoginInstantLong

The instant that the User last logged into the Application for this registration.

user.registrations[x].preferredLanguagesArray<String>

An array of locale strings that give, in order, the User’s preferred languages for this registration. These are important for email templates and other localizable text.

user.registrations[x].rolesArray<String>

The list of roles that the User has for this registration. The string is the role’s Name not the role’s Id, e.g. admin or user-role.

user.registrations[x].timezoneString

The User’s preferred timezone for this registration. The string will be in an IANA time zone format.

user.registrations[x].tokensMap<String,StringDEPRECATED

A map that contains tokens returned from identity providers.

For example, if this user has authenticated using the Facebook Identity Provider, the Facebook access token will be available in this map, keyed by name Facebook. For an OpenID Connect Identity provider, or other generic providers, if a token is stored it will be keyed by the Identity Provider unique Id.

Removed in 1.28.0

The token returned and stored from the Identity Provider is now stored in the IdP link and is retrievable using the Identity Provider Link API.

user.registrations[x].usernameString

The username of the User for this registration only. This is for display purposes and cannot be used to login.

user.registrations[x].usernameStatusString

The current status of the username. This is used if you are moderating usernames via CleanSpeak. The possible values are:

ACTIVE - the username is active
PENDING - the username is pending approval/moderation
REJECTED - the username was rejected during moderation

If a username has been rejected, it is still possible to allow the User to update it and have the new one moderated again.

user.registrations[x].verifiedBoolean

This value indicates if this User’s registration has been verified.

For additional information, see these tutorials:

user.registrations[x].verifiedInstantLongAvailable since 1.48.0

The instant that this registration was verified.

user.tenantIdUUID

The Id of the Tenant that this User belongs to.

user.timezoneString

The User’s preferred timezone. This can be used as a default to display instants, and it is recommended that you allow Users to change this per-session. The string will be in an IANA time zone format.

user.twoFactor.methods[x].authenticator.algorithmString

The algorithm used by the TOTP authenticator. With the current implementation, this will always be HmacSHA1.

user.twoFactor.methods[x].authenticator.codeLengthInteger

The length of code generated by the TOTP. With the current implementation, this will always be 6.

user.twoFactor.methods[x].authenticator.timeStepInteger

The time-step size in seconds. With the current implementation, this will always be 30.

user.twoFactor.methods[x].emailString

The value of the email address for this method. Only present if user.twoFactor.methods[x].method is email.

user.twoFactor.methods[x].idString

The unique Id of the method.

user.twoFactor.methods[x].lastUsedBoolean

true if this method was used most recently.

user.twoFactor.methods[x].methodString

The type of this method. There will also be an object with the same value containing additional information about this method. The possible values are:

authenticator
email
sms

user.twoFactor.methods[x].mobilePhoneString

The value of the mobile phone for this method. Only present if user.twoFactor.methods[x].method is sms.

user.twoFactorDeliveryStringDEPRECATED

The User’s preferred delivery for verification codes during a two factor login request.

The possible values are:

None
TextMessage

Removed in 1.26.0

user.twoFactorEnabledBooleanDEPRECATED

Determines if the User has two factor authentication enabled for their account or not.

Removed in 1.26.0

user.usernameString

The username of the User.

user.usernameStatusString

The current status of the username. This is used if you are moderating usernames via CleanSpeak. The possible values are:

ACTIVE - the username is active
PENDING - the username is pending approval/moderation
REJECTED - the username was rejected during moderation

If a username has been rejected, it is still possible to allow the User to update it and have the new one moderated again.

user.verifiedBoolean

Whether or not the User’s email has been verified.

For additional information, see these tutorials:

user.verifiedInstantLongAvailable since 1.48.0

The instant that this email address was verified.

Note that this value is immutable and will only represent the first time the email was verified. If you enable re-verification on email change, this value will not change and will only represent the initial verification.

Example Response JSON

{
  "token": "eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJleHAiOjE0ODUxNDA5ODQsImlhdCI6MTQ4NTEzNzM4NCwiaXNzIjoiYWNtZS5jb20iLCJzdWIiOiIyOWFjMGMxOC0wYjRhLTQyY2YtODJmYy0wM2Q1NzAzMThhMWQiLCJhcHBsaWNhdGlvbklkIjoiNzkxMDM3MzQtOTdhYi00ZDFhLWFmMzctZTAwNmQwNWQyOTUyIiwicm9sZXMiOltdfQ.Mp0Pcwsz5VECK11Kf2ZZNF_SMKu5CgBeLN9ZOP04kZo",
  "state": {
    "client_id": "10000000-0000-0002-0000-000000000001",
    "redirect_uri": "https://piedpiper.com/callback",
    "response_type": "code",
    "scope": "openid",
    "state": "CSRF123"
  },
  "user": {
    "active": true,
    "birthDate": "1976-05-30",
    "connectorId": "e3306678-a53a-4964-9040-1c96f36dda72",
    "data": {
      "displayName": "Johnny Boy",
      "favoriteColors": [
        "Red",
        "Blue"
      ]
    },
    "email": "example@fusionauth.io",
    "expiry": 1571786483322,
    "firstName": "John",
    "fullName": "John Doe",
    "id": "00000000-0000-0001-0000-000000000000",
    "imageUrl": "http://65.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l7dbl0MHbU1qz50x3o1_500.png",
    "lastLoginInstant": 1471786483322,
    "lastName": "Doe",
    "middleName": "William",
    "mobilePhone": "303-555-1234",
    "passwordChangeRequired": false,
    "passwordLastUpdateInstant": 1471786483322,
    "preferredLanguages": [
      "en",
      "fr"
    ],
    "registrations": [
      {
        "applicationId": "10000000-0000-0002-0000-000000000001",
        "data": {
          "displayName": "Johnny",
          "favoriteSports": [
            "Football",
            "Basketball"
          ]
        },
        "id": "00000000-0000-0002-0000-000000000000",
        "insertInstant": 1446064706250,
        "lastLoginInstant": 1456064601291,
        "preferredLanguages": [
          "en",
          "fr"
        ],
        "roles": [
          "user",
          "community_helper"
        ],
        "username": "johnny123",
        "usernameStatus": "ACTIVE",
        "verified": true,
        "verifiedInstant": 1698772159415
      }
    ],
    "timezone": "America/Denver",
    "tenantId": "f24aca2b-ce4a-4dad-951a-c9d690e71415",
    "twoFactor": {
      "methods": [
        {
          "authenticator": {
            "algorithm": "HmacSHA1",
            "codeLength": 6,
            "timeStep": 30
          },
          "id": "35VW",
          "method": "authenticator"
        },
        {
          "id": "V7SH",
          "method": "sms",
          "mobilePhone": "555-555-5555"
        },
        {
          "email": "example@fusionauth.io",
          "id": "7K2G",
          "method": "email"
        }
      ]
    },
    "usernameStatus": "ACTIVE",
    "username": "johnny123",
    "verified": true,
    "verifiedInstant": 1698772159415
  }
}

Response Cookies

access_tokenString

The encoded access token. This cookie is written in the response as an HTTP Only session cookie.

refresh_tokenString

The refresh token. This cookie is written in the response as an HTTP only persistent cookie. The cookie expiration is configured in the JWT configuration for the application or the global JWT configuration.

Results

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Passwordless

Overview

Request

Request Headers

Request Body

Response

Response Body

Request

Request Headers

Request Body

Request Headers

Request Body

Response

Request

Request Headers

Request Cookies

Request Parameters

Response

Response Body

Response Cookies

Results

Recent

Results

Recent

Passwordless

Overview

Start Passwordless Login

Request

Request Headers

Request Body

Response

Response Body

Send Passwordless Login

Request

Request Headers

Request Body

Request Headers

Request Body

Response

Complete a Passwordless Login

Request

Request Headers

Request Cookies

Request Parameters

Response

Response Body

Response Cookies

Results

Recent