The meeting was primarily a technical discussion between the State Changers about implementing the Microsoft Graph Mail API for a customer relationship management (CRM) web app. Key highlights of the conversation included software tools such as Xano and Wiz, and the authentication process such as using OAuth.
One of the State Changers was working to implement the app and was facing trouble in authenticating using OAuth. The error received was "JWT token does not contain NBF claim". The solution discussed was to separate the concerns of granting access to the application and user authentication. A key point was that the State Changers don't just need user login but also need the app to execute tasks on the users' behalf. Auth0 and similar systems, while effective for federated authentication, might not meet these specific needs because they require the app to work uniquely within the Microsoft environment. An alternate route, called the client credentials flow, was suggested for implementation. This would enable the application to carry out roles for the users in the Microsoft environment, provided there's a high trust level. A brief introduction to the concept of federated authentication was also given. The participant mentioned that Xano would interact directly with Microsoft while Wiz, or similar tool, would interact with Xano. Encouragement was given to continue working, despite a lack of detailed tutorials due to the highly specific and advanced nature of the tasks they were trying to accomplish. Possible next steps were recommended, including posting the issue on the forum, starting with client credentials flow as a solution, and creating something that automatically generates credentials, eventually. The application would require a high level of reliability and a strong trust relationship with the user due to the extensive permissions it would need to function effectively. The meeting concluded with an assurance to continue the conversation in the forum and in the next Office Hours session.
(Source: Office Hours 5/24 )
