Manage MFA settings
If MFA is ON or enabled for the user, you must call confirmSignIn
with the OTP sent to their phone.
1import { confirmSignIn } from 'aws-amplify/auth';2
3async function handleSignInConfirmation(otpCode: string) {4 try {5 await confirmSignIn({ challengeResponse: otpCode });6 } catch (error) {7 console.log(error);8 }9}
After a user has been signed in, call updateMFAPreference
to record the MFA type as enabled for the user and optionally set it as preferred so that subsequent logins default to using this MFA type.
1import { updateMFAPreference } from 'aws-amplify/auth';2
3async function handleUpdateMFAPreference() {4 try {5 await updateMFAPreference({ sms: 'PREFERRED' });6 } catch (error) {7 console.log(error);8 }9}
Multi-factor authentication with TOTP
You can use Time-based One-Time Password (TOTP) for multi-factor authentication (MFA) in your web or mobile applications. The Amplify Auth category includes support for TOTP setup and verification using authenticator apps, offering an integrated solution and enhanced security for your users. These apps, such as Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator, have the TOTP algorithm built-in and work by using a shared secret key and the current time to generate short-lived, six digit passwords.
Set up TOTP for a user
After you initiate a user sign in with the signIn
API where a user is required to set up TOTP as an MFA method, the API call will return CONTINUE_SIGN_IN_WITH_TOTP_SETUP
as a challenge and next step to handle in your app. You will get that challenge if the following conditions are met:
- MFA is marked as Required in your user pool.
- TOTP is enabled in your user pool.
- User does not have TOTP MFA set up already.
The CONTINUE_SIGN_IN_WITH_TOTP_SETUP
step signifies that the user must set up TOTP before they can sign in. The step returns an associated value of type TOTPSetupDetails
which must be used to configure an authenticator app like Microsoft Authenticator or Google Authenticator. TOTPSetupDetails
provides a helper method called getSetupURI
which generates a URI that can be used, for example, in a button to open the user's installed authenticator app. For more advanced use cases, TOTPSetupDetails
also contains a sharedSecret
which can be used to either generate a QR code or be manually entered into an authenticator app.
Once the authenticator app is set up, the user can generate a TOTP code and provide it to the library to complete the sign in process.
1import { signIn, SignInOutput } from 'aws-amplify/auth';2
3async function handleSignIn(username: string, password: string) {4 try {5 const output = await signIn({6 username,7 password8 });9
10 handleSignInNextSteps(output);11 } catch (error) {12 console.log(error);13 }14}15
16function handleSignInNextSteps(output: SignInOutput) {17 const { nextStep } = output;18 switch (nextStep.signInStep) {19 // ...20 case 'CONTINUE_SIGN_IN_WITH_TOTP_SETUP':21 const totpSetupDetails = nextStep.totpSetupDetails;22 const appName = 'my_app_name';23 const setupUri = totpSetupDetails.getSetupUri(appName);24 // Open setupUri with an authenticator APP to retrieve an OTP code25 break;26 // ...27 }28}
The TOTP code can be obtained from the user via a text field or any other means. Once the user provides the TOTP code, call confirmSignIn
with the TOTP code as the challengeResponse
parameter.
1import { confirmSignIn } from 'aws-amplify/auth';2
3async function handleSignInConfirmation(totpCode: string) {4 try {5 await confirmSignIn({ challengeResponse: totpCode });6 } catch (error) {7 console.log(error);8 }9}
After a user has been signed in, call updateMFAPreference
to record the MFA type as enabled for the user and optionally set it as preferred so that subsequent logins default to using this MFA type.
1import { updateMFAPreference } from 'aws-amplify/auth';2
3async function handleUpdateMFAPreference() {4 try {5 await updateMFAPreference({ totp: 'PREFERRED' });6 } catch (error) {7 console.log(error);8 }9}
Enable TOTP after a user is signed in
TOTP MFA can be set up after a user has signed in. This can be done when the following conditions are met:
- MFA is marked as Optional or Required in your user pool.
- TOTP is marked as an enabled MFA method in your user pool.
TOTP can be set up by calling the setUpTOTP
and verifyTOTPSetup
APIs in the Auth
category.
Invoke the setUpTOTP
API to generate a TOTPSetupDetails
object which should be used to configure an Authenticator app like Microsoft Authenticator or Google Authenticator. TOTPSetupDetails
provides a helper method called getSetupURI
which generates a URI that can be used, for example, in a button to open the user's installed Authenticator app. For more advanced use cases, TOTPSetupDetails
also contains a sharedSecret
which can be used to either generate a QR code or be manually entered into an Authenticator app.
that contains the sharedSecret
which will be used to either to generate a QR code or can be manually entered into an Authenticator app.
1import { setUpTOTP } from 'aws-amplify/auth';2
3async function handleTOTPSetup() {4 try {5 const totpSetupDetails = await setUpTOTP();6 const appName = 'my_app_name';7 const setupUri = totpSetupDetails.getSetupUri(appName);8 // Open setupUri with an authenticator APP to retrieve an OTP code9 } catch (error) {10 console.log(error);11 }12}
Once the Authenticator app is set up, the user must generate a TOTP code and provide it to the library. Pass the code to verifyTOTPSetup
to complete the TOTP setup process.
1import { verifyTOTPSetup } from 'aws-amplify/auth';2
3async function handleTOTPVerification(totpCode: string) {4 try {5 await verifyTOTPSetup({ code: totpCode });6 } catch (error) {7 console.log(error);8 }9}
After TOTP setup is complete, call updateMFAPreference
to record the MFA type as enabled for the user and optionally set it as preferred so that subsequent logins default to using this MFA type.
1import { updateMFAPreference } from 'aws-amplify/auth';2
3async function handleUpdateMFAPreference() {4 try {5 await updateMFAPreference({ sms: 'ENABLED', totp: 'PREFERRED' });6 } catch (error) {7 console.log(error);8 }9}
Recover from a lost TOTP device
In a scenario where MFA is marked as "Required" in the Cognito User Pool and another MFA method is not set up, the administrator would need to first initiate an AdminUpdateUserAttributes call and update the user’s phone number attribute. Once this is complete, the administrator can continue changing the MFA preference to SMS as suggested above.
Set up a user's preferred MFA method
Fetch the current user's MFA preferences
Invoke the following API to get the current MFA preference and enabled MFA types, if any, for the current user.
1import { fetchMFAPreference } from 'aws-amplify/auth';2
3async function handleFetchMFAPreference() {4 try {5 const output = await fetchMFAPreference();6 console.log(`Enabled MFA types for the user: ${output.enabled}`);7 console.log(`Preferred MFA type for the user: ${output.preferred}`);8 } catch (error) {9 console.log(error);10 }11}
Update the current user's MFA preferences
Invoke the following API to update the MFA preference for the current user.
1import { updateMFAPreference } from 'aws-amplify/auth';2
3async function handleUpdateMFAPreference() {4 try {5 await updateMFAPreference({ sms: 'ENABLED', totp: 'PREFERRED' });6 } catch (error) {7 console.log(error);8 }9}
If multiple MFA methods are enabled for the user, the signIn
API will return CONTINUE_SIGN_IN_WITH_MFA_SELECTION
as the next step in the auth flow. During this scenario, the user should be prompted to select the MFA method they want to use to sign in and their preference should be passed to confirmSignIn
.
1import { confirmSignIn, SignInOutput } from 'aws-amplify/auth';2
3function handleSignInNextSteps(output: SignInOutput) {4 const { nextStep } = output;5 switch (nextStep.signInStep) {6 // ...7 case 'CONTINUE_SIGN_IN_WITH_MFA_SELECTION':8 const allowedMFATypes = nextStep.allowedMFATypes;9 const mfaType = promptUserForMFAType(allowedMFATypes);10 case 'CONFIRM_SIGN_IN_WITH_SMS_CODE':11 // display user to enter otp code;12 break;13 case 'CONFIRM_SIGN_IN_WITH_TOTP_CODE':14 // display user to enter otp code;15 break;16 // ...17 }18}19
20function promptUserForMFAType(21 allowedMFATypes?: ('SMS' | 'TOTP')[]22): 'SMS' | 'TOTP' {23 // Prompt user to select MFA type24}25
26async function handleMFASelection(mfaType: 'SMS' | 'TOTP') {27 try {28 const output = await confirmSignIn({29 challengeResponse: mfaType30 });31 handleSignInNextSteps(output);32 } catch (error) {33 console.log(error);34 }35}
Remember a device
Remembering a device is useful in conjunction with MFA because it allows the second factor requirement to be automatically met when your user signs in on that device and reduces friction in their sign-in experience.
Configure device tracking
You can enable the remembered device functionality in the Cognito User Pool console. To begin, go to your project directory and issue the command:
1amplify auth console
Select the following option to open the Cognito User Pool console:
1? Which Console2 User Pool
When the console opens, scroll down to the "Device Tracking" section and select the "Edit" button. This will render the following page allowing you to configure your preference for remembering a user's device.
Choose either "Always remember" to remember a user's device by default or "User Opt-in" to give the user the ability to choose.
When MFA is enabled you will have the option to suppress the second factor during multi-factor authentication. Choose "Yes" if you want a remembered device to be used as a second factor mechanism.
When you have made your selection(s), click "Save changes". You are now ready to start updating your code to manage remembered devices.
Learn moreUnderstand key terms used for tracking devices
There are differences to keep in mind when working with remembered, forgotten, and tracked devices.
- Tracked: Every time the user signs in with a new device, the client is given the device key at the end of a successful authentication event. We use this device key to generate a salt and password verifier which is used to call the
ConfirmDevice
API. At this point, the device is considered to be "tracked". Once the device is in a tracked state, you can use the Amazon Cognito console to see the time it started to be tracked, last authentication time, and other information about that device. - Remembered: Remembered devices are also tracked. During user authentication, the device key and secret pair assigned to a remembered device is used to authenticate the device to verify that it is the same device that the user previously used to sign in.
- Not Remembered: A not-remembered device is a tracked device where Cognito has been configured to require users to "Opt-in" to remember a device but the user has chosen not to remember the device. This use case is for users signing into their application from a device that they don't own.
- Forgotten: In the event that you no longer want to remember or track devices, you can use the
forgetDevice()
API to remove devices from being both remembered and tracked.
Remember devices
You can remember devices using the following:
1import { rememberDevice } from 'aws-amplify/auth';2
3export async function handleRememberDevice() {4 try {5 await rememberDevice();6 } catch (error) {7 console.log(error);8 }9}
Forget devices
You can also forget devices but note that forgotten devices are still tracked.
1import { forgetDevice } from 'aws-amplify/auth';2
3export async function handleForgetDevice() {4 try {5 await forgetDevice();6 } catch (error) {7 console.log(error);8 }9}
Fetch devices
You can fetch a list of remembered devices by using the following:
1import { fetchDevices } from 'aws-amplify/auth';2
3export async function handleFetchDevices() {4 try {5 const output = await fetchDevices();6 console.log(output);7 } catch (error) {8 console.log(error);9 }10}
You can now set up devices to be remembered, forgotten, and fetched.
Conclusion
Congratulations! You finished the Manage MFA settings guide. In this guide, you set up and configured MFA for your users and provided them options on remembering their MFA preferences and devices.
Next steps
Now that you completed setting up multi-factor authentication you may also want to add additional customization. We recommend you learn more about:
The Auth category supports Multi-factor Authentication (MFA) for user sign-in flows. MFA is an extra layer of security used to make sure that users trying to gain access to an account are who they say they are. It requires users to provide additional information to verify their identity. The category supports the following MFA methods:
Set Up Backend Resources
Below are the steps you can use to set up MFA using SMS or TOTP with the Amplify CLI. The Amplify libraries are designed to work with MFA even if you have set up your Amazon Cognito resources separately.
Run amplify add auth
to create a new Cognito Auth resource, and follow the prompts below depending on how you want to integrate MFA into your flow.
Turning MFA "ON" will make it required for all users, while "Optional" will make it available to enable on a per-user basis.
SMS MFA
1$ amplify add auth2 3? Do you want to use the default authentication and security configuration?4# Manual configuration5
6... Answer as appropriate7
8? Multifactor authentication (MFA) user login options:9# ON (Required for all logins, can not be enabled later)10? For user login, select the MFA types:11# SMS Text Message12? Please specify an SMS authentication message:13# Your authentication code is {####}14
15... Answer as appropriate16
17Some next steps:18"amplify push" will build all your local backend resources and provision it in the cloud19"amplify publish" will build all your local backend and frontend resources (if you have hosting category added) and provision it in the cloud
TOTP MFA
1$ amplify add auth2 3? Do you want to use the default authentication and security configuration?4# Manual configuration5
6... Answer as appropriate7
8? Multifactor authentication (MFA) user login options:9# ON (Required for all logins, can not be enabled later)10? For user login, select the MFA types:11# Time-Based One-Time Password (TOTP)12
13... Answer as appropriate14
15Some next steps:16"amplify push" will build all your local backend resources and provision it in the cloud17"amplify publish" will build all your local backend and frontend resources (if you have hosting category added) and provision it in the cloud
Multi-factor authentication with SMS
Enabling SMS for MFA during Sign Up
You will need to pass phone_number
as a user attribute to enable SMS MFA for your users during sign up. However, if the primary login mechanism for your Cognito resource is phone_number
(without enabling username
), then you do not need to pass it as an attribute.
1func signUpUser(2 username: String,3 password: String4) async throws {5
6 var userAttributes = [7 AuthUserAttribute(.email, value: "test@example.com"),8 AuthUserAttribute(.phoneNumber, value: "+18885551234")9 ]10
11 let options = AuthSignUpRequest.Options(12 userAttributes: userAttributes)13 let result = try await Amplify.Auth.signUp(14 username: username,15 password: password,16 options: options)17
18 print("Sign up next step: \(result.nextStep)")19}
By default, you have to verify a user account after they sign up using the confirmSignUp
API, which will send a one-time password to the user's phone number or email, depending on your Amazon Cognito configuration.
1func confirmSignUpPhoneVerification(2 username: String,3 otpCode: String4) async throws {5
6 let result = try await Amplify.Auth.confirmSignUp(7 for: username,8 confirmationCode: otpCode9 )10
11 print("Sign up complete: \(result.isSignUpComplete)")12}
Handling SMS MFA challenge during Sign In
After a user signs in, if they have MFA enabled for their account, a challenge will be returned that you would need to call the confirmSignIn
API where the user provides their confirmation code sent to their phone number.
1func signIn(username: String, password: String) async {2 do {3 let signInResult = try await Amplify.Auth.signIn(4 username: username,5 password: password6 )7
8 if case .confirmSignInWithSMSMFACode(let deliveryDetails, let info) = signInResult.nextStep {9 print("SMS code send to \(deliveryDetails.destination)")10 print("Additional info \(String(describing: info))")11
12 // Prompt the user to enter the SMSMFA code they received13 // Then invoke `confirmSignIn` api with the code14 }15 } catch let error as AuthError {16 print("Sign in failed \(error)")17 } catch {18 print("Unexpected error: \(error)")19 }20}
If MFA is ON or enabled for the user, you must call confirmSignIn
with the OTP sent to their phone.
1func confirmSignIn() async {2 do {3 let signInResult = try await Amplify.Auth.confirmSignIn(4 challengeResponse: "<confirmation code received via SMS>")5 print("Confirm sign in succeeded. Next step: \(signInResult.nextStep)")6 } catch let error as AuthError {7 print("Confirm sign in failed \(error)")8 } catch {9 print("Unexpected error: \(error)")10 }11}
After a user has been signed in, call updateMFAPreference
to record the MFA type as enabled for the user and optionally set it as preferred so that subsequent logins default to using this MFA type.
1func updateMFAPreferences() async throws {2 let authCognitoPlugin = try Amplify.Auth.getPlugin(3 for: "awsCognitoAuthPlugin") as? AWSCognitoAuthPlugin4
5 let smsMfaPreference: MFAPreference = .enabled // or .preferred6
7 try await authCognitoPlugin?.updateMFAPreference(8 sms: smsMfaPreference)9}
Multi-factor authentication with TOTP
You can use Time-based One-Time Password (TOTP) for multi-factor authentication (MFA) in your web or mobile applications. The Amplify Auth category includes support for TOTP setup and verification using authenticator apps, offering an integrated solution and enhanced security for your users. These apps, such as Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator, have the TOTP algorithm built-in and work by using a shared secret key and the current time to generate short-lived, six digit passwords.
Setting up TOTP for a user
After you initiate a user sign in with the signIn
API where a user is required to set up TOTP as an MFA method, the API call will return continueSignInWithTOTPSetup
as a challenge and next step to handle in your app. You will get that challenge if the following conditions are met:
- MFA is marked as Required in Cognito User Pool.
- TOTP is enabled in the Cognito User Pool
- User does not have TOTP MFA set up already.
The continueSignInWithTOTPSetup
step signifies that the user must set up TOTP before they can sign in. The step returns an associated value of type TOTPSetupDetails
which must be used to configure an authenticator app like Microsoft Authenticator or Google Authenticator. TOTPSetupDetails
provides a helper method called getSetupURI
which generates a URI that can be used, for example, in a button to open the user's installed authenticator app. For more advanced use cases, TOTPSetupDetails
also contains a sharedSecret
which can be used to either generate a QR code or be manually entered into an authenticator app.
Once the authenticator app is set up, the user can generate a TOTP code and provide it to the library to complete the sign in process.
1func signIn(username: String, password: String) async {2 do {3 let signInResult = try await Amplify.Auth.signIn(4 username: username,5 password: password6 )7
8 if case .continueSignInWithTOTPSetup(let setUpDetails) = signInResult.nextStep {9
10 print("Received next step as continue sign in by setting up TOTP")11 print("Shared secret that will be used to set up TOTP in the authenticator app \(setUpDetails.sharedSecret)")12
13 // appName parameter will help distinguish the account in the Authenticator app14 let setupURI = try setUpDetails.getSetupURI(appName: "<Your_App_Name>>")15
16 print("TOTP Setup URI: \(setupURI)")17
18 // Prompt the user to enter the TOTP code generated in their authenticator app19 // Then invoke `confirmSignIn` api with the code20
21 }22 } catch let error as AuthError {23 print("Sign in failed \(error)")24 } catch {25 print("Unexpected error: \(error)")26 }27}
The TOTP code can be obtained from the user via a text field or any other means. Once the user provides the TOTP code, call confirmSignIn
with the TOTP code as the challengeResponse
parameter.
1func confirmSignInWithTOTPSetup(totpCodeFromAuthenticatorApp: String) async {2 do {3 let signInResult = try await Amplify.Auth.confirmSignIn(4 challengeResponse: totpCodeFromAuthenticatorApp)5
6 if signInResult.isSignedIn {7 print("Confirm sign in succeeded. The user is signed in.")8 } else {9 print("Confirm sign in succeeded.")10 print("Next step: \(signInResult.nextStep)")11 // Switch on the next step to take appropriate actions. 12 // If `signInResult.isSignedIn` is true, the next step 13 // is 'done', and the user is now signed in.14 }15 } catch {16 print("Confirm sign in failed \(error)")17 }18}
After a user has been signed in, call updateMFAPreference
to record the MFA type as enabled for the user and optionally set it as preferred so that subsequent logins default to using this MFA type.
1func updateMFAPreferences() async throws {2 let authCognitoPlugin = try Amplify.Auth.getPlugin(3 for: "awsCognitoAuthPlugin") as? AWSCognitoAuthPlugin4
5 let totpMfaPreference: MFAPreference = .enabled // or .preferred6
7 try await authCognitoPlugin?.updateMFAPreference(8 totp: totpMfaPreference)9}
Enabling TOTP after a user is signed in
TOTP MFA can be set up after a user has signed in. This can be done when the following conditions are met:
- MFA is marked as Optional or Required in the Cognito User Pool
- TOTP is marked as an enabled MFA method in Cognito user pool
TOTP can be set up by calling the setUpTOTP
and verifyTOTPSetup
APIs in the Auth
category.
Invoke the setUpTOTP
API to generate a TOTPSetupDetails
object which should be used to configure an Authenticator app like Microsoft Authenticator or Google Authenticator. TOTPSetupDetails
provides a helper method called getSetupURI
which generates a URI that can be used, for example, in a button to open the user's installed Authenticator app. For more advanced use cases, TOTPSetupDetails
also contains a sharedSecret
which can be used to either generate a QR code or be manually entered into an Authenticator app.
that contains the sharedSecret
which will be used to either to generate a QR code or can be manually entered into an Authenticator app.
1func setUpTOTP() async {2 do {3 let setUpDetails = try await Amplify.Auth.setUpTOTP()4
5 print("Received next step as continue sign in by setting up TOTP")6 print("Shared secret that will be used to set up TOTP in the authenticator app \(setUpDetails.sharedSecret)")7
8 // appName parameter will help distinguish the account in the Authenticator app9 let setupURI = try setUpDetails.getSetupURI(appName: "<Your_App_Name>>")10
11 print("TOTP Setup URI: \(setupURI)")12
13 // Prompt the user to enter the TOTP code generated in their authenticator app14 // Then invoke `confirmSignIn` api with the code15 } catch {16 print("TOTP Setup Initiation failed \(error)")17 }18}
Once the Authenticator app is set up, the user must generate a TOTP code and provide it to the library. Pass the code to verifyTOTPSetup
to complete the TOTP setup process.
1func verifyTOTPSetup(totpCodeFromAuthenticatorApp: String) async {2 do {3 try await Amplify.Auth.verifyTOTPSetup(4 code: totpCodeFromAuthenticatorApp)5 } catch {6 print("TOTP Setup Verification failed \(error)")7 }8}
After TOTP setup is complete, call updateMFAPreference
to record the MFA type as enabled for the user and optionally set it as preferred so that subsequent logins default to using this MFA type.
1func updateMFAPreferences() async throws {2 let authCognitoPlugin = try Amplify.Auth.getPlugin(3 for: "awsCognitoAuthPlugin") as? AWSCognitoAuthPlugin4
5 let totpMfaPreference: MFAPreference = .enabled // or .preferred6
7 try await authCognitoPlugin?.updateMFAPreference(8 totp: totpMfaPreference)9}
Recovering from a lost TOTP device
In a scenario where MFA is marked as Required in Cognito User Pool and another MFA method is not set up, the administrator would need to first initiate an AdminUpdateUserAttributes call and update the user’s phone number attribute. Once this is complete, the administrator can continue changing the MFA preference to SMS as suggested above.
Setting a user's preferred MFA option
Fetch the current user's MFA preferences
Invoke the following API to get the current MFA preference and enabled MFA types, if any, for the current user.
1func getMFAPreferences() async throws {2 let authCognitoPlugin = try Amplify.Auth.getPlugin(3 for: "awsCognitoAuthPlugin") as? AWSCognitoAuthPlugin4
5 let result = try await authCognitoPlugin?.fetchMFAPreference()6
7 print("Enabled MFA types: \(result?.enabled)")8 print("Preferred MFA type: \(result?.preferred)")9}
Update the current user's MFA preferences
Invoke the following API to update the MFA preference for the current user.
1func updateMFAPreferences() async throws {2 let authCognitoPlugin = try Amplify.Auth.getPlugin(3 for: "awsCognitoAuthPlugin") as? AWSCognitoAuthPlugin4
5 let smsMfaPreference: MFAPreference = .preferred6 let totpMfaPreference: MFAPreference = .enabled7
8 try await authCognitoPlugin?.updateMFAPreference(9 sms: smsMfaPreference,10 totp: totpMfaPreference)11}
If multiple MFA methods are enabled for the user, the signIn
API will return continueSignInWithMFASelection
as the next step in the auth flow. During this scenario, the user should be prompted to select the MFA method they want to use to sign in and their preference should be passed to confirmSignIn
.
1func confirmSignInWithTOTPAsMFASelection() async {2 do {3 let signInResult = try await Amplify.Auth.confirmSignIn(4 challengeResponse: MFAType.totp.challengeResponse)5
6 if case .confirmSignInWithTOTPCode = signInResult.nextStep {7 print("Received next step as confirm sign in with TOTP")8 }9
10 } catch {11 print("Confirm sign in failed \(error)")12 }13}