Create new documentation page on authentication

[samajammin]

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.

User authentication is a big topic for software application developers. I often see this as a common questions for devs new to the space - "how does authentication work on Ethereum"? They often (reasonably) bring mental models from web2 & want to understand how Ethereum users "sign in".

There's some existing resources when Googling "ethereum authentication" but the 1st result is this:
https://moralis.io/ethereum-authentication-full-tutorial-to-ethereum-login-programming/
Which I don't think is a great neutral resource, as it just pushes the user to create an account & use Moralis vs. actually explaining how things work & what options a developer has when adding authentication.

Describe the solution you'd like

Create a new documentation page (perhaps under the "Ethereum stack" section) that covers how authentication works in an Ethereum context. This could be a fairly simple resource, explaining that this is typically handled by connecting an Ethereum wallet to an application via a client library like ethers.js, web3.js or Wallet Connect.

As part of this explanation it may be worth getting into how wallets & accounts work (i.e. the public-private key cryptography that allows users to sign messages proving control of an account).

This could also be a useful page to list emerging standards & best practices, like Sign in with Ethereum:

• https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-4361
• https://auth0.com/blog/sign-in-with-ethereum-siwe-now-available-on-auth0/

Describe alternatives you've considered

Perhaps we should also/instead add a page covering "Ethereum wallets", which we have an existing page on but not for developers who want to learn how wallets work & how they add wallet support to a software application.

Want to contribute?

We love contributions from the Ethereum community! Please comment on an issue if you're interested in helping out with a PR.

[mohammadobaid1]

Hi, I would like to contribute on this .

[obstropolos]

I would love to help contribute here - I'm Rocco from the Spruce team / co-author on EIP-4361.

I think one of the main points the article should drive is the difference between connecting a wallet to an application and actually authenticating a session with a user. I described this previously, breaking it down from connecting a wallet and what happens when you authenticate.

To break it down further into sub-topics that would probably be great for this:

• What is the difference between connecting a wallet and authenticating/signing in.
• Why signing a message is necessary for authentication.
• What can you do after authentication.
• Why standardizing SIWE was important for wallets, user experience, and user safety.
• What is Sign-In with Ethereum / history of EIP-4361
• Usage today / options for users.

[github-actions]

This issue is stale because it has been open 45 days with no activity.

[wackerow]

@obstropolos Hey! Appreciate your original reply here and deep apologies that this got lost in the mix. Two years have passed but unfortunately there is still a void around this content.

Any chance you, or @mohammadobaid1, would still be interested in working on this? If it would help I can re-surface this as a new issue, but can also just keep it here.

Anyone interested please tag me here! 🙏 thanks!

[obstropolos]

@obstropolos Hey! Appreciate your original reply here and deep apologies that this got lost in the mix. Two years have passed but unfortunately there is still a void around this content.

Any chance you, or @mohammadobaid1, would still be interested in working on this? If it would help I can re-surface this as a new issue, but can also just keep it here.

Anyone interested please tag me here! 🙏 thanks!

Sure I'd be open to it @wackerow - what would be the best way of getting in touch about it?

[wackerow]

Great, thanks @obstropolos! Can take a few approaches here...

1. You could create a template/outline and post here to get your initial thoughts down for feedback before committing to writing an entire page; then use that to write the page for a PR
2. You could also brainstorm ideas in out Discord and solicit feedback there before working on the PR.
3. You could just write a page and post as a PR... downside of this approach is potentially putting in a lot of work that hasn't gotten feedback and ends up needing a lot of re-work.

I would suggest either 1 or 2 above, and start with an outline draft on GitHub, either in draft PR or inside this issue. Don't hesitate to hop into the Discord though if you need to reach out!

[wackerow]

Hey @obstropolos! Just circling back, curious if you're still interested in working on this. If not we can open up for others.. thanks!

[corwintines]

Going to unassign and open this back up