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Dan MilneandClaude Opus 4.8 7149b98b7b Add OAuth device flow, token introspection, and dynamic client registration

Adds three OAuth surfaces to the OIDC provider so CLIs, terminal agents, and
MCP connectors can authenticate as real users instead of using static API keys.

Device Authorization Grant (RFC 8628):
- OidcDeviceCode model (HMAC device_code, short plaintext user_code, nullable
  user until approval, slow_down polling state), mirroring OidcAuthorizationCode
- POST /oauth/device_authorization issues the code pair + verification URIs
- device_code grant on /oauth/token returns authorization_pending / slow_down /
  access_denied / expired_token, then the standard token triple; single-use
- Authenticated /device approval page, gated by Application#user_allowed?

Token Introspection (RFC 7662):
- POST /oauth/introspect: confidential-caller-authenticated; returns active,
  scope, and the user's groups so resource servers can authorize on membership

Dynamic Client Registration (RFC 7591):
- POST /oauth/register creates public/confidential clients (PKCE required)
- Runtime toggle via a new Setting store + admin switch on the Applications page;
  off by default, env var CLINCH_DCR_ENABLED as bootstrap fallback
- New clients are default-deny (no allowed_groups) until an admin grants access
- RFC 8414 metadata alias at /.well-known/oauth-authorization-server;
  registration_endpoint advertised only while the window is open

Discovery advertises all three grants/endpoints. Seeds add a clinch-cli public
client and a c2a2-introspection confidential client. ADRs in docs/decisions
record the opaque-vs-JWT, device-flow, and DCR-security decisions.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01F7cwhwDJp3MJJDoNPVE6zq

2026-07-19 12:30:02 +10:00

2.6 KiB

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0002 — CLI/agent auth via the Device Authorization Grant (RFC 8628)

Status: Accepted · Date: 2026-07-19

Decision

CLIs and terminal agents (e.g. Claude) authenticate to Clinch-protected services as a real user via the OAuth 2.0 Device Authorization Grant (RFC 8628) instead of static API keys. The tool prints a short code and a URL; the user approves at /device with their passkey; the tool polls the token endpoint and receives the standard access + refresh + ID token triple.

Context

We wanted CLIs — and especially headless agents — to authenticate as a real user rather than carry a long-lived API key. The two mainstream options:

Device flow (RFC 8628): tool prints a code, human approves on any device, tool polls. Needs only "print text" + "poll HTTP".
Auth code + PKCE with a loopback (127.0.0.1) redirect (RFC 8252): tool opens a browser and catches a local redirect.

Agents are often sandboxed or run on a remote box where opening a browser and receiving a loopback redirect is unreliable. Device flow needs neither, which is exactly why it fits CLIs and agents. The human approves wherever their passkey lives.

Implementation notes

OidcDeviceCode mirrors OidcAuthorizationCode: opaque device_code stored as an HMAC, short plaintext user_code, nullable user until approval, status (pending/approved/denied), PKCE columns, and interval/last_polled_at for slow_down enforcement.
Endpoints: POST /oauth/device_authorization, the urn:ietf:params:oauth:grant-type:device_code branch of POST /oauth/token, and the authenticated verification page GET/POST /device.
Token issuance reuses the authorization-code path (OidcAccessToken + OidcRefreshToken + OidcJwtService). Access control reuses Application#user_allowed?, so approval is gated by group membership.
PKCE is optional for device flow (RFC 8628 §5.5): enforced only when the device authorization request supplied a code_challenge. The device_code itself is a high-entropy secret delivered directly to the client over TLS.
A well-known public client clinch-cli (no secret, PKCE) is seeded for tools to use.

Consequences

No static API keys for user-context CLI/agent access; tokens are revocable and expire.
Resource servers validate the resulting opaque access tokens via introspection — see 0001.
Same foundation (public clients + PKCE + introspection) supports future MCP connector support, whose main additional piece would be Dynamic Client Registration (RFC 7591).

2.6 KiB Raw Blame History