ArcGIS Authentication

GeoBlazor utilizes the ArcGIS JavaScript API for all map rendering and Geospatial calculations. There are several different ways to authenticate your application with ArcGIS. This page has more details from Esri.

API Key

Possibly the simplest approach, is to create an API Key from the ArcGIS Location Platform or ArcGIS Online. See Introduction to API key authentication. Once you have the API Token, you can register it directly with Asp.NET’s IConfiguration class. The Key identifier is ArcGISApiKey. For a long-lived token, the easiest solution is to add the following to appsettings.json (or perhaps appsettings.production.json).

{
    "ArcGISApiKey": "yourKeyValue"
}

Pros

  • Easy to create
  • Long-lived token
  • Requires no sign-in by end user

Cons

  • An API Key could potentially be copied from the client browser, as it is consumed in the JavaScript, or if it is stored in a file loaded into Wasm on the client
  • API Keys are tied to your developer account, which means you or your company will be responsible for all usage fees if/when you pass the free tier of usage

Additional Security Steps

OAuth Sign-in

OAuth is a more secure way to authenticate your users with ArcGIS. It requires that your users have an ArcGIS account. You generate a new OAuth Application in the ArcGIS Location Platform, and then store the ClientId in your application configuration as ArcGISAppId.

Users will be prompted to log in automatically on the first map load if you add PromptForOAuthLogin="true" to your MapView, or you can use the AuthenticationManager.Login() method to trigger the login prompt.

<MapView PromptForOAuthLogin="true">
    <Map ArcGISDefaultBasemap="arcgis-topographic"></Map>
</MapView>

For ArcGIS Enterprise logins, you need to provide one more item in the application configuration, ArcGISPortalUrl. This will ensure that when the OAuth login is triggered, the user is directed to the correct portal.

{
    "ArcGISAppId": "yourClientId",
    "ArcGISPortalUrl": "https://arcgis.yourcompany.com"
}

Pros

  • Very secure, no chance of stealing your long-lived token or racking up charges on your account
  • Short-lived token
  • Grants access to online items (maps, layers, etc.) in the user’s portal
  • Charges are levied against the user’s account

Cons

  • Requires registered ArcGIS Accounts for all users
  • Not currently supported for Blazor Hybrid in MAUI

Authentication Manager Class

The AuthenticationManager is a DI-injected class that handles all authentication for GeoBlazor. It is responsible for both the Api Key and OAuth authentication methods. It also allows you to retrieve the current authentication token with GetCurrentToken regardless of how that token was generated.

Custom Token Injection

If you don’t want to store a token long-term, or want to inject an API Key or OAuth token from a custom source, you can simply set the value in AuthenticationManager

authenticationManager.ApiKey = "yourKeyValue";
//or
authenticationManager.AppId = "yourClientId";
// then call
authenticationManager.Initialize();

Once the token is initialized, it will be picked up automatically by every MapView, SceneView, and logic component.

Allow Default Esri Login

By default, GeoBlazor prevents you from loading a map without a token. However, Esri has built in a simple in-map popup login that you can use. This is not as secure as an OAuth login, but it is relatively straightforward.

To allow default logins, do one of the following.

In appsettings.json:

{
    "AllowDefaultEsriLogin": true
}

or

When defining your MapView or SceneView:

<MapView AllowDefaultEsriLogin="true">
    <Map></Map>
</MapView>

Prevent API Token Prompt

This is essentially another way to silence the API token check in GeoBlazor. Calling ArcGIS resources will still show the default login same as AllowDefaultEsriLogin above.

To silence the api key prompt, do one of the following.

In appsettings.json:

{
    "PromptForArcGISKey": false
}

or

When defining your MapView or SceneView:

<MapView PromptForArcGISKey="false">
    <Map></Map>
</MapView>