keycloak_client

Cross-platform Keycloak authentication for Flutter with:

  • Authorization Code + PKCE
  • mobile deep links
  • desktop loopback callbacks
  • web redirect callbacks
  • secure credential persistence
  • automatic token refresh
  • auth and user streams
  • typed read of the user's configured authentication methods (password, OTP, WebAuthn)

Install

dependencies:
  keycloak_client: ^2.1.0

Quick Start

import 'package:keycloak_client/keycloak_client.dart';

final client = KeycloakClient(
  clientConfig: ClientConfig(
    baseUrl: 'https://auth.example.com',
    realm: 'my-realm',
    clientId: 'my-client',
  ),
  // optional — only needed to override defaults
  mobileConfig: MobileConfig(redirectUri: 'myapp://auth'),
  desktopConfig: DesktopConfig(loopbackUri: Uri.parse('http://localhost:8765/callback')),
  webConfig: WebConfig(redirectUri: 'https://example.com/auth/callback'),
);

Initialize early:

@override
void initState() {
  super.initState();
  client.initialize();
}

@override
void dispose() {
  client.dispose();
  super.dispose();
}

Login:

await client.login();

Logout:

await client.logout();

Get a valid access token:

try {
  final token = await client.getAuthToken();
  if (token == null) {
    // No active session — show login screen
  } else {
    // Use token in Authorization header
  }
} on KeycloakNetworkException {
  // Session is valid but device is offline — show offline banner
}

Configuration

Everything is configured through ClientConfig and optional per-platform config objects.

final client = KeycloakClient(
  clientConfig: ClientConfig(
    baseUrl: 'https://auth.example.com',
    realm: 'my-realm',
    clientId: 'my-client',
  ),
  // optional platform overrides
  mobileConfig: MobileConfig(redirectUri: 'myapp://auth'),
  desktopConfig: DesktopConfig(loopbackUri: Uri.parse('http://localhost:8765/callback')),
  webConfig: WebConfig(redirectUri: 'https://example.com/auth/callback'),
);

ClientConfig fields:

  • baseUrl: Keycloak server root
  • realm: Keycloak realm name
  • clientId: OAuth client ID
  • clientSecret: for confidential clients; required with GrantType.clientCredentials
  • scopes: defaults to openid, email, profile. Include offline_access for a long-lived session — the client detects it here and stores the refresh token with no local expiry
  • refreshTokenLifetime: how long a refresh token is assumed to last — defaults to 30 days. package:oauth2 drops the server's refresh_expires_in, so this is assumed rather than read; set it to match your realm's SSO Session Max. Ignored for offline_access sessions
  • refreshTimeout: HTTP timeout for each token refresh attempt — defaults to Duration(seconds: 15). Lower for faster offline detection; raise for high-latency deployments.
  • grantType: GrantType.authorizationCode (default, browser login) or GrantType.clientCredentials (service account, see below)
  • requiredRealmRoles / requiredClientRoles: roles the principal must hold, see Roles

Platform config defaults:

  • MobileConfig.redirectUri: myapp://auth
  • MobileConfig.preferEphemeral: true — a private auth session: no iOS "wants to use … to Sign In" prompt and no cookies shared with the browser. Set false for single sign-on with the browser's Keycloak session
  • DesktopConfig.redirectUri: https://winchetechnologies.co.uk/tools/oauth_redirect
  • DesktopConfig.loopbackUri: http://localhost:8765/callback
  • WebConfig.redirectUri: https://winchetechnologies.co.uk/tools/oauth_redirect

For desktop, these two values have different jobs:

  • DesktopConfig.redirectUri: the URI sent to Keycloak
  • DesktopConfig.loopbackUri: the local URI the desktop app listens on

Service Accounts

To authenticate as the client's own Keycloak service account instead of a user, set grantType:

final client = KeycloakClient(
  clientConfig: ClientConfig(
    baseUrl: 'https://auth.example.com',
    realm: 'my-realm',
    clientId: 'my-backend',
    clientSecret: '...',
    grantType: GrantType.clientCredentials,
  ),
);

await client.login();                      // no browser
final token = await client.getAuthToken(); // renewed automatically

In Keycloak, turn on Client authentication and Service accounts roles for the client.

  • login() fetches a token with the client ID and secret. When the token expires, a new one is fetched the same way; there is no refresh token.
  • currentUser is Keycloak's service-account-<clientId> user.
  • logout() only clears the local session.
  • manageAccount(), getAccountCredentials() and handleWebCallback() throw UnsupportedError.
  • If Keycloak rejects the secret during renewal, the session ends as AuthState.sessionExpired.

Never ship a client secret in a public mobile, web or desktop build. Anyone can extract it. Use this mode only on machines you control.

Roles

client.roles exposes the principal's Keycloak roles, read from the access token (realm_access, resource_access). It is null while signed out and updates on every refresh.

client.roles?.hasRealmRole('staff');
client.roles?.hasClientRole('my-client', 'editor');

To admit only principals with certain roles:

ClientConfig(
  ...,
  requiredRealmRoles: {'staff'},
  requiredClientRoles: {'my-client': {'editor'}},
)
  • login() without them ends the Keycloak session and throws KeycloakAccessDeniedException (e.missing lists what was lacking).
  • A restored session without them, or one whose role is revoked while signed in, ends as AuthState.accessDenied.
  • refreshToken() throws KeycloakAccessDeniedException instead if a required role is lost on a refresh it triggered directly.

This is a UX guard. The token's signature isn't checked, and anyone can modify an app, so your API must enforce roles itself. To block the login in Keycloak itself, add a Condition – user role + Deny access step to the browser flow.

Custom Login and Storage

Every dependency can be replaced through the public constructor:

final client = KeycloakClient(
  clientConfig: config,
  credentialsStorage: MyStore(),            // default: SecureStorageAuthCredentialsStore
  mobileLoginStrategy: MyMobileStrategy(),  // implements IMobileLoginStrategy
);

Only the strategy for the platform the app runs on is used. A custom strategy can reuse generateCodeVerifier() and generateState() for PKCE, and SecureStorageAuthCredentialsStore is exported so it can be wrapped or reused.

Dev Redirect Helper

Recent Keycloak versions can be awkward about using localhost as an allowed redirect URI. To make local development easier, this package ships with a public redirect endpoint by default:

https://winchetechnologies.co.uk/tools/oauth_redirect

The idea is:

  1. Register that public URL in Keycloak as a valid redirect URI.
  2. Use that public URL as DesktopConfig.redirectUri during desktop dev.
  3. Keep DesktopConfig.loopbackUri on a local address such as http://localhost:8765/callback.
  4. Keycloak redirects the browser to the public helper page after login.
  5. That page lets the you enter your loopback uri.
  6. The page forwards the full callback, including Keycloak query parameters, to the local loopback server.

Web Startup

Web login is redirect-based. Call handleWebCallback(Uri.base) on startup before rendering the app:

void main() async {
  WidgetsFlutterBinding.ensureInitialized();

  if (kIsWeb) {
    await client.handleWebCallback(Uri.base);
  }

  runApp(const MyApp());
}

On web, login() redirects the current tab and does not complete before navigation.

Account Credentials

Read the authentication methods the current user has configured (password, OTP, WebAuthn, …) from Keycloak's account REST API:

final credentials = await client.getAccountCredentials();

Results are returned as a sealed AccountCredential family. Pattern match to access type-specific fields:

for (final credential in credentials) {
  switch (credential) {
    case PasswordCredential():
      print('Password: ${credential.isConfigured ? 'set' : 'not set'}');
    case OtpCredential(:final instances):
      for (final otp in instances) {
        print('OTP: ${otp.userLabel} (${otp.subType.name}, ${otp.digits} digits)');
      }
    case WebAuthnCredential(:final instances):
      for (final key in instances) {
        print('WebAuthn: ${key.userLabel} (aaguid=${key.aaguid})');
      }
    case UnknownCredential():
      // Realm-specific or future credential provider — inspect raw `credentialData`.
      print('${credential.type}: ${credential.instanceCount} configured');
  }
}

Each AccountCredential exposes type, category, displayName, instanceCount, and isConfigured. Per-type instance models carry the common id / userLabel / createdDate plus the fields shown above (OTP subType/digits/period/algorithm, WebAuthn aaguid). UnknownCredential carries the raw credentialData map so realm-specific or future providers don't break parsing.

Account credentials are queried on demand and not cached — the source of truth is Keycloak. If your UI needs offline-first reads, memoize the result in your app.

Streams

Auth state:

StreamBuilder<AuthState>(
  stream: client.onAuthChange,
  builder: (context, snapshot) {
    final state = snapshot.data ?? AuthState.unknown;
    return Text('$state');
  },
);

User info:

StreamBuilder<UserInfo?>(
  stream: client.onUserChange,
  builder: (context, snapshot) {
    final user = snapshot.data;
    return Text(user?.username ?? 'No user');
  },
);

Token rotation — for connections authenticated once at dial time:

client.onTokenRefreshed.listen((_) async {
  final token = await client.getAuthToken();
  socket.redial(token); // the old token is about to expire
});

Unlike the two streams above, this one does not replay on listen: a rotation is an event, not a state. It stays silent while signed out, including during the refresh initialize() performs on a cold start with an expired access token.

Logging

The client logs through package:logging under the logger name KeycloakClient. Nothing is printed unless your app installs a listener, so verbosity is yours to set — there is no package-level log option:

Logger.root.level = Level.INFO;
Logger.root.onRecord.listen((r) => debugPrint('${r.level.name}: ${r.message}'));

To keep the rest of your app quiet, listen on the package's logger alone and set hierarchicalLoggingEnabled = true first:

hierarchicalLoggingEnabled = true;
Logger('KeycloakClient')
  ..level = Level.INFO
  ..onRecord.listen((r) => debugPrint('${r.level.name}: ${r.message}'));

Platform Setup

Keycloak

Register the correct redirect URIs in your Keycloak client.

Typical values:

  • Android/iOS: myapp://auth
  • Desktop dev: https://winchetechnologies.co.uk/tools/oauth_redirect
  • Desktop local listener: http://localhost:8765/callback
  • Web dev: https://winchetechnologies.co.uk/tools/oauth_redirect
  • Web prod: your real public web callback URL

For desktop dev with the helper endpoint:

  • redirectUri is the public URL you register in Keycloak
  • loopbackUri is the local listener inside your desktop app
  • the helper page bridges the public redirect back to the local loopback server

Android

Mobile login runs in an Auth Tab / Custom Tab via flutter_web_auth_2. Register its callback activity for your redirect scheme in android/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml, inside <application>:

<activity
    android:name="com.linusu.flutter_web_auth_2.CallbackActivity"
    android:exported="true"
    android:taskAffinity="">
    <intent-filter android:label="flutter_web_auth_2">
        <action android:name="android.intent.action.VIEW"/>
        <category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT"/>
        <category android:name="android.intent.category.BROWSABLE"/>
        <data android:scheme="myapp"/>
    </intent-filter>
</activity>

Remove any VIEW intent filter for this scheme from MainActivity; two activities claiming it makes Android ask the user which one to open. Also set android:taskAffinity="" on MainActivity, as flutter_web_auth_2 recommends. flutter_web_auth_2 compiles against Android SDK 36, so your app may need compileSdk = 36.

Also ensure internet permission exists:

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET"/>

For an https redirect (App Links), use https as the scheme in the intent filter with your host, and set MobileConfig.redirectUri to the full URL. Add android:autoVerify="true" to the intent filter so Android verifies the app as the handler for that host, and give the data element the host and path instead of a custom scheme:

<activity
    android:name="com.linusu.flutter_web_auth_2.CallbackActivity"
    android:exported="true"
    android:taskAffinity="">
    <intent-filter android:autoVerify="true" android:label="flutter_web_auth_2">
        <action android:name="android.intent.action.VIEW"/>
        <category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT"/>
        <category android:name="android.intent.category.BROWSABLE"/>
        <data android:scheme="https" android:host="app.example.com" android:path="/auth/callback"/>
    </intent-filter>
</activity>

The host (app.example.com above) must serve /.well-known/assetlinks.json declaring this app, or Android can't verify the link: instead of the Auth Tab matching it, the user sees a disambiguation chooser, or the redirect never comes back to the app at all.

iOS

Mobile login runs in an ASWebAuthenticationSession sheet over your app, and it matches the redirect scheme itself. A custom scheme such as myapp://auth needs no Info.plist entry. An https redirect (universal link) requires iOS 17.4 or later and an associated domain.

macOS / Windows / Linux

Desktop login uses a system browser plus a local HTTP listener.

Important fields:

  • DesktopConfig.redirectUri: the redirect URI sent to Keycloak
  • DesktopConfig.loopbackUri: the local URI the desktop app listens on (default: http://localhost:8765/callback)
  • DesktopConfig.loopbackTimeout: how long to wait for the callback

The app always listens on loopbackUri while Keycloak redirects to redirectUri. For local development:

  • register https://winchetechnologies.co.uk/tools/oauth_redirect in Keycloak
  • keep loopbackUri on a local port like http://localhost:8765/callback
  • when the helper page opens, enter that local port so it forwards the callback back to your app

Linux build requirement: flutter_web_auth_2 is a single all-platform plugin; its desktop side depends on desktop_webview_window, whose CMake requires the WebKitGTK and libsoup development packages to be installed even though desktop login here doesn't use flutter_web_auth_2. On Debian/Ubuntu:

sudo apt install libwebkit2gtk-4.1-dev libsoup-3.0-dev

(Older distros may need libwebkit2gtk-4.0-dev / libsoup2.4-dev instead.)

Web

For local development, you can use the same public helper endpoint:

web: const WebConfig(
  redirectUri: 'https://winchetechnologies.co.uk/tools/oauth_redirect',
),

For production, use your own public callback URL instead.

Always:

  • register the web redirect URI in Keycloak
  • call handleWebCallback(Uri.base) on app startup

Main API

  • initialize(): restore any existing session
  • login(): start authentication
  • handleWebCallback(uri): resume a web redirect flow
  • logout(): clear session and notify Keycloak when possible
  • getAuthToken(): return a valid access token, null if no session, or throw KeycloakNetworkException if offline with a valid session
  • refreshToken(): force an immediate token refresh and user profile reload regardless of token expiry — useful after account management or role changes; throws KeycloakNetworkException if offline, or KeycloakSessionExpiredException if the session is dead
  • reloadUser(): reload profile data from /userinfo
  • getAccountCredentials(): list the user's configured authentication methods as a sealed AccountCredential family
  • manageAccount(): open Keycloak account console in external browser
  • roles: the principal's realm and client roles, null while signed out
  • onAuthChange: stream of AuthState
  • onUserChange: stream of UserInfo?
  • onTokenRefreshed: fires after every successful refresh while signed in; does not replay on listen

Auth States

  • AuthState.unknown
  • AuthState.signedOut
  • AuthState.signedIn
  • AuthState.sessionExpired
  • AuthState.accessDenied

Exceptions

The package throws typed exceptions:

  • KeycloakNetworkException — the server could not be reached, or a browser/listener could not be started. Retryable
  • KeycloakServerException — a non-2xx response, or an IdP error in the login callback other than access_denied
  • KeycloakSessionExpiredException — thrown by refreshToken() when the session is permanently dead and the user must sign in again
  • KeycloakTimeoutException — desktop only: the user never came back from the browser, or a web grant aged past pendingGrantTTL
  • KeycloakAccessDeniedException — thrown by login(), handleWebCallback() and refreshToken() when the principal lacks a required role; the session was already ended

A cancelled login is not an exception: login() and handleWebCallback() return normally when the IdP reports access_denied, and login() also returns normally when a mobile auth session is dismissed.

Notes

  • Call initialize() before login(), logout(), or reloadUser()
  • Credentials are stored with flutter_secure_storage by default (SecureStorageAuthCredentialsStore); pass credentialsStorage to change it
  • User profile data comes from Keycloak's /userinfo endpoint

Libraries

keycloak_client