Python based Google Authentication working on localhost not on live

Question

I am working on a django application where I have implemented login with Google Authentication. I have my application on a VM and use an IIS reverse proxy to redirect localhost to the live URL. The problem is that my response from Google starts localhost:8000 instead of my domain. So how can I make sure that the response starts with my domain?

Nikunj Satasiya · Answer

Hi Rohit When you're using Google Authentication (or any OAuth provider) with a Django application that is accessed through a domain name but proxied via a local server (like localhost with a specified port) you need to ensure that the OAuth callback URLs and application configuration are set correctly to reflect the domain name not just the local address. Here's how you can address the issue where the response from Google starts with localhost:8000 instead of your domain: 1. Set Correct Redirect URIs in Google API Console First and foremost ensure that the redirect URIs in your Google API Console are set to your domain instead of localhost. This is a common oversight that can lead to the issue you're experiencing. Go to the Google Developer Console. Select your project. Navigate to the Credentials section. Find the OAuth 2.0 Client IDs section and click on your client ID. In the Authorized redirect URIs section add your domain in the format: https://yourdomain.com/your_redirect_uri/ Save the changes. 2. Configure Django Settings Within your Django settings you need to ensure that the ALLOWED_HOSTS setting includes your domain and that you're constructing URLs with the appropriate domain: ALLOWED_HOSTS = ['yourdomain.com' 'localhost' '127.0.0.1'] # Use X-Forwarded-Host header to construct URLs with the domain if your Django app is behind a proxy USE_X_FORWARDED_HOST = True Ensure that USE_X_FORWARDED_HOST is set to True if your Django app relies on the Host header forwarded by your proxy (IIS in this case) which should reflect the original host requested by the client. 3. Configure IIS Reverse Proxy Make sure that your IIS reverse proxy is correctly configured to handle the Host header. This is crucial for ensuring that Django generates URLs using your domain instead of the localhost. You can do this by setting the reverseProxy configuration in your web.config file: This configuration not only redirects requests to your Django application running on localhost but also ensures that the original host (domain name) is passed along in the X-Forwarded-Host HTTP header. After making these changes thoroughly test the login functionality to ensure that the redirects are occurring as expected and that the URLs generated by Django now reflect your domain rather than localhost. Use tools like your browser's developer tools to trace redirects and confirm that the correct URLs are being used. By setting the proper redirect URIs in the Google API Console configuring Django to acknowledge the forwarded host and ensuring your IIS setup forwards the correct headers your application should authenticate using your domain name in URLs instead of localhost.

Aman Gupta · Answer

Hi Rohit Here is the approach to ensure that your Google Authentication response starts with your domain instead of localhost:8000  you need to configure the callback URL correctly in both your Django application and Google API console. Here’s how you can do it: 1. Configure the Google API Console: Go to the Google API Console : Navigate to Google API Console. Select Your Project : Choose the project you are working on or create a new project. Configure OAuth Consent Screen : Make sure your OAuth consent screen is set up correctly with your application details. Create/Configure OAuth Client ID : Go to Credentials . If you don’t have an OAuth 2.0 Client ID create one. If you have one edit it. Set the Authorized redirect URIs to your live URL (e.g. https://yourdomain.com/callback ). Ensure this URI matches the one you are using in your Django application. 2. Update Django Application Settings: Django Social Auth Configuration : Update your Django settings to reflect the correct domain in the redirect URIs. If you are using social-auth-app-django  ensure the following settings are updated. SOCIAL_AUTH_GOOGLE_OAUTH2_KEY = 'your-google-client-id' SOCIAL_AUTH_GOOGLE_OAUTH2_SECRET = 'your-google-client-secret' SOCIAL_AUTH_REDIRECT_IS_HTTPS = True # Ensure HTTPS is used if applicable Set the Callback URL : Make sure your Django application’s URL configuration for the callback matches the one you set in the Google API console. For example: from django.urls import path include urlpatterns = [ path('auth/' include('social_django.urls' namespace='social')) ] Middleware Configuration : Ensure your Django application correctly detects the forwarded protocol. This can be done by configuring the SECURE_PROXY_SSL_HEADER setting in settings.py : SECURE_PROXY_SSL_HEADER = ('HTTP_X_FORWARDED_PROTO' 'https') IIS Configuration : Make sure your IIS reverse proxy is correctly forwarding requests and headers. Typically you need to configure the reverse proxy to set the X-Forwarded-Proto header to https if your site uses SSL. 3. Update Your VM and IIS Configuration: IIS Reverse Proxy Setup : Ensure that your IIS reverse proxy is correctly configured to handle the redirection from your VM’s localhost to your live domain. URL Rewrite Module : Use the URL Rewrite module in IIS to rewrite the localhost callback URL to your live domain URL. Here’s an example of how to configure URL Rewrite in IIS: Open IIS Manager . Select your site . Open URL Rewrite . Add Rule(s) . Select “Blank Rule” . Configure the rule to match your needs . For example if your Google callback URL is /auth/complete/google/  you can rewrite it like this: By ensuring the correct configuration of your Google API Console Django settings and IIS reverse proxy you can make sure that your Google Authentication response starts with your domain instead of localhost:8000 .

Rohit Gupta · Answer

Nikunj and Jayraj thanks for replying. I have already done all the things you suggested. But that didn't help

Nikolas · Answer

Great post. Learned a lot from this. Keep writing more. Solar

Jayraj Chhaya · Answer

The issue you are facing with Google Authentication redirecting to localhost instead of your live domain is likely due to the redirect URI configuration. To ensure that the response starts with your domain you need to update the Authorized Redirect URIs in the Google Cloud Console to include your live domain URL. You should add both the localhost and live domain URLs to the Authorized Redirect URIs. This way Google will allow redirects to both URLs ensuring that the response starts with your domain when using Google Authentication in your Django application. Make sure to update the redirect URIs in the Google Cloud Console for your project to resolve this redirection issue.

Python based Google Authentication working on localhost, not on live