Implementing user logout

The logout flow allows users to securely terminate their sessions. This guide shows how to implement proper logout functionality in your application.

Logout flow

1. Create a logout flow

   Initialize a browser-based logout flow or call the API endpoint

2. Submit the logout request

   Complete the logout process to terminate the session

3. Redirect after logout

   Send users to a suitable page after successful logout

JavaScript/Node.js

Implement logout in express.js

// Create logout route
app.get("/logout", async (req, res) => {
  try {
    // Create a logout flow
    const { data: logoutFlow } = await ory.createBrowserLogoutFlow({
      cookie: req.header("cookie"),
    })

    // Redirect to logout URL
    res.redirect(logoutFlow.logout_url)
  } catch (err) {
    console.error("Logout error:", err)
    // Already logged out or error, redirect to login
    res.redirect("/login")
  }
})

React

Implement logout in react

import { useEffect } from "react"
import { ory } from "../lib/ory"

export const Logout = () => {
  useEffect(() => {
    // Create a logout flow and redirect to it
    ory
      .createBrowserLogoutFlow()
      .then(({ data }) => {
        // Redirect to the logout URL which will destroy the session
        window.location.href = data.logout_url
      })
      .catch((err) => {
        console.error("Logout error:", err)
        // Already logged out or error, redirect to login
        window.location.href = "/login"
      })
  }, [])

  return <div>Logging out...</div>
}

Next.js

Implement logout in Go

package main

import (
	"context"
	"net/http"
	
	ory "github.com/ory/client-go"
)

func logoutHandler(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
	// Initialize the Ory client
	configuration := ory.NewConfiguration()
	configuration.Servers = []ory.ServerConfiguration{
		{
			URL: "https://$PROJECT_SLUG.projects.oryapis.com",
		},
	}
	client := ory.NewAPIClient(configuration)
	
	// Create a logout flow
	cookie := r.Header.Get("Cookie")
	flow, _, err := client.FrontendApi.CreateBrowserLogoutFlow(context.Background()).Cookie(cookie).Execute()
	
	if err != nil {
		// Already logged out or error, redirect to login
		http.Redirect(w, r, "/login", http.StatusFound)
		return
	}
	
	// Redirect to logout URL
	http.Redirect(w, r, flow.LogoutUrl, http.StatusFound)
}

Go

Implement logout with cURL

# Create a logout flow
curl -X GET \
  'https://$PROJECT_SLUG.projects.oryapis.com/self-service/logout/browser' \
  -H 'Accept: application/json' \
  -H 'Cookie: ory_session_YOUR_PROJECT=YOUR_SESSION_COOKIE' \
  --verbose

# The response contains a logout_url that you'll need to redirect the user to

After successful logout

After a successful logout, Ory:

1. Invalidates the user's session
2. Removes the session cookie from the browser
3. Redirects the user to the specified return URL

Next steps

After implementing logout functionality, you should:

1. Implement session refresh functionality
2. Add multi-factor authentication
3. Configure account recovery