User Authentication Management for Shiny Apps • shinyAuthX

Simplify User Authentication in Shiny Apps with `ShinyAuthX`

ShinyAuthX is a powerful R package specifically designed for user authentication within Shiny apps. It provides a comprehensive suite of authentication features including user sign-in, sign-up, sign-out, and password recovery, seamlessly integrating user-friendly UI and Server components. It empowers shiny app developers to create secure and user-friendly authentication systems.

Authentication Modules: The sign-in module (signinUI, signinServer) enables users to authenticate themselves securely, while the sign-up feature (signupUI, signupServer) allows for hassle-free registration and account creation. With the sign-out module (signoutUI, signoutServer), users can conveniently sign out from your application, ensuring their privacy and security. In the event of a forgotten password, the password recovery module (forgotpwUI, forgotpwServer) facilitates a straightforward and efficient recovery process.

Password Encryption: Passwords are hashed using the sodium package, providing an additional layer of protection for user credentials. The source code of your main application is also protected until authentication is successful, ensuring that sensitive information remains secure.

UI Integration: ShinyAuthX’s modern UI designs are carefully crafted to provide a visually appealing and intuitive authentication experience for your users. The compatibility with Bootstrap themes ensures seamless integration with your existing Shiny app design, maintaining a consistent and professional look and feel throughout.

Data integration: Its flexibility in data storage options, both local and online database MongoDB using the mongolite package. This allows you to choose the database solution that best suits your application’s needs and infrastructure.

Verification Code via Email: To further enhance the authentication experience, shinyAuthX leverages the blastula package to send custom emails, such as code verification during the sign-up process and password recovery emails. This ensures that users receive personalized and secure communications during critical steps of their authentication journey.

It’s important to note that currently, shinyAuthX supports only MongoDB for database connection. The signup and password recovery features are optimized for MongoDB usage, providing the best experience and performance in this setup.

Let’s Get Started Today: Experience the power and simplicity of ShinyAuthX, the ultimate suite of modules for user authentication in Shiny apps. Unlock the full potential of secure and user-friendly authentication and elevate your Shiny applications to new heights.

Please feel free to reach out to us with any questions or concerns. We’re here to support you as you incorporate shinyAuthX into your Shiny apps.

Demo Live!

[To add later]

Installation

You can install the development version of shinyAuthX from GitHub with:

# install.packages("devtools")
devtools::install_github("myominnoo/shinyAuthX")

Run example apps

Code for example apps in various contexts can be found in inst/examples. You can launch these example apps with the runExample function.

You can use the following user/password pairs: - admin/admin - user1/pass1 - user2/pass2

See ?create_dummy_users for dummy user credentials that are used in these examples.

  runExample("basic-signin")
  runExample("basic-signin-mongodb")
  runExample("basic-signin-theme")
  runExample("basic-signup")
  runExample("signup-pw-reset")
  runExample("test-app")

Usage

The package provides four module functions with corresponding UI and server elements:

sign-in: signinUI, signinServer
sign-out: signoutUI, signoutServer
sign-up: signupUI, signupServer
password recovery: forgotpwUI, forgotpwServer

Below is a minimal reproducible example of how to use basic authentications in a shiny app. The code sets up a Shiny app with user authentication, allowing users to sign in, sign out, and view their user data.


library(shiny)
library(shinyAuthX)

# dataframe that holds usernames, passwords and other user data
users_base <- create_dummy_users()

ui <- fluidPage(
    # add signout button UI
    div(class = "pull-right", signoutUI(id = "signout")),

  # add signin panel UI function without signup or password recovery panel
  signinUI(id = "signin", .add_forgotpw = FALSE, .add_btn_signup = FALSE),

  # setup output to show user info after signin
  verbatimTextOutput("user_data")
)

server <- function(input, output, session) {
    # Export reactive values for testing
    exportTestValues(
        auth_status = credentials()$user_auth,
        auth_info   = credentials()$info
    )

    # call the signout module with reactive trigger to hide/show
    signout_init <- signoutServer(
        id = "signout",
        active = reactive(credentials()$user_auth)
    )

  # call signin module supplying data frame,
  credentials <- signinServer(
    id = "signin",
    users_db = users_base,
    sodium_hashed = TRUE,
    reload_on_signout = FALSE,
    signout = reactive(signout_init())
  )

  output$user_data <- renderPrint({
    # use req to only render results when credentials()$user_auth is TRUE
    req(credentials()$user_auth)
    str(credentials())
  })
}

shinyApp(ui = ui, server = server)

Using mongodb via `mongolite`

The following code demonstrates how to integrate user authentication and authorization features into a Shiny application using shinyAuthX and a MongoDB database. It establishes a connection to MongoDB, initializes the database with dummy user data, defines the application’s UI, implements the server logic for sign-in and sign-out functionality, and renders user information based on authentication status. The code serves as a foundation for building secure and authenticated Shiny applications with MongoDB as the user data storage backend.


library(shiny)
library(mongolite)
library(shinyAuthX)

## default mongodb database server for testing: works only with `mtcars`
con <- mongo("mtcars", url = "mongodb+srv://readwrite:test@cluster0-84vdt.mongodb.net/test")
## remove any existing rows
con$drop()
## check
con$count()

# add users_base to con
create_dummy_users() |>
    con$insert()
con$count()



ui <- fluidPage(
    # add signout button UI
    div(class = "pull-right", signoutUI(id = "signout")),

    # add signin panel UI function without signup or password recovery panel
    signinUI(id = "signin", .add_forgotpw = FALSE, .add_btn_signup = FALSE),

    # setup output to show user info after signin
    verbatimTextOutput("user_data")
)

server <- function(input, output, session) {
    # Export reactive values for testing
    exportTestValues(
        auth_status = credentials()$user_auth,
        auth_info   = credentials()$info
    )

    # call the signout module with reactive trigger to hide/show
    signout_init <- signoutServer(
        id = "signout",
        active = reactive(credentials()$user_auth)
    )

    # call signin module supplying data frame,
    credentials <- signinServer(
        id = "signin",
        users_db = con$find('{}'), ## add mongodb connection instead of tibble
        sodium_hashed = TRUE,
        reload_on_signout = FALSE,
        signout = reactive(signout_init())
    )

    output$user_data <- renderPrint({
        # use req to only render results when credentials()$user_auth is TRUE
        req(credentials()$user_auth)
        str(credentials())
    })
}

shinyApp(ui = ui, server = server)

The extended code below demonstrates the integration of sign-up and password-reset features into a Shiny application with user authentication and authorization. It leverages the shinyAuthX package and a MongoDB database to store and manage user data. The application allows users to sign up, sign in, reset their passwords, and view user information upon authentication. The code serves as a foundation for developing more comprehensive and secure web applications with user management capabilities.


library(shiny)
library(mongolite)
library(shinyAuthX)

## default mongodb database server for testing: works only with `mtcars`
con <- mongo("mtcars", url = "mongodb+srv://readwrite:test@cluster0-84vdt.mongodb.net/test")
## remove any existing rows
con$drop()
## check
con$count()

# add users_base to con
create_dummy_users() |>
    con$insert()
con$count()




ui <- fluidPage(
    # add signout button UI
    div(class = "pull-right", signoutUI(id = "signout")),

    # add signin panel UI function with signup panel
    signinUI(id = "signin", .add_forgotpw = TRUE, .add_btn_signup = TRUE),
    # add signup panel
    signupUI("signup"),
    # add password-reset panel
    forgotpwUI("pw-reset"),

    # setup output to show user info after signin
    verbatimTextOutput("user_data")
)

server <- function(input, output, session) {
    # Export reactive values for testing
    exportTestValues(
        auth_status = credentials()$user_auth,
        auth_info   = credentials()$info
    )

    # call the signout module with reactive trigger to hide/show
    signout_init <- signoutServer(
        id = "signout",
        active = reactive(credentials()$user_auth)
    )

    # call signin module supplying data frame,
    credentials <- signinServer(
        id = "signin",
        users_db = con$find('{}'), ## add mongodb connection instead of tibble
        sodium_hashed = TRUE,
        reload_on_signout = FALSE,
        signout = reactive(signout_init())
    )

    # call signup module supplying credentials() reactive and mongodb
    signupServer(
        id = "signup", credentials = credentials, mongodb = con
    )
    # call password-reset module supplying credentials() reactive and mongodb
    forgotpwServer(
        id = "pw-reset", credentials = credentials, mongodb = con
    )

    output$user_data <- renderPrint({
        # use req to only render results when credentials()$user_auth is TRUE
        req(credentials()$user_auth)
        str(credentials())
    })
}

shinyApp(ui = ui, server = server)

TODO:

add demo shiny apps hosted on shinyapps.io
add runExample().
add examples for each use case
1. simple user signin
2. user signin with data.frame
3. user signin with mongolite
4. user signup with mongolite
5. user signup with mongolite plus email option [just codes; not run]

Credits:

We would like to extend our sincere gratitude and acknowledgments to the following individuals for their contributions to the development of shinyAuthX:

Paul Campbell: The author of the shinyauthr package, from which we borrowed the login and logout module functions (loginUI(), loginServer(), logoutUI(), logoutServer()). Paul’s work and dedication have significantly influenced the functionality and usability of shinyAuthX.

We would also like to specifically credit the following individuals for their contributions to the cookie-based authentication aspect of shinyAuthX:

Michael Dewar: His expertise and contributions have played a crucial role in shaping the implementation of the cookie-based authentication mechanism in shinyAuthX. His insights have greatly enhanced the security and functionality of this feature.
Calligross: Their valuable input and contributions have contributed to the development and improvement of the cookie-based authentication functionality in shinyauthr.

For further information about their specific roles and contributions, we recommend visiting the shinyauthr GitHub page, where you can find additional details about the original package and its contributors.

Disclaimer:

It is important to note that the security of any authentication system is a complex matter, and while we have taken great care in developing shinyAuthX, we cannot guarantee its foolproof security. The authentication process provided by shinyAuthX should be used with caution, and we strongly recommend implementing additional security measures based on your specific requirements. We endorse Paul Campbell’s disclaimer statement regarding the security risks associated with the package. Please use shinyAuthX at your own risk.

We are grateful for the contributions and support from all the individuals mentioned above, as well as the wider community that has provided feedback and suggestions to help improve shinyAuthX. Thank you for your valuable contributions and continued support!

Both package shinyauthr and shinymanager provide a nice shiny module to add an authentication layer to your shiny apps.

shinyAuthX

Simplify User Authentication in Shiny Apps with `ShinyAuthX`

Demo Live!

Installation

Run example apps

Usage

Using mongodb via `mongolite`

TODO:

Credits:

Disclaimer:

Links

License

Citation

Developers

Dev status

shinyAuthX

Simplify User Authentication in Shiny Apps with ShinyAuthX

Demo Live!

Installation

Run example apps

Usage

Basic sign-in and sign-out authentications

Using mongodb via mongolite

Extended Sign-up and Password-reset modules

TODO:

Credits:

Disclaimer:

Related work

Links

License

Citation

Developers

Dev status

Simplify User Authentication in Shiny Apps with `ShinyAuthX`

Using mongodb via `mongolite`