itsmostafa/aws-agent-skills/cognito

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AWS Cognito user authentication and authorization service. Use when setting up user pools, configuring identity pools, implementing OAuth flows, managing user attributes, or integrating with social identity providers.

Install

npx vskill@latest install itsmostafa/aws-agent-skills/cognito

SKILL.md

AWS Cognito

Amazon Cognito provides authentication, authorization, and user management for web and mobile applications. Users can sign in directly or through federated identity providers.

Table of Contents

Core Concepts

User Pools

User directory for sign-up and sign-in. Provides:

  • User registration and authentication
  • OAuth 2.0 / OpenID Connect tokens
  • MFA and password policies
  • Customizable UI and flows
Identity Pools (Federated Identities)

Provide temporary AWS credentials to access AWS services. Users can be:

  • Cognito User Pool users
  • Social identity (Google, Facebook, Apple)
  • SAML/OIDC enterprise identity
  • Anonymous guests
Tokens
TokenPurposeLifetime
ID TokenUser identity claims1 hour
Access TokenAPI authorization1 hour
Refresh TokenGet new ID/Access tokens30 days (configurable)

Common Patterns

Create User Pool

AWS CLI:

bash
aws cognito-idp create-user-pool \
--pool-name my-app-users \
--policies '{
"PasswordPolicy": {
"MinimumLength": 12,
"RequireUppercase": true,
"RequireLowercase": true,
"RequireNumbers": true,
"RequireSymbols": true
}
}' \
--auto-verified-attributes email \
--username-attributes email \
--mfa-configuration OPTIONAL \
--user-attribute-update-settings '{
"AttributesRequireVerificationBeforeUpdate": ["email"]
}'
Create App Client
bash
aws cognito-idp create-user-pool-client \
--user-pool-id us-east-1_abc123 \
--client-name my-web-app \
--generate-secret \
--explicit-auth-flows ALLOW_USER_SRP_AUTH ALLOW_REFRESH_TOKEN_AUTH \
--supported-identity-providers COGNITO \
--callback-urls https://myapp.com/callback \
--logout-urls https://myapp.com/logout \
--allowed-o-auth-flows code \
--allowed-o-auth-scopes openid email profile \
--allowed-o-auth-flows-user-pool-client \
--access-token-validity 60 \
--id-token-validity 60 \
--refresh-token-validity 30 \
--token-validity-units '{
"AccessToken": "minutes",
"IdToken": "minutes",
"RefreshToken": "days"
}'
Sign Up User
python
import boto3
import hmac
import hashlib
import base64
cognito = boto3.client('cognito-idp')
def get_secret_hash(username, client_id, client_secret):
message = username + client_id
dig = hmac.new(
client_secret.encode('utf-8'),
message.encode('utf-8'),
digestmod=hashlib.sha256
).digest()
return base64.b64encode(dig).decode()
response = cognito.sign_up(
ClientId='client-id',
SecretHash=get_secret_hash('user@example.com', 'client-id', 'client-secret'),
Username='user@example.com',
Password='SecurePassword123!',
UserAttributes=[
{'Name': 'email', 'Value': 'user@example.com'},
{'Name': 'name', 'Value': 'John Doe'}
]
)
Confirm Sign Up
python
cognito.confirm_sign_up(
ClientId='client-id',
SecretHash=get_secret_hash('user@example.com', 'client-id', 'client-secret'),
Username='user@example.com',
ConfirmationCode='123456'
)
Authenticate User
python
response = cognito.initiate_auth(
ClientId='client-id',
AuthFlow='USER_SRP_AUTH',
AuthParameters={
'USERNAME': 'user@example.com',
'SECRET_HASH': get_secret_hash('user@example.com', 'client-id', 'client-secret'),
'SRP_A': srp_a # From SRP library
}
)
# For simple password auth (not recommended for production)
response = cognito.admin_initiate_auth(
UserPoolId='us-east-1_abc123',
ClientId='client-id',
AuthFlow='ADMIN_USER_PASSWORD_AUTH',
AuthParameters={
'USERNAME': 'user@example.com',
'PASSWORD': 'password',
'SECRET_HASH': get_secret_hash('user@example.com', 'client-id', 'client-secret')
}
)
tokens = response['AuthenticationResult']
id_token = tokens['IdToken']
access_token = tokens['AccessToken']
refresh_token = tokens['RefreshToken']
Refresh Tokens
python
response = cognito.initiate_auth(
ClientId='client-id',
AuthFlow='REFRESH_TOKEN_AUTH',
AuthParameters={
'REFRESH_TOKEN': refresh_token,
'SECRET_HASH': get_secret_hash('user@example.com', 'client-id', 'client-secret')
}
)
Create Identity Pool
bash
aws cognito-identity create-identity-pool \
--identity-pool-name my-app-identities \
--allow-unauthenticated-identities \
--cognito-identity-providers \
ProviderName=cognito-idp.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/us-east-1_abc123,\
ClientId=client-id,\
ServerSideTokenCheck=true
Get AWS Credentials
python
import boto3
cognito_identity = boto3.client('cognito-identity')
# Get identity ID
response = cognito_identity.get_id(
IdentityPoolId='us-east-1:12345678-1234-1234-1234-123456789012',
Logins={
'cognito-idp.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/us-east-1_abc123': id_token
}
)
identity_id = response['IdentityId']
# Get credentials
response = cognito_identity.get_credentials_for_identity(
IdentityId=identity_id,
Logins={
'cognito-idp.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/us-east-1_abc123': id_token
}
)
credentials = response['Credentials']
# Use credentials['AccessKeyId'], credentials['SecretKey'], credentials['SessionToken']

CLI Reference

User Pool
CommandDescription
aws cognito-idp create-user-poolCreate user pool
aws cognito-idp describe-user-poolGet pool details
aws cognito-idp update-user-poolUpdate pool settings
aws cognito-idp delete-user-poolDelete pool
aws cognito-idp list-user-poolsList pools
Users
CommandDescription
aws cognito-idp admin-create-userCreate user (admin)
aws cognito-idp admin-delete-userDelete user
aws cognito-idp admin-get-userGet user details
aws cognito-idp list-usersList users
aws cognito-idp admin-set-user-passwordSet password
aws cognito-idp admin-disable-userDisable user
Authentication
CommandDescription
aws cognito-idp initiate-authStart authentication
aws cognito-idp respond-to-auth-challengeRespond to MFA
aws cognito-idp admin-initiate-authAdmin authentication

Best Practices

Security
  • Enable MFA for all users (at least optional)
  • Use strong password policies
  • Enable advanced security features (adaptive auth)
  • Verify email/phone before allowing sign-in
  • Use short token lifetimes for sensitive apps
  • Never expose client secrets in frontend code
User Experience
  • Use hosted UI for quick implementation
  • Customize UI with CSS
  • Implement proper error handling
  • Provide clear password requirements
Architecture
  • Use identity pools for AWS resource access
  • Use access tokens for API Gateway
  • Store refresh tokens securely
  • Implement token refresh before expiry

Troubleshooting

User Cannot Sign In

Causes:

  • User not confirmed
  • Password incorrect
  • User disabled
  • Account locked (too many attempts)

Debug:

bash
aws cognito-idp admin-get-user \
--user-pool-id us-east-1_abc123 \
--username user@example.com
Token Validation Failed

Causes:

  • Token expired
  • Wrong user pool/client ID
  • Token signature invalid

Validate JWT:

python
import jwt
import requests
# Get JWKS
jwks_url = f'https://cognito-idp.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/us-east-1_abc123/.well-known/jwks.json'
jwks = requests.get(jwks_url).json()
# Decode and verify (use python-jose or similar)
from jose import jwt
claims = jwt.decode(
token,
jwks,
algorithms=['RS256'],
audience='client-id',
issuer='https://cognito-idp.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/us-east-1_abc123'
)
Hosted UI Not Working

Check:

  • Callback URLs configured correctly
  • Domain configured for user pool
  • OAuth settings enabled
bash
# Check domain
aws cognito-idp describe-user-pool \
--user-pool-id us-east-1_abc123 \
--query 'UserPool.Domain'
Rate Limiting

Symptom: TooManyRequestsException

Solutions:

  • Implement exponential backoff
  • Request quota increase
  • Cache tokens appropriately

References

Security

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Source

Popularity

Repository stars
1,050
Repository forks
437
7-day trend score
35

Stars and forks are for the whole GitHub repository, not this skill alone. Refreshed 23 Mar 2026, 7 months ago.

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