Obtaining Identity in a BodyParser (or just from a RequestHeader)

[Chad Retz]

What is the recommended way, with 3.0.4, to obtain an Identity (or optional identity) from just a request header? I need it in a body parser.

[Christian Kaps]

Hi Chad,

this isn't possible, and I have explained this in detail in this issue.

Best regards,

Christian

[Chad Retz]

I have the RequestHeader object in my BodyParser, surely I can use that to obtain an identity the same way that the action does? Maybe I should just inject the authenticator service and invoke retrieve? I just have to make sure to work the future into the iteratee  (yes, on old Play version because of no stable version on latest Play version).

[Christian Kaps]

The `RequestHeader` isn't enough. You need the complete `Request` containing the body. If you have the complete request then you can use the request handlers to get the identity. 

[Chad Retz]

The following seemed to work for me:

  def auth(request: RequestHeader): Future[Option[Application]] = {
    env.authenticatorService.retrieve(request).flatMap {
      case None => Future.successful(None)
      case Some(jwtAuth) => env.identityService.retrieve(jwtAuth.loginInfo)
    }
  }

In this case, env is the injected Environmnt. Granted it doesn't store the identity for other use such as in a SecuredAction, but that's ok for my purposes.