Objective

Step 1: Host client-metadata.json

AT Protocol OAuth requires a public JSON document describing your app. The authorization server fetches this during PAR to validate your client_id.

See references/client-metadata-template.json for a ready-to-fill template. Key rules:

• client_id must be the exact HTTPS URL where the JSON is hosted.
• client_uri, tos_uri, policy_uri must share the same origin as client_id.
• redirect_uris for native apps use a single slash after the scheme: com.example.yourapp:/oauth-redirect (not ://). RFC 8252 per Bluesky's authorization server.
• application_type must be "native".
• dpop_bound_access_tokens must be true.
• token_endpoint_auth_method must be "none" (public client).

Hosting options:

• GitHub Pages (docs/oauth/client-metadata.json with Pages enabled)
• Cloudflare Pages, Netlify, S3, or any static HTTPS host
• Your app's own domain at /.well-known/oauth-client-metadata.json

Must be served with Content-Type: application/json and publicly reachable.

Step 2: Configure the Android redirect

AndroidManifest.xml

<activity
    android:name=".MainActivity"
    android:launchMode="singleTask"
    android:exported="true">
    <intent-filter>
        <action android:name="android.intent.action.VIEW" />
        <category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT" />
        <category android:name="android.intent.category.BROWSABLE" />
        <data android:scheme="com.example.yourapp" />
    </intent-filter>
    <!-- existing LAUNCHER intent-filter stays untouched -->
</activity>

singleTask is required — redirect re-delivers to the existing Activity instance instead of spinning up a new one (which would lose your AtOAuth in-memory flow state).

Capture the redirect

See references/android-redirect-capture.kt for the full onCreate + onNewIntent pattern. Minimal shape:

override fun onNewIntent(intent: Intent) {
    super.onNewIntent(intent)
    setIntent(intent)
    val uri = intent.data ?: return
    if (uri.scheme == "com.example.yourapp") {
        viewModel.onEvent(MainEvent.CompleteOAuthRedirect(uri.toString()))
        intent.data = null  // consume so it doesn't re-fire on rotation
    }
}

Step 3: Implement OAuthSessionStore

The session contains access + refresh tokens and the DPoP private key. Use EncryptedSharedPreferences — anything less leaks credentials.

class AndroidOAuthSessionStore(context: Context) : OAuthSessionStore {
    private val prefs = EncryptedSharedPreferences.create(
        context,
        "atproto-oauth-session",
        MasterKey.Builder(context).setKeyScheme(MasterKey.KeyScheme.AES256_GCM).build(),
        EncryptedSharedPreferences.PrefKeyEncryptionScheme.AES256_SIV,
        EncryptedSharedPreferences.PrefValueEncryptionScheme.AES256_GCM,
    )
    private val json = Json { ignoreUnknownKeys = true }

    override suspend fun load(): OAuthSession? =
        prefs.getString(KEY, null)?.let {
            runCatching { json.decodeFromString<OAuthSession>(it) }.getOrNull()
        }

    override suspend fun save(session: OAuthSession) {
        prefs.edit().putString(KEY, json.encodeToString(session)).apply()
    }

    override suspend fun clear() {
        prefs.edit().remove(KEY).apply()
    }

    private companion object { const val KEY = "session" }
}

Step 4: Instantiate AtOAuth (Hilt DI recommended)

@Module
@InstallIn(SingletonComponent::class)
object OAuthModule {
    @Provides @Singleton
    fun provideHttpClient(): HttpClient = HttpClient(CIO)

    @Provides @Singleton
    fun provideSessionStore(@ApplicationContext ctx: Context): OAuthSessionStore =
        AndroidOAuthSessionStore(ctx)

    @Provides @Singleton
    fun provideAtOAuth(
        sessionStore: OAuthSessionStore,
        httpClient: HttpClient,
    ): AtOAuth = AtOAuth(
        clientMetadataUrl = "https://your-app.example.com/oauth/client-metadata.json",
        sessionStore = sessionStore,
        httpClient = httpClient,
    )
}

Step 5: Drive the flow from your ViewModel

@HiltViewModel
class LoginViewModel @Inject constructor(
    private val oauth: AtOAuth,
) : ViewModel() {

    private val _authUrl = MutableSharedFlow<String>()
    val authUrl: SharedFlow<String> = _authUrl.asSharedFlow()

    fun login(handle: String) {
        viewModelScope.launch {
            runCatching { oauth.beginLogin(handle) }
                .onSuccess { url -> _authUrl.emit(url) }
                .onFailure { /* surface to UI */ }
        }
    }

    fun completeLogin(redirectUri: String) {
        viewModelScope.launch {
            runCatching { oauth.completeLogin(redirectUri) }
                .onSuccess { /* navigate to logged-in state */ }
                .onFailure { /* session not created, surface error */ }
        }
    }
}

Activity collects authUrl and launches Custom Tabs:

LaunchedEffect(Unit) {
    viewModel.authUrl.collect { url ->
        CustomTabsIntent.Builder().build()
            .launchUrl(activity, Uri.parse(url))
    }
}

Step 6: Use the authenticated client

Once completeLogin succeeds:

val client: XrpcClient = oauth.createClient()
val timeline = FeedService(client).getTimeline(GetTimelineRequest(limit = 25L))

createClient() attaches a DpopAuthProvider that injects Authorization: DPoP <token> + DPoP: <proof> headers, handles DPoP nonce rotation on 401, and refreshes tokens transparently when they expire.

Session restore on app launch

On startup, check for an existing session before showing login:

init {
    viewModelScope.launch {
        val existing = sessionStore.load()
        _uiState.value = if (existing != null) {
            MainUiState.LoggedIn(existing.handle, existing.did)
        } else {
            MainUiState.LoggedOut
        }
    }
}

If a session exists, oauth.createClient() works immediately — no re-login needed.

Logout

oauth.logout()  // clears the session via SessionStore.clear()

After logout, discard any cached XrpcClient — it's bound to the old DPoP key. Call createClient() fresh after the next login.

Common pitfalls

• Redirect URI with :// instead of :/. com.example.app://path is rejected by Bluesky's auth server. Use com.example.app:/path.
• Forgetting singleTask. Without it, the redirect spawns a new Activity instance and your ViewModel loses its in-flight OAuth state.
• Storing the session in plain SharedPreferences. The session contains the DPoP private key. Always use EncryptedSharedPreferences.
• Reusing an XrpcClient across logout/login. The old client's DPoP key was cleared with the session. Call createClient() again after completeLogin.
• client_id mismatch. The URL in client_id must match exactly where the JSON is hosted — including https://, subdomain, path, and no trailing slash differences.
• HttpClient without an engine. Declare io.ktor:ktor-client-cio (or another engine) in your build.gradle.kts.
• Not consuming intent.data. If you don't null it after handling the redirect, configuration changes (rotation) re-fire the redirect capture and completeLogin runs twice.

Related skills

• atproto-setup — Gradle prerequisites
• atproto-read — using the client to read feeds after login
• atproto-write-records — using the client to create posts, likes

Reference: working sample

Full working Android implementation with Hilt, Compose UI, and EncryptedSharedPreferences:

• https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kikin81/atproto-kotlin/main/samples/android/src/main/kotlin/io/github/kikin81/atproto/samples/bluesky/MainActivity.kt
• https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kikin81/atproto-kotlin/main/samples/android/src/main/kotlin/io/github/kikin81/atproto/samples/bluesky/MainViewModel.kt
• https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kikin81/atproto-kotlin/main/samples/android/src/main/kotlin/io/github/kikin81/atproto/samples/bluesky/session/AndroidOAuthSessionStore.kt
• https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kikin81/atproto-kotlin/main/samples/android/src/main/kotlin/io/github/kikin81/atproto/samples/bluesky/di/AppModule.kt