Onboarding FAQs

How do I use Anon to automate actions via my backend app?

First, the end-user needs to link their account (in Web, this is via the Chrome extension triggered in the frontend app).

That saves the user session in Anon, so your backend app can use it.

The onboarding flow will walk you through an example of doing so above.

How do I link an end-user via my frontend app?

Connection flow: open dialog → confirm extension → login into IG → green checkmark in dialogue

The end user’s session is now saved, and Anon could now access it via the end user’s user_app_id in your backend app.

Anon’s example credentials only provided one example user. How do I generate a new `example_app_user_id` and token?

Note: The credentials Anon provided include an example JWKS; this should be used for testing only. For production, we strongly recommend using your own JWKS.
That said, if you are using Anon’s 1password-provided JWKS, you can generate additional JWTs with this script:

from jwcrypto import jwk, jwt
import uuid
from datetime import datetime, timedelta

# FILL IN from 1password, may be `jwks.json` or "JWKS export"
jwks_json = "jwks.json"
# FILL IN from 1password, may be `jwks_url` or "JWKS url"
jwks_url = "YOUR_JWKS_URL_HERE"
key_name = jwks_url.split('/')[-1].split('.')[0]  # eg "Anon-13236"
# FILL IN from 1password credentials, may be `admin_email` or "Admin Member email"
org_email = "YOUR_ORG_EMAIL_HERE"

with open(jwks_json, "r") as f:
    jwks = f.read()

keyset = jwk.JWK.from_json(jwks)

key_type = "RSA"
alg = "RS256"
size = 2048
use = "sig"
timestamp = datetime.utcnow()
exp = int((timestamp + timedelta(days=30)).timestamp())
iat = int(timestamp.timestamp())

app_user_id = str(uuid.uuid4())
app_user_jwt = jwt.JWT(
    header={"alg": alg, "kid": key_name},
    claims={
        "email": org_email,
        "iat": iat,
        "iss": "urn:example:issuer",
        "aud": "urn:example:audience",
        "exp": exp,
        "sub": app_user_id,
    },
)

app_user_jwt.make_signed_token(keyset)
app_user_id_token = app_user_jwt.serialize()
print(app_user_id_token)

If you are using an Anon-hosted UserPool, use the endpoint /appUserIdToken to issue a new appUserIdToken.

Could I create another `UserPool` or `SdkClient`?

Yes! You can have multiple UserPool and SdkClient within your Organization — each UserPool requires a JWKS, which could be the mock one provided by Anon or your own.

Each SdkClient has one corresponding UserPool; follow this guide to create them.
- Note apps reference the SDK_CLIENT_ID, so you’d need to re-set that value.

How do I use my own identity provider?

Follow this guide to create a new UserPool with your provider’s JWKS. Then, create a SdkClient corresponding to that new UserPool.

Since apps reference a SDK_CLIENT_ID, be sure to change those as needed to your new SdkClient’s id.

What if I create JWTs without going through an OAuth provider?

You could host your own JWKS and use that to create a SdkClient.
- Follow this guide.
You must use a JWT with the required claims and "sub" to uniquely identify the user as an appUserIdToken. We also require the "kid" header, which specifies the key signing the JWT.
- Your JWKS could have one or multiple public keys. Host it at a URL like https://yourcompany.ai/.well-known/jwks.json, per convention.

I’m done testing. How do I use Anon in `prod` environment?

Contact Anon and we’ll generate prod credentials for you.

Note for prod, you’d want to use your own identity provider.

Given prod credentials and your JWKS, create a new SdkClient corresponding to your JWKS.

General FAQs

We have an in-house auth system. Do we need to use OpenID Connect (OIDC)?

No, OIDC is not required. You can integrate your in-house system with Anon by implementing a custom JSON Web Token (JWT) solution. Here’s how:

Step 1: Set Up JWKS

The first step involves setting up a JSON Web Key Set (JWKS), which is essential for managing cryptographic keys used in JWT operations.

Generate a Public/Private RSA Key Pair: Use OpenSSL to generate a RSA key pair. This pair consists of a private key, which you’ll use to sign your JWTs, and a public key, which will be shared through your JWKS.
```
openssl genpkey -algorithm RSA -out private_key.pem -pkeyopt rsa_keygen_bits:2048
openssl rsa -pubout -in private_key.pem -out public_key.pem
```
Create a JWKS: Follow this guide to create a JWKS.
Expose the Public Key Set: Host your JWKS at a public URL, typically located at https://YOUR_DOMAIN.com/.well-known/jwks.json. This endpoint allows Anon to retrieve the public key necessary for verifying your JWTs. For reference, see an example JWKS endpoint.

Step 2: Generate JWTs

With your JWKS in place, the next step is to implement token generation within your authentication system.

Create an Authenticated Endpoint: Develop a secure endpoint within your backend that handles authentication requests. This endpoint will be responsible for generating JWTs upon successful user authentication.
Generate and Sign JWT ID Tokens: Utilize a library such as jose (for JavaScript environments) to generate JWT id tokens. These tokens should be signed using your private RSA key, ensuring their integrity and authenticity.
Use the ID Token with Anon: The JWT id token serves as the appUserIdToken when connecting user sessions to Anon. Refer here for examples.

Integration Troubleshooting

Anon endpoints

Creating `UserPool`: `Unauthorized` or `"error": "Upstream error"`

Make sure you’re using Authorization: Bearer <session_token>

Creating `UserPool`: `error decoding response body: expected value at line 1 column 1`

Check that the JWKS url you created is public. Anon’s interaction with the url is that Anon’s servers download the key set and use it to verify signatures of your JWT ID tokens.

Frontend app

CORS issue

Access to fetch at 'https://svc.sandbox.anon.com/account/api/v1/appIntegration?id=instagram' from origin 'https://link.svc.sandbox.anon.com' has been blocked by CORS policy: No 'Access-Control-Allow-Origin' header is present on the requested resource. If an opaque response serves your needs, set the request's mode to 'no-cors' to fetch the resource with CORS disabled.

Cause: end-user’s browser interprets an Unauthorized Error as a CORS error, because it’s from an Options HTTP request.
Check that the frontend app’s config has correct values.
For "clientId", check that it’s the SdkClient corresponding to the UserPool which points to your desired JWKS.
- If you’re using an Anon-provided 1password file with multiple SdkClients, check that you’re using the webapp SdkClient, not the service SdkClient
- If you’re generating your own JWTs, refer to this FAQ.
For "appUserIdToken", check that the app user credentials come from the JWKS corresponding to the SdkClient.
- If you’re using an Anon-provided 1password file, it is example_app_user_id_token. You can generate additional example appUserIdTokens as follows.
- If you’re generating your own JWTs, check that they have a "kid" header, which specifies the key signing the JWT. They should be signed with the same kid as what’s in your JWKS.

500 response for `AnonLink.init()`

Check that you’re using the correct SdkClient, which should correspond to the UserPool you want to use.
If you’re switching to a new identity provider, create a new UserPool pointing to its JWKS and a corresponding SdkClient and verify you’re using the new SdkClient’s id.

Backend app

`SyntaxError: Unexpected token 'export'`

Add "type": "module" to your package.json file. This sets your project to use ECMAScript modules (ESM) instead of CommonJS, enabling the use of import and export statements.

`Error translating external user id: 404 - Not Found`

Check that the end-user had been linked. If using the examples, the appUserId on the backend app should correspond to an appUserIdToken you had linked on the frontend app.
Connect the user via your frontend app and Chrome extension, and try again.

`Error translating external user id: 500 - Internal Server`

Check that the end-user had been linked. If using the examples, the appUserId on the backend app should correspond to an appUserIdToken you had linked on the frontend app.
Connect the user via your frontend app and Chrome extension, and try again.

`ERR_TUNNEL_CONNECTION_FAILED`

Check that the end-user had been linked. If using the examples, the appUserId on the backend app should correspond to an appUserIdToken you had linked on the frontend app.
Connect the user via your frontend app and Chrome extension, and try again.

`Error translating external user id: 429 - Too Many Requests`

If you’re sending a large number of requests, you might be hitting Anon’s ory rate limit. Check that your app’s environment is configured as "prod" instead of "sandbox" or "staging", since that has better rate limits.

Specific integrations

Amazon

Symptom: Auto-closing sign-in page for users with existing sessions

Description: When a user with a saved session in Anon connects, the sign-in page briefly appears before automatically closing after a few seconds.

Status: Expected behavior

Note: This process ensures session validation while minimizing user interaction for those already authenticated.

General

Connecting user sessions

Running user sessions

Reference

FAQs / Troubleshooting

Onboarding FAQs

How do I use Anon to automate actions via my backend app?

How do I link an end-user via my frontend app?

Anon’s example credentials only provided one example user. How do I generate a new `example_app_user_id` and token?

Could I create another `UserPool` or `SdkClient`?

How do I use my own identity provider?

What if I create JWTs without going through an OAuth provider?

I’m done testing. How do I use Anon in `prod` environment?

General FAQs

We have an in-house auth system. Do we need to use OpenID Connect (OIDC)?

Step 1: Set Up JWKS

Step 2: Generate JWTs

Integration Troubleshooting

Anon endpoints

Creating `UserPool`: `Unauthorized` or `"error": "Upstream error"`

Creating `UserPool`: `error decoding response body: expected value at line 1 column 1`

Frontend app

CORS issue

500 response for `AnonLink.init()`

Backend app

`SyntaxError: Unexpected token 'export'`

`Error translating external user id: 404 - Not Found`

`Error translating external user id: 500 - Internal Server`

`ERR_TUNNEL_CONNECTION_FAILED`

`Error translating external user id: 429 - Too Many Requests`

Specific integrations

Amazon

General

Connecting user sessions

Running user sessions

Reference

​Onboarding FAQs

​How do I use Anon to automate actions via my backend app?

​How do I link an end-user via my frontend app?

​Anon’s example credentials only provided one example user. How do I generate a new example_app_user_id and token?

​Could I create another UserPool or SdkClient?

​How do I use my own identity provider?

​What if I create JWTs without going through an OAuth provider?

​I’m done testing. How do I use Anon in prod environment?

​General FAQs

​We have an in-house auth system. Do we need to use OpenID Connect (OIDC)?

Step 1: Set Up JWKS

Step 2: Generate JWTs

​Integration Troubleshooting

​Anon endpoints

​Creating UserPool: Unauthorized or "error": "Upstream error"

​Creating UserPool: error decoding response body: expected value at line 1 column 1

​Frontend app

​CORS issue

​500 response for AnonLink.init()

​Backend app

​SyntaxError: Unexpected token 'export'

​Error translating external user id: 404 - Not Found

​Error translating external user id: 500 - Internal Server

​ERR_TUNNEL_CONNECTION_FAILED

​Error translating external user id: 429 - Too Many Requests

​Specific integrations

​Amazon

Onboarding FAQs

How do I use Anon to automate actions via my backend app?

How do I link an end-user via my frontend app?

Anon’s example credentials only provided one example user. How do I generate a new `example_app_user_id` and token?

Could I create another `UserPool` or `SdkClient`?

How do I use my own identity provider?

What if I create JWTs without going through an OAuth provider?

I’m done testing. How do I use Anon in `prod` environment?

General FAQs

We have an in-house auth system. Do we need to use OpenID Connect (OIDC)?

Integration Troubleshooting

Anon endpoints

Creating `UserPool`: `Unauthorized` or `"error": "Upstream error"`

Creating `UserPool`: `error decoding response body: expected value at line 1 column 1`

Frontend app

CORS issue

500 response for `AnonLink.init()`

Backend app

`SyntaxError: Unexpected token 'export'`

`Error translating external user id: 404 - Not Found`

`Error translating external user id: 500 - Internal Server`

`ERR_TUNNEL_CONNECTION_FAILED`

`Error translating external user id: 429 - Too Many Requests`

Specific integrations

Amazon