Auth0 Java MVC Common Integration

Add Auth0 authentication to Java Servlet web applications using com.auth0:mvc-auth-commons. Provides AuthenticationController for building authorize URLs and handling callbacks, with session-based authentication and support for Organizations and Multiple Custom Domains.

Agent instruction: Before providing SDK setup instructions, fetch the latest release version by running:

gh api repos/auth0/auth0-java-mvc-common/releases/latest --jq '.tag_name'

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Use the returned version in all dependency lines instead of any hardcoded version below. If the API call fails, use 1.12.0.

Prerequisites

• Java 8+ (Java 17+ recommended)
• Servlet container (Tomcat, Jetty, etc.) with javax.servlet 3+
• Maven 3.6+ or Gradle 7+
• Auth0 Regular Web Application configured
• If you don't have Auth0 set up yet, use the auth0-quickstart skill first

When NOT to Use

Quick Start Workflow

Agent instruction: Do not write or echo credential values (domain, client ID, client secret) yourself. If the user's prompt already provides Auth0 credentials, skip the credential questions and instruct the user to populate their .env file — provide the variable names and file path but use placeholders (<YOUR_DOMAIN>, <YOUR_CLIENT_ID>, <YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET>), never actual values. Never repeat credentials back in responses.

Secret handling rules:

• Never retrieve or parse client_secret from Auth0 CLI output.
• Never write actual credential values into any file using the Write or Edit tool — always use placeholders and instruct the user to substitute their real values.
• Do NOT read .env files (to avoid exposing existing secrets in context).
• Always ensure .env is in .gitignore — add the entry automatically if missing.

1. Install SDK

Gradle (build.gradle):

implementation 'com.auth0:mvc-auth-commons:1.12.0'

Maven (pom.xml):

<dependency>
    <groupId>com.auth0</groupId>
    <artifactId>mvc-auth-commons</artifactId>
    <version>1.12.0</version>
</dependency>

2. Create Auth0 Application

You need a Regular Web Application (not SPA or Native) in Auth0.

STOP — ask the user before proceeding.

Ask exactly this question and wait for their answer before doing anything else:

"How would you like to create the Auth0 application?

1. Automated — I'll run Auth0 CLI commands that create the application and write the values to your config automatically.
2. Manual — You create the application yourself in the Auth0 Dashboard (or via auth0 apps create) and provide me the Domain, Client ID, and Client Secret.

Which do you prefer? (1 = Automated / 2 = Manual)"

Do NOT proceed to any setup steps until the user has answered. Do NOT default to manual.

If the user chose Automated, follow the Setup Guide for the complete Auth0 CLI steps. The automated path writes configuration for you — skip Step 3 below and proceed directly to Step 4.

If the user chose Manual, follow the Setup Guide (Manual Setup section). Then continue with Step 3.

Quick reference for manual application creation:

# Using Auth0 CLI
auth0 apps create \
  --name "My Java Web App" \
  --type regular \
  --callbacks http://localhost:3000/callback \
  --logout-urls http://localhost:3000

Or create manually in Auth0 Dashboard → Applications → Applications → Create Application → Regular Web Applications

3. Configure Credentials

Store credentials as environment variables (never hardcode in source):

export AUTH0_DOMAIN="your-tenant.auth0.com"
export AUTH0_CLIENT_ID="your-client-id"
export AUTH0_CLIENT_SECRET="your-client-secret"

Or use a .env file (add to .gitignore):

AUTH0_DOMAIN=your-tenant.auth0.com
AUTH0_CLIENT_ID=your-client-id
AUTH0_CLIENT_SECRET=your-client-secret

Agent instruction: Never write actual credential values to files. Instead, instruct the user to create or update .env with their credentials. Provide the template with placeholders only. Always add .env to .gitignore if not already present. Warn the user: "Check your .env for duplicate Auth0 entries if you've configured it previously."

Java does not auto-load .env files. System.getenv() only reads OS-level environment variables. If you generate a .env file, you must also either: (1) add dotenv-java as a dependency and use Dotenv.load().get("AUTH0_DOMAIN") instead of System.getenv(), or (2) instruct the user to run source .env before starting the server. Do not generate code that uses both a .env file and System.getenv() without a loading mechanism — the values will be null.

Important: Domain must NOT include https://. The library constructs the issuer URL automatically.

4. Initialize AuthenticationController

Create a singleton AuthenticationController instance:

import com.auth0.AuthenticationController;
import com.auth0.jwk.JwkProviderBuilder;
import com.auth0.jwk.JwkProvider;

public class Auth0Config {

    private static final AuthenticationController controller = createController();

    private static AuthenticationController createController() {
        String domain = System.getenv("AUTH0_DOMAIN");
        String clientId = System.getenv("AUTH0_CLIENT_ID");
        String clientSecret = System.getenv("AUTH0_CLIENT_SECRET");

        JwkProvider jwkProvider = new JwkProviderBuilder(domain).build();

        return AuthenticationController.newBuilder(domain, clientId, clientSecret)
            .withJwkProvider(jwkProvider)
            .build();
    }

    public static AuthenticationController getAuthController() {
        return controller;
    }
}

5. Create Login Servlet

import com.auth0.AuthenticationController;
import com.auth0.AuthorizeUrl;

import javax.servlet.ServletException;
import javax.servlet.annotation.WebServlet;
import javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet;
import javax.servlet.http.HttpServletRequest;
import javax.servlet.http.HttpServletResponse;
import java.io.IOException;

@WebServlet(urlPatterns = {"/login"})
public class LoginServlet extends HttpServlet {

    @Override
    protected void doGet(HttpServletRequest request, HttpServletResponse response)
            throws ServletException, IOException {
        AuthenticationController controller = Auth0Config.getAuthController();

        // Build callback URL — omit port for standard ports (80/443) to avoid
        // mismatch with the URL registered in Auth0 Dashboard, especially behind proxies.
        String scheme = request.getScheme();
        int port = request.getServerPort();
        String redirectUrl = scheme + "://" + request.getServerName()
            + ((port == 80 || port == 443) ? "" : ":" + port) + "/callback";

        AuthorizeUrl authorizeUrl = controller.buildAuthorizeUrl(request, response, redirectUrl)
            .withScope("openid profile email");

        response.sendRedirect(authorizeUrl.build());
    }
}

6. Create Callback Servlet

import com.auth0.AuthenticationController;
import com.auth0.IdentityVerificationException;
import com.auth0.Tokens;

import javax.servlet.ServletException;
import javax.servlet.annotation.WebServlet;
import javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet;
import javax.servlet.http.HttpServletRequest;
import javax.servlet.http.HttpServletResponse;
import java.io.IOException;

@WebServlet(urlPatterns = {"/callback"})
public class CallbackServlet extends HttpServlet {

    @Override
    protected void doGet(HttpServletRequest request, HttpServletResponse response)
            throws ServletException, IOException {
        AuthenticationController controller = Auth0Config.getAuthController();

        try {
            Tokens tokens = controller.handle(request, response);

            request.getSession().setAttribute("accessToken", tokens.getAccessToken());
            request.getSession().setAttribute("idToken", tokens.getIdToken());

            response.sendRedirect("/dashboard");
        } catch (IdentityVerificationException e) {
            response.sendRedirect("/login?error=" + e.getCode());
        }
    }
}

7. Protect Routes with Authentication Middleware (Servlet Filter)

import javax.servlet.*;
import javax.servlet.annotation.WebFilter;
import javax.servlet.http.HttpServletRequest;
import javax.servlet.http.HttpServletResponse;
import javax.servlet.http.HttpSession;
import java.io.IOException;

@WebFilter(urlPatterns = {"/dashboard/*", "/api/private/*"})
public class AuthenticationFilter implements Filter {

    @Override
    public void doFilter(ServletRequest req, ServletResponse res, FilterChain chain)
            throws IOException, ServletException {
        HttpServletRequest request = (HttpServletRequest) req;
        HttpServletResponse response = (HttpServletResponse) res;
        HttpSession session = request.getSession(false);

        if (session == null || session.getAttribute("idToken") == null) {
            response.sendRedirect("/login");
            return;
        }

        chain.doFilter(req, res);
    }

    @Override
    public void init(FilterConfig filterConfig) {}

    @Override
    public void destroy() {}
}

8. Test Application

Agent instruction: After writing all code, verify the build succeeds:

./gradlew build

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or mvn package. If build fails, diagnose and fix. After 5-6 failed attempts, use AskUserQuestion to get help.

1. Start the application and navigate to http://localhost:3000/login
2. You should be redirected to the Auth0 Universal Login page
3. After login, the callback servlet handles the response and redirects to /dashboard

Common Mistakes

Scope and Audience Configuration

See Integration Guide for requesting custom scopes, audience for API access tokens, and Organizations support.

Multiple Custom Domains (MCD)

Built-in support for routing users to the correct Auth0 domain via DomainResolver. See Integration Guide for configuration.

Related Skills

• auth0-quickstart — Basic Auth0 setup and account creation
• auth0-springboot-api — Spring Boot REST APIs with JWT Bearer token validation

Quick Reference

Core Classes:

• AuthenticationController — Main entry point, builds authorize URLs and handles callbacks
• AuthenticationController.Builder — Configures the controller via newBuilder(domain, clientId, clientSecret)
• AuthorizeUrl — Fluent builder for /authorize URL parameters
• Tokens — Access token, ID token, refresh token from callback
• IdentityVerificationException — Authentication error with error code
• DomainResolver — Interface for Multiple Custom Domain support

Builder Methods (AuthorizeUrl):

• .withScope("openid profile email") — Set requested scopes
• .withAudience("https://my-api") — Request API access token
• .withOrganization("org_xxx") — Lock to specific Organization
• .withInvitation("invite_xxx") — Accept Organization invitation
• .withConnection("google-oauth2") — Skip to specific connection
• .withParameter("key", "value") — Add custom authorize parameter

Token Access (Tokens):

• tokens.getAccessToken() — Access token string
• tokens.getIdToken() — ID token (JWT) string
• tokens.getRefreshToken() — Refresh token (if offline_access scope requested)
• tokens.getExpiresIn() — Token expiration in seconds
• tokens.getType() — Token type (usually "Bearer")
• tokens.getDomain() — Auth0 domain that issued the tokens
• tokens.getIssuer() — Token issuer URL

Detailed Documentation

• Setup Guide — Auth0 CLI automation, environment configuration, secret management
• Integration Guide — Organizations, MCD, custom scopes, logout, error handling, advanced patterns
• API Reference — Complete configuration options, builder methods, claims reference, testing checklist

References

• Auth0 Java Web App Quickstart
• SDK GitHub Repository
• Auth0 Universal Login
• Authorization Code Flow
• Auth0 Organizations