How to integrate Unikname Connect with Discourse?

Unikname Connect can be easily integrated with Discourse with a simple plugin.

Unikname Connect has been designed to work with open-source solutions compatible with the OAuth/OpenID Connect authorization standard protocol. The famous open-source Discourse forum solution (opens new window), respectful of user privacy, is one of them.

Example

Our discussion Forum website has been built with Discourse.

👉 You're welcome to sign-up on our forum (opens new window) with your own @unikname.

To make integration very easy we've developed a specific ready-to-use plugin. Here under you will see how to install and setup this Discourse plugin.

• Step 1. Install Discourse plugin
• Step 2. Setup Discourse plugging
• Step 3. Test Unikname Connect on your Discourse Forum
• Troubleshooting

Prerequisites

✔️ You've signed-up for a Unikname-Connect account. Required to get your API keys.

See How to sign-up for a Unikname-Connect account?

✔️ You've got and setup the Trust certificate for your website

See How to get and setup the trust certificate for your website?

✔️ During the sign-up process you've received your Unikname-Connect Account ID and your API secret key.

📖 We assume you're familiar with the Discourse installation process.

Step 1. Install Discourse plugin

Connect to your Discourse server, and access your container’s app.yml file. It should be present in /var/discourse/containers/)

Information

you can't install a plugin from the admin panel 😞

Enter the following command to edit your yml config file:

cd /var/discourse
nano containers/app.yml

Add the Discourse Unikname Connect plugin’s repository URL to your container’s app.yml file:

hooks:
  after_code:
    - exec:
        cd: $home/plugins
        cmd:
          - ...
          - sudo -E -u discourse git clone https://github.com/unik-name/discourse-unikname-connect-authentication-plugin

Add the plugin’s git clone url just below sudo -E -u discourse git clone https://github.com/discourse/docker_manager.git)

Rebuild the container:

cd /var/discourse
./launcher rebuild app

That’s it! You’ve successfully installed the Unikname Connect plugin on your Discourse instance!

Step 2. Setup Discourse plugging

As an admin, go to the Discourse "burger" menu → admin → "Settings" tab → "Plugin" category.

You can also go to https://<your_discourse_forum_url> /admin/site_settings/category/plugins?filter=plugin%3Adiscourse-unikname-connect-authentication-plugin

Then, configure the following attributes:

Attribut	Description
Unikname-Connect enabled	Of course, check this box to enable Unikname Connect login for your users
Unikname-Connect Account ID	The Unikname-Connect Account ID you have received from Unikname's support request
Unikname-Connect API secret key	The API secret key you have received from Unikname's support request
UniknameConnect authorize scope	openid by default

Step 3. Test Unikname Connect on your Discourse Forum

Go to your Discourse Forum and click on the sign-up button. You will see this new signup screen:

Choose with your @unikname button, then you should see this page:

Finally enter your personal @unikname and validate the authentication on your smartphone. You're automatically redirected to the signup process on your forum.

Information

If you already have an account on your website, with your email, then you can Login to your forum with your eMail then go to preferences on your profil page, and link your @unikname with your account. For more info read the good post published by the community on our forum (opens new window).

All done!

New users are now able to use their @unikname SSID to sign-up to your Discourse Forum, and existing users can now link their account with their @unikname for further login with it.

Troubleshooting

If you’re having issues when connecting (access denied ...), check that the credentials (the @unikname of your organization, Unikname Connect secret, client id/secret ...) you are using to connect to Unikname Connect authentication server are the good one.