Best way to get Google access token in ASP.NET MVC5 OWIN

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I'm writing a tutorial of using IMAP XOAUTH2 authentication in .NET (the standard MVC5 web app which is created by the MVC5 wizard).

I now have all parts except access_token from which I'll create XOAUTH2 IMAP key (the app authenticates, token seems to get refreshed if required, and I know how to build XOAUTH2 IMAP key and do IMAP login when access_token is available). I just need that token.

Although I have some ideas how this can be done I need to make sure I'm not doing anything stupid. For instance, I think I can use something like context.Identity.AddClaim in ConfigureAuth to put the access_token to our identity and then get it from there when doing IMAP login (on another page) but not sure if this info isn't already available.

Maybe, I can have access to that access_token in any place in the code without the need to manually put it in some object (which would be redundant and look silly for a reader experienced in OWIN and MVC5)? I develop .net components for SMTP/IMAP, I'm not a MVC5 expert, just need to write a simple example for using my IMAP lib with it.

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c#asp.net-mvcoauth-2.0owin
To keep it simple, I want to know where ASP.NET/OWIN by default stores the access_token so that I would be able to get it from the same location instead of making my own copy of this data. – Alex

1 Answers

0
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Well, looks like saving access/refresh token details in ASP.NET Identity database makes sense anyway (despite the fact is's stored in encrypted cookies). This lets the access token data be accessible even when the browser is not available. For instance, if someone registers in a web app with their Google and Microsoft account and then another app (e.g. Windows service) consumes the access token initially retrieved by the web app to access the user's account (to check for new e-mails or whatever).

Also, it's possible to make sure both versions of access token details (in ASP.NET Identity database and cookies) stay in sync. This is useful if the access token gets updated with a refresh token (as access tokens need to be updated every hour). The standard ASP.NET MVC5 app cannot refresh access access tokens so you need to refresh them by your own code. I extended ASP.NET MVC5 template with refresh tokens, saving access/refresh tokens in ASP.NET Identity database and updating access tokens in cookies to make sure that access tokens in both locations match.

If anyone interested, you can grab some code and explanations at: http://www.afterlogic.com/mailbee-net/docs/OAuth2RegularAccountsWebApps.html#SyncingTokens