37590801?s=460&v=4

A software engineer who dreams about non-electric sheep and autonomous vehicles and likes to champion security.

Software Engineer

Dan Arias

Learn how Windows PowerShell makes your web development workflow more efficient.

Windows PowerShell Commands for Web Developers

332d7898dae6bc56031ac3507a0248ba

I'm a full-stack developer with a passion for technology and code. I love writing tutorials for developers to showcase a particular technology whilst building something useful at the same time. Right now  I can mostly be found developing for the front-end, playing around with Docker, or tinkering with Unreal Engine and electronics!

Developer Experience Engineer

Steve Hobbs

Learn how to transform your Windows 10 machine into a Linux powerhouse.



Imagine for a moment that you're stranded on a desert island. You're a software developer and have been using Linux systems or an Apple Mac ever since you were old enough to type on a keyboard. Yet the only things that you were able to bring with you to your desert island was a Windows machine, and enough tea and biscuits to last a lifetime. Luckily the island already has an internet connection — what do you do?

Okay, you _could_ just [download Ubuntu](https://www.ubuntu.com/#download) and install it onto a Virtual Machine, but there is another way. Which as it happens, also involves installing Ubuntu...

## <a class="toc-target" id="a-week-without-my-macbook"></a>A Week Without My Macbook

I was in a very similar situation recently, although instead of being stranded on a desert island I was forced to leave my MacBook with the Apple Store while they fixed a [weird issue with my touch bar](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvU1FIJ0daU).

I had to find a way to keep working while my development machine was in the shop. I love using a Unix command line and tools such as [ZSH](http://www.zsh.org/) and [Oh-my-zsh!](https://ohmyz.sh/). In my day job, I have to use [Ruby](https://www.ruby-lang.org/en/) and [Node](https://nodejs.org/en/) on a regular basis, and I love using [iTerm2](https://www.iterm2.com/) as my main terminal emulator. I also primarily use desktop tools like [Visual Studio Code](https://code.visualstudio.com/), [Docker](https://www.docker.com/products/docker-desktop), and [Slack](https://slack.com/).

One option would be to simply install Docker and [set up a containerized development environment](https://auth0.com/blog/use-docker-to-create-a-node-development-environment/), but that would be _too easy_.

Could I continue using my normal development tools and my workflow without my MacBook? I set out to find out!

<include src="TweetQuote" quoteText="Learn how to install Windows Subsystem for Linux, turning your Windows 10 machine into a full-blown Linux powerhouse"/>

## <a class="toc-target" id="cross-platform-applications"></a>Cross-Platform Applications

Of course, a lot of the applications I just mentioned are available cross-platform, with many of them being HTML, CSS, and JavaScript applications wrapped up using [Electron](https://electronjs.org/). This covers apps like Visual Studio Code and Slack, which are the two main tools I use day-to-day.

I occasionally dip into using [Intellij](https://www.jetbrains.com/idea/) for [Scala development](https://auth0.com/blog/build-and-secure-a-scala-play-framework-api/) and again this runs cross-platform. So it looks like all the desktop applications I need are available, which is great!

For my main development and blog writing activities, I primarily use [Git](https://git-scm.com/), [Ruby](https://www.ruby-lang.org/en/) and [NodeJS](https://nodejs.org/en/). Fortunately, there are Windows installers for all of these that ultimately work, but they all feel a bit _Windows-y_. For example, the best way to use Git on Windows is to use [Git for Windows](https://gitforwindows.org/), which provides a Git Bash application that drops you into a terminal running Git. Or you can use a desktop application like [GitHub Desktop](https://git-scm.com/), or the built-in Git interface inside Visual Studio Code.

![Windows desktop running Visual Studio Code, GitHub Desktop and WSL](https://images.ctfassets.net/23aumh6u8s0i/7RERJuU7VNzU0C4YEr1c8/2bd1e3c69604cb4f7a61b026e149b10a/working-on-windows_desktop-01)

As for Ruby, I enjoy using [RVM](https://rvm.io/), which makes the installation and management of different Ruby versions very easy and relatively painless. Windows is supported using something like [Cygwin](https://cygwin.com/), but again it's not really a native solution and I ran into issues getting it to work the way I'm used to.

All of these are good solutions (if you can get them working) but seeing as the goal of this exercise is to figure out a way to work just like I have been doing on my MacBook, I wanted to explore further.

## <a class="toc-target" id="terminal-velocity"></a>Terminal Velocity

I really enjoy using the terminal for the speed and ability to get things done concisely and quickly. Using a terminal that supports features such as tabs, horizontal and vertical splitting, and Unix command utilities and features like piping and output redirection is very important to me.

Unfortunately, this is where Windows starts to break down. Windows has Command Prompt, which doesn't support any of those nice UI features that I like, and with me not being familiar with Windows shell script, I find it cumbersome. There is also Powershell and, as the name suggests, is very powerful but it's something new I'd have to learn. Ultimately, it would take time until I'm as productive as before. Interestingly for the Powershell users, [posh-git](https://github.com/dahlbyk/posh-git) gives you adornments in the terminal as the Git status of the current folder, which is one of the features I like about Oh-my-zsh.

![Screenshot of posh-git with Powershell on Windows](https://images.ctfassets.net/23aumh6u8s0i/5onDW4obFAGbOnqIhzlD05/256515dafffb5900bc9d9f2b674f2ad4/working-on-windows_posh-git)

I'm in love with [iTerm2](https://www.iterm2.com/) on the Mac for its ability to use tabs, split windows, profiles, and theming, so is there anything that gets me close?

[Hyper](https://hyper.is/) is a terminal emulator that supports at least the UI features of being able to use tabs and window splitting. It's based on Electron and so is cross-platform, and supports more advanced features like [themes](https://hyper.is/themes) and [plugins](https://hyper.is/plugins). I do like theming my applications so that they look more pleasing to the eye, but I was willing to forget about that for this short-lived exercise.

However, it's just an emulator and therefore is still just using Windows shell script. Something more fundamental under the hood would have to change.

## <a class="toc-target" id="enter-the-windows-subsystem-for-linux"></a>Enter the Windows Subsystem for Linux

[Windows Subsystem for Linux](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/about) (WSL) is a way to run native Linux commands and tools alongside your existing Windows apps. It doesn't use a virtual machine and is as easy to access as opening a terminal window. To quote directly from the documentation:

> The Windows Subsystem for Linux lets developers run GNU/Linux environment -- including most command-line tools, utilities, and applications -- directly on Windows, unmodified, without the overhead of a virtual machine.

Sounds good, doesn't it? In theory, I should be able to use all the command-line tools that I'm used to without leaving my Windows desktop environment.

To install WSL, you need to be on the Windows 10 Fall Creator's Update (build 16215). Then, you can install the feature by using the "Turn Windows features on or off" facility and ticking "Windows Subsystem for Linux":

![Screenshot of the Add Windows Features dialog](https://images.ctfassets.net/23aumh6u8s0i/4RFI6W9FLq7l2eZps2IeIH/1effca5d6fb069c6941631d38128e9d5/working-on-windows_installing-wsl)

It can also be installed by running this Powershell command:

```powershell
# Run this inside Powershell to enable the WSL feature
Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName Microsoft-Windows-Subsystem-Linux
```

> **Note**: The machine may need to be restarted once WSL is installed

One of the many [Linux distributions on the Windows Store](https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/search/shop/apps?q=linux&devicetype=pc&Price=0) can then be installed as a Windows App. I chose [Ubuntu](https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/p/ubuntu-1804-lts/9n9tngvndl3q?activetab=pivot:overviewtab) as it's the one I'm most familiar with. An Ubuntu app becomes available once it's installed, but the normal Windows Command Prompt app can be used in its place if you so wish.

Then, to enter a Linux terminal, open Command Prompt (or your terminal emulator of choice) and type `wsl` to get started. The next thing you will see is your Linux command prompt.

```bash
# My WSL command prompt inside the Command Prompt application
/c/Users/steve >
```

So what can be done from here? Supposedly anything that can normally be done from an Ubuntu terminal. Let's check what release of Ubuntu I'm using:

```bash
> lsb_release -a

No LSB modules are available.
Distributor ID: Ubuntu
Description:    Ubuntu 18.04.2 LTS
Release:        18.04
Codename:       bionic
```

Use `curl`?

```bash
> curl -i google.com

HTTP/1.1 301 Moved Permanently
Location: http://www.google.com/
Content-Type: text/html; charset=UTF-8
Date: Tue, 26 Feb 2019 10:42:51 GMT
Expires: Thu, 28 Mar 2019 10:42:51 GMT
Cache-Control: public, max-age=2592000
Server: gws
Content-Length: 219
X-XSS-Protection: 1; mode=block
X-Frame-Options: SAMEORIGIN

```

Install Vim?

```bash
> sudo apt-get install vim

Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
The following package was automatically installed and is no longer required:
  libfreetype6
Use 'sudo apt autoremove' to remove it.
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 1 reinstalled, 0 to remove and 3 not upgraded.
Need to get 1152 kB of archives.
After this operation, 0 B of additional disk space will be used.
Get:1 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic/main amd64 vim amd64 2:8.0.1453-1ubuntu1 [1152 kB]
Fetched 1152 kB in 0s (2468 kB/s)
(Reading database ... 39405 files and directories currently installed.)
Preparing to unpack .../vim_2%3a8.0.1453-1ubuntu1_amd64.deb ...
Unpacking vim (2:8.0.1453-1ubuntu1) over (2:8.0.1453-1ubuntu1) ...
Setting up vim (2:8.0.1453-1ubuntu1) ...
```

As you can see, `apt-get` is available and can be used to install any software that would normally be available on a native instance of Ubuntu.

Can something like NVM be installed the same way as on a native Linux distribution?

> For the purposes of this recording and in the interest of time, I had already installed NVM on this machine, but not Node itself. Take a look and see what happens!

<AmpContent>
<amp-video controls
  layout="responsive"
  width="480" height="270">
  <source src="https://cdn.auth0.com/blog/working-on-windows:nvm-video.mp4"
    type="video/webm" />
</amp-video>

</AmpContent>

<NonAmpContent>

<video controls="controls">
  <source src="https://cdn.auth0.com/blog/working-on-windows:nvm-video.mp4">
   Your browser doesn't support HTML5 video. Here is a link to the <a href="https://cdn.auth0.com/blog/working-on-windows:nvm-video.mp4"> working on Windows nvm video</a> instead.
</video>

</NonAmpContent>

Thankfully, nothing unremarkable happens! I get Node 10 and NPM installed just as happily as I would have done on a native Ubuntu install. I can also confirm that I was able to install RVM perfectly well, by following [the installation instructions](https://rvm.io/) that I would have normally followed on Linux.

Furthermore, I was able to install ZSH and Oh-my-zsh without any issues, again using the instructions provided for Linux. With this in place, I'm already most of the way towards working the way I'm used to on my Macbook!

## <a class="toc-target" id="developers-developers-developers"></a>Developers, Developers, Developers

Now that I have the tools installed, what is the actual development experience like?

I can happily report that it is fairly unintrusive to the point where I almost forget I'm working on a Windows machine. Thanks to the fact that Windows drives are automatically mounted into your Linux environment, I still get access to my files and folders from within my Ubuntu environment. This means I can use Git and all the other command-line utilities that I'm used to, but still manipulate those files using whatever editor on the host Windows machine I want. By default, your host drives are available in the `/mnt` folder. So a Windows path of `D:\Development\auth0` would be available in your Linux environment as `/mnt/d/Development/auth0`.

At the moment, it's not possible to get access to the Linux filesystem from the Windows host, but [that will change in Windows 10 build 1903](https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/commandline/2019/02/15/whats-new-for-wsl-in-windows-10-version-1903/). In a nutshell, WSL will start a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9P_(protocol)">9P file server</a> on bootup with Windows as the client, serving Linux files over an internal network protocol.

### Windows UI features

For me, the operating system shell is just as part a part of the development experience as the software I use to do my job. For example, I'm a heavy user of OSX's [Spotlight](https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT204014) feature, and I regularly navigate through my operating system simply by using text search; it's very easy to press `Cmd+Space` and search for what I want.

Windows 10 supports just the same functionality and allows me to move around the operating system very easily, opening programs and manipulating windows simply by using the keyboard. Pressing `Windows Key` opens the Windows Start Menu, where I can just start typing what I want. Admittedly this is not obvious, as there is no focussed text box to indicate to the user that they're able to type a search term.

<AmpContent>
<amp-video controls
  layout="responsive"
  width="480" height="270">
  <source src="https://cdn.auth0.com/blog/working-on-windows:startmenu-video.mp4"
    type="video/webm" />
</amp-video>

</AmpContent>

<NonAmpContent>

<video controls="controls">
  <source src="https://cdn.auth0.com/blog/working-on-windows:startmenu-video.mp4">
   Your browser doesn't support HTML5 video. Here is a link to the <a href="https://cdn.auth0.com/blog/working-on-windows:startmenu-video.mp4"> working on Windows start video</a> instead.
</video>

</NonAmpContent>

Another feature of OSX that I often use is [multiple desktops](https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT204100), or _Spaces_. This is part of the Mission Control feature that can partition applications into different Spaces, allowing you to easily swipe between them. I use this feature to organize my work better. As an example, with every instance of Visual Studio Code that I have open, I tend to have a corresponding instance of iTerm2 open at my working directory for the project I'm working on. Using multiple desktops, I can group these instances together so that I have different desktops set up for different projects. I can switch between different desktops using a trackpad gesture, or by using `Ctrl+Left/Right Arrow` to move between them.

Luckily for me, Windows 10 supports this exact feature! Just like on OSX, different desktops can be created that play host to different instances of running applications, and I can switch between them using simple keyboard commands. Pressing `Win Key+Tab` gives me a Mission Control-like overview of my available desktops and applications. I can even specify that an instance of an app is available across _all_ my desktops (it's handy to have my favorite music player available wherever I need it!).

![Screenshot of Windows' multiple desktops feature](https://images.ctfassets.net/23aumh6u8s0i/27p5Ty1oNdHUndxZFICkn/f843763eb99f42a17ab07e104773c3dd/working-on-windows_multi-desktops)

<include src="TweetQuote" quoteText="With WSL, I love that I have all the command-line tools that I'm used to available to me, as well as the ability to use multiple desktops, search, and use all my favorite desktop applications."/>

### A word about Docker

I wanted to touch on my experience using Docker with this setup. I already have [Docker Desktop](https://www.docker.com/products/docker-desktop) installed on my host Windows machine, and I was concerned that I may have had to uninstall that in order to get it working inside WSL. Either that, or I would have to live with having _two_ instances of Docker on my machine taking up valuable hard-drive space; one for the Windows host, and another inside WSL.

Thankfully, I didn't have to do either of those things and following [these instructions on setting Docker up](https://nickjanetakis.com/blog/setting-up-docker-for-windows-and-wsl-to-work-flawlessly) to work on WSL (flawlessly, as the article title puts it) was very easy and painless. The basic principle is that Docker running on the Windows host can also be used by the Docker client running inside WSL, as the two are interfaced by a REST API. The key piece of configuration is to tell the Docker client inside WSL where the host is. By default, it connects to a Docker instance running on the same machine, but in this case, we can point it to the instance running on the Windows host.

After having gone through the setup myself, I can confirm that Docker from inside WSL works as expected!

### SSH keys

As you might expect from reading through this post, generating SSH keys works exactly the same way as on any other Linux distro. I followed the [SSH key guide on GitHub.com](https://help.github.com/en/enterprise/2.14/user/articles/generating-a-new-ssh-key-and-adding-it-to-the-ssh-agent) and it just works. The caveat is that the SSH key will be generated for your WSL install, and so the key will need to be added to any services you use that require SSH keys.

This is fine for me, but if you already have an SSH key for your Windows profile then you can [symlink your `.ssh` folder into your WSL install](https://florianbrinkmann.com/en/3436/ssh-key-and-the-windows-subsystem-for-linux/) if you wish to use the same keys.

## <a class="toc-target" id="ive-now-sold-my-macbook"></a>I've Now Sold My Macbook!

I haven't actually sold my Macbook. However, given everything that I've experienced getting my development environment _pretty close_ to what I'm used to, I'm pretty certain that I would be able to live without it for a while longer. I love that I have all the command-line tools that I'm used to available to me, as well as the ability to use multiple desktops, search, and use all my favorite desktop applications.

So far I haven't found an instance where Windows Subsystem for Linux has provided an obstacle where I can't get working, although I admit that even the use-case I present here is probably quite simplistic compared to how some other people would like to use it.

Are you a WSL user? Have your experiences been good or bad? Tell us about it in the comments below!

<include src="asides/AboutAuth0" />


Convert Windows PC to Linux (Ubuntu)

0cd73f2f2f39709bd03646e9225cc3d3?s=200 avatar

0cd73f2f2f39709bd03646e9225cc3d3?s=200

I’m an engineer with a passion for building frictionless products. I’ve built effective teams and have grown them into successful engineering organizations. I like to forge a culture.

CTO and Co-founder

Matias Woloski

Startup in-a-Box Bootcamp In partnership with Microsoft, NXTP Labs, Mural.ly and Ideame, Auth0 is very proud to have hosted the the Global Windows Azure

### Startup in-a-Box Bootcamp

In partnership with Microsoft, [NXTP Labs](http://www.nxtplabs.com/), [Mural.ly](http://mural.ly) and [Ideame](http://idea.me), [Auth0](https://auth0.com) is very proud to have hosted the the [Global Windows Azure Bootcmap](http://globalwindowsazure.azurewebsites.net) in [Buenos Aires, Argentina](http://azurenodebootcamp.eventbrite.com).

This is an event that happened simultanesouly around the globe in **93 cities**!

Our theme for the event was: __"Startup in-a-box"__. We wanted to share with the community  what we have been using to get our Startup going:  our __tools__, __frameworks__, and  __processes__ that we use daily in our company.

### Some numbers

These are some numbers for the day:

* **40** showed up on Saturday. That's a pretty good turn up of all registered users. Clearly,  there's interest, thanks everyone!
* **Everyone** stayed till 6pm (that is 9 hours of training on a Saturday!)
* Very high level of satisfaction: **90%** of the attendees rated the event gave at the **highest score**.
* **6** presentations and Hands on Labs, covering **node.js, mongodb, Windows Azure, Auth0, GitHub and Jenkins**
* **8** organizers (most of them working on startups) to make sure everyone could get their questions answered:
   * [Jose Romaniello](http://twitter.com/jfroma) from [Auth0](https://auth0.com)
   * [Sebastian Iacomuzzi](http://twitter.com/sebasiaco) from [Auth0](https://auth0.com)
   * [Fede Jack](http://twitter.com/fedejack) from [Auth0](https://auth0.com)
   * [Johnny Halife](http://twitter.com/johnnyhalife) from [Mural.ly](http://mural.ly)
   * [Juan Pablo Garcia](http://twitter.com/liarjo) from Microsoft
   * [Juan Pablo Garcia](http://twitter.com/jpgd) from [Ideame](http://idea.me)
   * Valentina Milano from Microsoft
   * [Matias Woloski](http://twitter.com/woloski) from [Auth0](https://auth0.com)



Thanks Microsoft for helping with the logistics: venue and food.

### Community reaction

Twitter is often a good sensor of how an event is going:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Muy bien organizado el <a href="https://twitter.com/search/%23MeQuieroIrAlBootcamp">#MeQuieroIrAlBootcamp</a>: 8 horas tremendas que se me pasaron volando.</p>&mdash; DiegoRam (@DiegoRam) <a href="https://twitter.com/DiegoRam/status/328234714773209089">April 27, 2013</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/search/%23MeQuieroIrAlBootcamp">#MeQuieroIrAlBootcamp</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/search/%23GlobalWindowsAzure">#GlobalWindowsAzure</a> gran bootcamp!. Muchas gracias! @<a href="https://twitter.com/jfroma">jfroma</a> @<a href="https://twitter.com/woloski">woloski</a> @<a href="https://twitter.com/auth0">auth0</a> jonny y otros</p>&mdash; Andrés Falcón (@_andresff) <a href="https://twitter.com/_andresff/status/328260849716318209">April 27, 2013</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Excelente el <a href="https://twitter.com/search/%23GlobalWindowsAzure">#GlobalWindowsAzure</a> de Buenos Aires, con @<a href="https://twitter.com/woloski">woloski</a> @<a href="https://twitter.com/johnnyhalife">johnnyhalife</a> @<a href="https://twitter.com/jfroma">jfroma</a> @<a href="https://twitter.com/liarjo">liarjo</a></p>&mdash; Juan Manuel Arias (@juanma_ari) <a href="https://twitter.com/juanma_ari/status/328913141465497600">April 29, 2013</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

## Some pictures

<iframe src="https://cloudup.com/cJ28lIHJjXp?chromeless" style="width: 100%; height: 400px"></iframe>

## The Bootcamp content is Open Sourced on GitHub!

The content we delivered on the bootcamp was a mix of 30-minutes presentations, followed by time for practicing the concepts with simple excercises. This content represents what we would have liked to see when we started our companies. It also captures what we've learnt through the last months.

The best content is the one that people actually use and tweak over time. We decided to contribute it to the broader community so it becomes live.

### <https://github.com/auth0/bootcamp-workshop>

<a href="https://github.com/auth0/bootcamp-workshop" target="_blank"><img src="https://images.ctfassets.net/23aumh6u8s0i/1C71vWmGJm8UT4L6O1Zfm6/67ea4badfb5f9882e9471eecd5734485/bootcamp-github" style="width: 100%"/></a>


### Our Vision

Argentina has a vibrant entrepeneur community. There are two accelerators and lots of startups.

There's quite a bit of content around the "soft" aspects of building a startup. There are many talks available from successful entrepeneurs, investors. There're meetups on marketing and pitch clinics. There's Palermo Valley. But we felt there were fewer opportunities for technical people to connect and share their experiences.

We often hear questions like:

* What __options__ do I have for storing data?
* What are the __pros/cons__ of each option?
* What are __common mistakes__ people make? How do I __avoid__ them?
* What does your __build environment__ look like?
* What __tools__ you use?
* How to tell whan something is __hype__ or __real__?

Given that last Saturday was such a good experience, we asked ourselves: why not do this more often?

So [stay tuned](http://twitter.com/auth0)...we'll have more news to share with you soon.

Global Azure Bootcamp - Content Open Sourced and What's Next...

This week Microsoft announced the general availability of Windows Azure Active Directory (read ScottGu, Vittorio and Alex for the official word).

This week Microsoft announced the general availability of Windows Azure Active Directory (read [ScottGu](http://weblogs.asp.net/scottgu/archive/2013/04/08/windows-azure-active-directory-general-availability-new-backup-service-web-site-monitoring-and-diagnostic-improvements.aspx), [Vittorio](http://www.cloudidentity.com/blog/2013/04/08/windows-azure-active-directory-reaches-general-availability/) and [Alex](http://blogs.msdn.com/b/windowsazure/archive/2013/04/08/windows-azure-active-directory-ready-for-production-with-over-265-billion-authentications-amp-2-5-million-organizations-served.aspx) for the official word). We are _very_ happy to see this milestone happening. We've been privileged to have been working with their team for quite some time now, and we think it is great news for the identity community. Congrats again on the release! This opens lots of opportunities for developers.



## Why we think Windows Azure AD is important

> Every app that creates a new user database contributes to Global Warming, and kills millions of kittens :-) -- the internet

This last release of Azure AD contributes greatly to the adoption of [more modern identity architectures](https://resources.auth0.com/build-vs-buy-evaluating-identity-management/). Hundreds of thousands of companies rely on Active Directory today. Azure AD brings you closer to the (not anymore) utopia of connnecting organizations seamlessly and securely.

But what exactly is Azure AD? It [is _not_ a Domain Controller](http://weblogs.asp.net/scottgu/archive/2013/04/08/windows-azure-active-directory-general-availability-new-backup-service-web-site-monitoring-and-diagnostic-improvements.aspx#10122132) in the cloud. It is more like a combination of AD and ADFS with a more modern API to query the directory. It runs on the cloud and it can run as a the primary user directory for an organization or synced against an on-premise AD and federated with ADFS (it won't save passwords in the cloud). Even more enticing is the fact that it is free!

## How does Auth0 work with Azure AD?

On our side, we've just completed the integration of Windows Azure AD in Auth0, and it is already enabled for our customers.

<p class="small-image">
  <a href="https://images.ctfassets.net/23aumh6u8s0i/4hoe6VMIKljLe72AJWuEDA/e8d7a6e4c778f9806233fb051852a1e4/waad-auth0-diagram" target="_blank"><img src="https://images.ctfassets.net/23aumh6u8s0i/4hoe6VMIKljLe72AJWuEDA/e8d7a6e4c778f9806233fb051852a1e4/waad-auth0-diagram" alt="Auth0 Windows Azure Active Directory Diagram"/></a>
</p>

This means you can integrate your app with a single standard API and you will now enjoy easy access to Windows Azure AD and the rest of the identities we support: **Google Apps**, **on-premises Active Directory** **with** and **without** **ADFS**, user accounts stored in **SQL databases**, **Facebook**, **GitHub**, **LinkedIn**, **Twitter**, **PayPal**, etc.

<p class="small-image">
  <a href="https://images.ctfassets.net/23aumh6u8s0i/7yQ1trYHjbv5S01c7xiX9b/57bf567f6ccf83603969e3405bb843b8/waad-2" target="_blank"><img src="https://images.ctfassets.net/23aumh6u8s0i/7yQ1trYHjbv5S01c7xiX9b/57bf567f6ccf83603969e3405bb843b8/waad-2" alt="Windows Azure Active Directory configuration on Auth0 dashboard"/></a>
</p>

In summary, with Auth0 you get:



###1. Support for ANY kind of app

Using [our SDK](http://docs.auth0.com), it is straight forward to connect with users on Windows Azure AD and requires just a few lines of code. We support:

* Any .NET app: ASP.NET MVC3, 4, WebApi, ServiceStack
* Any device: iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Windows 8
* Any Platform: Java, Node.js, Ruby, PHP, etc.

Here is an example for iOS:

    Auth0Client *client = [Auth0Client auth0:tenant clientId:clientId returnUrl:returnUrl connection:@"customer.onmicrosoft.com"];
    [client showInViewController:self allowsClose:NO withCompletionHandler:^(BOOL authenticated)

Auth0 uses a non-intrusive, standard, small footprint approach for identity integration that works with any identity provider. If you are working on a platform not listed above, take into account that anything that talks HTTP(s) can connect with Auth0.

###2. Sign up companies with the Provisioning Widget

If your app will accept users from **multiple** Azure AD domains, you will need to configure it for multitenancy (see the [tutorial by Microsoft](http://www.windowsazure.com/en-us/develop/net/tutorials/multitenant-apps-for-active-directory/))

We have simplified this process with the __Auth0 Provisioning Widget__. With just a couple lines of JavaScript code your app can signup users from any organization, using __any__ identity system: Azure AD, Google Apps, AD, etc.

This single line of code will display the __Auth0 Provisioning Widget__ on your app:

    window.Auth0.showProvisioning('/yourapp/callback')

Here is how it would look (you would probably fire this from the control panel of your app)

<p class="small-image">
  <a href="https://images.ctfassets.net/23aumh6u8s0i/1DTj3mssgNk82UpqUqmvnQ/d3a30755a042870fc61a3c0bf3eae7f5/waad-provisioning" target="_blank"><img src="https://images.ctfassets.net/23aumh6u8s0i/1DTj3mssgNk82UpqUqmvnQ/d3a30755a042870fc61a3c0bf3eae7f5/waad-provisioning" alt="Provisioning Widget to easily create connections with Windows Azure AD"/></a>
</p>

This provides an easy way to add Single Sign On capability to your enterprise customers. You can also control the full user experience using the provisioning API instead of the widget.

###3. Query users from any provider

Once the organization/s have been provisioned through Auth0, you can query users of those organiztions through the __Auth0 Users API__. A very simple to use abstraction on a "Directory". Azure AD Graph API is of course different from Google Apps, or (on-premises) AD, or a Membership database. And [social logins](http://blog.auth0.com/2013/04/02/Auth0-Adds-Support-For-LinkedIn-PayPal-GitHub-Twitter-and-Facebook/) like LinkedIn, Google or Facebook; have no direct notion of a "Directory", but they do have equivalent concepts that bind people together (e.g. Friends, Contacts, Network).

This is Auth0 API explorer and we just did a `GET` on `/connections/yourganization2.onmicrosoft.com/users`. We keep the same API for every provider.

<p class="small-image">
  <a href="https://images.ctfassets.net/23aumh6u8s0i/23ROArFF40oHCiOoJmnQdT/da4c804ef15010b25e17ee119d942c1c/waad-api" target="_blank"><img src="https://images.ctfassets.net/23aumh6u8s0i/23ROArFF40oHCiOoJmnQdT/da4c804ef15010b25e17ee119d942c1c/waad-api" alt="Uniform Users API across providers"/></a>
</p>

###4. Native support for SharePoint, RMS, CRM, WAMS

Auth0 is already integrated with [SharePoint](http://blog.auth0.com/2013/03/04/On-Premises-SharePoint-Federated-with-Office-365-and-Google/), MSCRM, [Rights Management](http://blog.auth0.com/2013/03/15/Integrating-Auth0-with-Rights-Management-Services/) and [Azure Mobile Services](http://blog.auth0.com/2013/03/17/Authenticate-Azure-Mobile-Services-apps-with-Everything-using-Auth0/).

Connecting these apps with Azure AD is fully automated and straight forward. It requires no customization, or specially complicated steps for configuration. Simple steps that get you up and running very quickly.

###5. Mobile and native apps SDKs

If you are you building a mobile app on iOS or Android or Windows based devices, then again; authenticating users in Azure AD is readily available:

<p class="small-image">
  <a href="https://images.ctfassets.net/23aumh6u8s0i/4PC9uAr4Alka0iMjR7VmFj/7a111bdaee15adb84f7831047d222ded/waad-mobile" target="_blank"><img src="https://images.ctfassets.net/23aumh6u8s0i/4PC9uAr4Alka0iMjR7VmFj/7a111bdaee15adb84f7831047d222ded/waad-mobile" alt="Mobile Authentication with Windows Azure AD"/></a>
</p>

And if you enable the Azure Mobile Services add-on, we'll issue a token (JWT) compatible with it.

###6. Sign up from the Azure Store

We are part of the [Windows Azure Store](http://www.windowsazure.com/en-us/store/overview/). With a [few clicks](http://blog.auth0.com/2013/03/28/Auth0-Now-Available-In-The-Windows-Azure-Store/), you can have your own account, for free.

[Learn how to evaluate a modern identity management solution that fits your needs in this free eBook, Build vs Buy: Guide to Evaluating IAM.](https://resources.auth0.com/build-vs-buy-evaluating-identity-management/)

Why Windows Azure AD is important and how Auth0 works with it

eugenio-pace-new-avatar

Pace co-founded Auth0 in early 2013 with CTO and “brother-in-arms” Matias Woloski while living 7,000 miles apart from each other. Since then, Pace has played an instrumental role in growing Auth0 into a leading identity management company that is loved by developers and trusted by global enterprises. He loves traveling and has visited more than 35 countries for business and pleasure. He currently lives in Redmond, Washington with his wife, two sons, and their labrador retriever. In his spare time, he enjoys the outdoors, rowing, riding bikes, spending time with his family, restoring his 1970 Karmann Ghia, writing his blog, and reading history and philosophy.

CEO and Co-Founder

Eugenio Pace

We are very happy to announce that Auth0 is now available in the Windows Azure Store as an Add-on. Integrating it into your Azure apps is now even easier

We are very happy to announce that Auth0 is now available in the Windows Azure Store as an Add-on.

![azure store addon](https://images.ctfassets.net/23aumh6u8s0i/2XZ6FWrrGavSqopjJ5gFMu/b2e23c440c92f1f5eb15d19cbeef0a6f/auth0-azurestore-portal)



Integrating it into your Azure apps is now even easier, and takes just 2 steps:

###1. Enter the name of your Auth0 instance:

![azure store addon](https://images.ctfassets.net/23aumh6u8s0i/lyEKcuPOcujZBbaSu0D4s/4412a92a6d1a2039cc625d6578f9e8a6/auth0-azurestore-name)

This name will be used to generate your own domain in Auth0:

> `https://{NAME}.auth0.com`

###2. Complete the purchase:

![azure store addon](https://images.ctfassets.net/23aumh6u8s0i/7CU5EZSGyEYAjpFO35g4ej/668345cc5af5438597e440d1a9962946/auth0-azurestore-purchase)

After a couple minutes, your instance of Auth0 will be provisioned and ready to use right from the Windows Azure Portal.

![azure store addon](https://images.ctfassets.net/23aumh6u8s0i/6iDbEbliWNzUdVBXKlCkCM/d0f27a60bf4dacdaff204f3b360dc15f/auth0-azurestore-manage)

When you click on __"Manage"__, you will be taken to Auth0's dashboard. No other credentials are required as we are completely integrated with Azure.

You'll see a welcome message from [Matias](https://twitter.com/woloski) and links to [tutorials](https://docs.auth0.com/azure-tutorial) to get you started:

![azure store addon](https://images.ctfassets.net/23aumh6u8s0i/6rZYNZhN6pkUFVkPsleut3/ecfe2765dca792e21805076b0d9b9e0c/auth0-azurestore-auth0portal-welcome)

That's it! Feedback is very much welcome. Please connect with us on the [our chat room](http://chat.auth0.com) or [open a support ticket](https://support.auth0.com).

We want to thank the Windows Azure team for their support in getting this done. A special thanks to [Bilal Aslam](http://www.linkedin.com/in/bilalaslam)!

If you are developing on node.js, and are interested in creating add-ons for Windows Azure, check out the basic template we published [here](https://github.com/auth0/node-azure-store). It'll save you some time.

> During the beta period we are offering Auth0 for free up to 1000 users. That should give you plenty of room for testing.

Auth0 now available in the Windows Azure Store

Windows Azure Mobile Services (WAMS) is a really neat technology by Microsoft to get you started very quickly with simple mobile apps.

[Windows Azure Mobile Services](http://www.windowsazure.com/en-us/develop/mobile/) (WAMS) is a really neat technology by Microsoft to get you started very quickly with simple mobile apps. It's a _"Mobile Backend as a Service"_. It also provides a nice extensibility model for more advanced scenarios with server-side JavaScript.

WAMS already ships with support for single-sign-on with social identity providers (e.g Facebook, LiveID), but no support for enterprise providers: Google Apps, Office 365 and Active Directory; or even custom SQL user databases. Even for social providers, it currently doesn't allow finer grain control on what information the user has to consent to disclose.



For Microsoft Accounts (Live ID), for example, WAMS will ask the user for the following rights: name, gender, display picture, contacts and friends. You might not need all these, and you might turn away customers by asking too much.

Auth0 addresses these two issues:

- You can connect to __any__ supported identity provider: social and enterprise
- You have __full control__ on what information to request from your users

![](https://images.ctfassets.net/23aumh6u8s0i/3PlSohd19T8Ct8Hrdv99Hv/a53c2d72fe83a7e0abbab96322bf68d7/auth0-wams-ad-others)

Enabling WAMS integration is as simple as entering the WAMS masterkey in Auth0 (so we can sign the token). That's it!

![Azure Mobile Services Authentication](https://images.ctfassets.net/23aumh6u8s0i/4kZd4JhaDRwt6G7dTbUT7D/58d57576eeaff25b27c55ceefe4ebeee/auth0-wams)

After enabling the add-on, Auth0 will generate JSON Web Token that you can then use to call WAMS endpoints.

This is how it works on a sample test app we wrote:

- John has an account with Fabrikam's Active Directory and is using an iPhone
- John opens an app to query for invoices (and endpoint on WAMS)
- John taps on __Login with Widget__
- Using the Auth0 helper library for iOS, the __Auth0 Login Widget__ is displayed

![iphone SSO](https://images.ctfassets.net/23aumh6u8s0i/756QLiDMNXuho6a4ZMPp7e/54726a86033dcbbae94fa69d970aad50/auth0-wams-ios1)

- John selects Active Directory for the list
- Auth0 sends John to AD for authentication
- Upon successful authentication, Auth0 returns a JWT (seen on the debug screen on top)
- The app calls the WAMS endpoint with the JWT

![iphone SSO](https://images.ctfassets.net/23aumh6u8s0i/MUhmYEZKSyOeDEPFsNXvk/f943894828cd82cc9b4e5a185042792d/auth0-wams-ios2)

The code behind the login process is very straight forward using the helper libraries we ship with __Auth0 SDK__:

	- (IBAction)loginWithWidget:(id)sender
	{
	    Auth0Client *client = [Auth0Client auth0ClientWithWidget:tenant clientId:clientId returnUrl:returnUrl];

    	[client showInViewController:self allowsClose:NO withCompletionHandler:^(BOOL authenticated) {
        	if (!authenticated) {
            	NSLog(@"Error authenticating");
        	}
        	else{
            	self.accessTokenView.text = [client.accessToken copy];
            	jwtToken = [client.jwtToken copy];
            	self.jwtTokenView.text = jwtToken;
        	}
    	}];
	}

All token negotiation is handled by the __Auth0Client__ class. Calling WAMS is equally simple: notice how we are just setting the authentication token to what Auth0 returned in the previous step. The rest of the code is just plain WAMS.

	- (IBAction)getInvoices:(id)sender
	{
    	MSUser *user = [[MSUser alloc] initWithUserId:@"eugeniop"];
    	user.mobileServiceAuthenticationToken = jwtToken;

	    MSClient *client = [MSClient clientWithApplicationURLString:@"https://auth0-tests.azure-mobile.net"];
    	client.currentUser = user;

    	MSTable * invoices = [client getTable:@"invoices"];

    	[invoices readWithCompletion:^(NSArray *items, NSInteger totalCount, NSError *error)
    	{
	        if(error)
	        {
	            NSLog(@"Error");
	        }
	        else
	        {
	            self.invoices.text = [NSString stringWithFormat:@"Got %d invoices", [items count]];
	        }
    	}];
	}

>[Matias'](https://twitter.com/woloski) demo'ed this integration on his webcast on [CloudCover](http://blog.auth0.com/2013/03/03/Real-World-Windows-Azure-with-Auth0-Matias-on-CloudCover/). (see from minute 13 to 19).

[Try Auth0 yourself!](https://auth0.com)

Authenticate Azure Mobile Services Apps with Everything using Auth0

Nick Harris was very kind to have us as guests on the CloudCover show. Matias provide details on Auth0, and then talks a little bit about the internals: how

[Nick Harris](http://channel9.msdn.com/Niners/nickharris) was very kind to have us as guests on the CloudCover show. Matias provide details on Auth0, and then talks a little bit about the internals: how we work as a team, how we build & deploy our software, etc.

<iframe style="height:288px;width:512px" src="http://channel9.msdn.com/Shows/Cloud+Cover/Episode-101-Real-World-Windows-Azure-with-Auth0/player?w=512&h=288" frameBorder="0" scrolling="no" ></iframe>

Link to the show [here.](http://channel9.msdn.com/Shows/Cloud+Cover/Episode-101-Real-World-Windows-Azure-with-Auth0)

Thanks for the opportunity Nick!

"windows"