{"id":2055,"date":"2024-10-30T09:55:50","date_gmt":"2024-10-30T16:55:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/identity\/?p=2055"},"modified":"2024-10-30T09:55:50","modified_gmt":"2024-10-30T16:55:50","slug":"introducing-the-authentication-events-nuget-library","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/identity\/introducing-the-authentication-events-nuget-library\/","title":{"rendered":"Integrate data from external sources into Microsoft Entra tokens using the Authentication Events library"},"content":{"rendered":"

Modern applications often require business-specific data such as entitlements or profile attributes. This data is typically stored in external systems, like CRMs or legacy on-prem datastores. And, without a streamlined solution, conveying custom data, known as custom claims, to applications can become complex. Using Microsoft Entra\u2019s event-based custom authentication extension framework and a Custom Claims Provider<\/a>\u2014now generally available\u2014you can fetch external data via an API call and add it as custom claims into authentication tokens issued by Microsoft Entra ID or Microsoft Entra External ID.<\/p>\n

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Implementing an API can require writing a significant amount of code and introduces the potential for error in things like token validation. To simplify the process of implementing a custom claims provider, we\u2019ve released a NuGet library that allows efficient integration of custom user data without the headache of writing boilerplate code\u2014ensuring a secure, performant implementation.<\/p>\n

In this blog post, we give you an overview of how to get started.<\/p>\n

Bringing external data into authentication tokens<\/h2>\n

Let\u2019s say you\u2019re working with a legacy datastore that stores customer information. You need specific pieces of customer data included in authentication tokens to complete a process for each user. It\u2019s important to ensure you can easily pull this custom data into your application and provide it as custom claims in the token.<\/p>\n

Introducing the Authentication Events NuGet library<\/h2>\n

A custom claims provider allows your application to fetch key pieces of user data from external sources and include them in authentication tokens. The NuGet library simplifies the implementation of custom claims providers in an Azure Function. It handles token validation, request and response validation, and includes a built-in data model of Microsoft Entra\u2019s custom extension<\/a> objects\u2014allowing you to focus on building custom business logic.<\/p>\n

Using the NuGet library, you can easily set up a custom claims provider with minimal coding on your part. This approach saves you time but also ensures that your system is secure, scalable, and easy to maintain.<\/p>\n

Advantages of using the NuGet library<\/h2>\n