Clear storage on logout #34

Miduo666 · 2025-12-12T13:02:39Z

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lib/solid_auth_client.dart

gjwgit

Please ensure there is a final new line in the files - This is indicated by the red circled dash in git. All files should finish with a new line.

gjwgit · 2025-12-30T00:35:56Z

This needs a linked issue and an explanation as to it's purpose - why was it implemented and what issue does it solve?

Miduo666 · 2025-12-30T14:55:42Z

This needs a linked issue and an explanation as to it's purpose - why was it implemented and what issue does it solve?

Hi Graham,
Sorry for the late explanation and the messy commit names! I’ve been using an automation script to sync changes across solidui, solid_auth, and solidpod, which is why the naming isn't very descriptive—apologies for that.

To clarify, this PR is specifically for clearing all local storage/cache upon logout. It fixes a bug where guest users could potentially see the previous user's data because the cache wasn't purged after logout. Also, it's a prerequisite for our GeoPod preloading strategy. We need a clean slate to ensure the sync logic doesn't clash with stale data. And this change is fully backward-compatible.

Note on the "Login Success" bug: I initially thought the issue where "Login Successfully" popped up prematurely was a cache problem, but I’ve since found the root cause in solidpod and solidui, the handler was mistakenly routing to SolidDefaultLogin (which is just a static UI) instead of the actual login form.

Although the "fix" for that specific UI routing is in the other repos, the storage clearing logic here is essential to make sure the logout flow is complete and secure.

I didn't link the issue earlier because it was a quick fix during the sync, but I'll be more careful with the workflow next time. Let me know if you need anything else!

gjwgit · 2026-01-07T04:03:16Z

Please merge dev here to get its latest updates.
Is there a simple before and after test to illustrate the issue and the fix?
Don't we rely on the key/token cached to avoid having to log in again - is that affected here?

cdawei

Hi @lambadajester50-byte, thanks for the PR.

I can run the solid_auth example app without any obvious problems, so this is a good sign.

However, it is unclear what the exact problem this PR solves (the high level description in comment #34 (comment) seems to imply a problem related to cached auth data). Do you have an issue in GeoPod that provides more details of the problem?

cdawei · 2026-01-07T05:45:42Z

lib/solid_auth_client.dart

+    authManager.clearLocalStorage();
+  } catch (e) {
+    debugPrint('logout() => Warning: Failed to clear storage: $e');
+    // Continue anyway - the important part is clearing auth data


I am not sure I understand this comment -- if there is an exception from Line 326, how do we know the auth data has been cleared?

When testing the solid_auth example app on Linux, I got the following message:

logout() => Warning: Failed to clear storage: Unsupported operation: Cannot create a keyfinder without the packages dart:html or package:shared_preferences

cdawei · 2026-01-07T05:49:41Z

lib/src/auth_manager/web_auth_manager.dart

+    try {
+      windowLoc.localStorage.clear();
+    } catch (e) {
+      throw 'Failed to clear localStorage: $e';


Is there a good reason to throw a string object instead of an instance of Exception or Error? (as documented here https://dart.dev/language/error-handling)

Hi @cdawei ,

Sorry for the confusion earlier. To clarify, this PR is specifically intended to clear SharedPreferences (and local storage) data upon logout.

I have updated the code to address your concerns:

Platform-specific fixes: I have refactored the logic to properly handle cross-platform scenarios. On Web, it clears localStorage; on native platforms (Linux, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android), it clears SharedPreferences. This ensures the Unsupported operation error no longer occurs.

Error Handling: I’ve updated the throw statements to use proper Exception objects instead of strings, following the Dart style guide.

Motivation: Within GeoPod, I am using local caching after a successful login to improve performance. This PR ensures that all cached auth and session data are securely cleared when a user logs out. This implementation also provides a reusable pattern for clearing other pod-specific caches in the future.

I 've pushed the updated commits. Thanks for the feedback!

Platform-specific fixes: I have refactored the logic to properly handle cross-platform scenarios. On Web, it clears localStorage; on native platforms (Linux, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android), it clears SharedPreferences. This ensures the Unsupported operation error no longer occurs.

Thanks for the updates, @lambadajester50-byte. I no longer see the error message mentioned here with the latest commits.

Error Handling: I’ve updated the throw statements to use proper Exception objects instead of strings, following the Dart style guide.

Great!

Motivation: Within GeoPod, I am using local caching after a successful login to improve performance. This PR ensures that all cached auth and session data are securely cleared when a user logs out. This implementation also provides a reusable pattern for clearing other pod-specific caches in the future.

Unfortunately, I am still struggling to understand the exact problem. As far as I can tell, there are three different places that the authentication data might be cached, i.e., GeoPod, solid-auth, and the POD server.

GeoPod uses solidpod which caches auth data through flutter secure storage (related to PR fix login issue solidpod#499 but not this PR).

I suspect this PR is related to how auth data is cached in solid-auth, but I am not aware of the exact problem... We probably need @anushkavidanage's help.

Then there is another issue related to the POD server (and also solid-auth?), as described in SOLID POD: Logout properly solidpod#132

cdawei · 2026-01-08T00:55:04Z

lib/src/auth_manager/web_auth_manager.dart

+    try {
+      windowLoc.localStorage.clear();
+    } catch (e) {
+      throw 'Failed to clear localStorage: $e';


Platform-specific fixes: I have refactored the logic to properly handle cross-platform scenarios. On Web, it clears localStorage; on native platforms (Linux, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android), it clears SharedPreferences. This ensures the Unsupported operation error no longer occurs.

Thanks for the updates, @lambadajester50-byte. I no longer see the error message mentioned here with the latest commits.

Error Handling: I’ve updated the throw statements to use proper Exception objects instead of strings, following the Dart style guide.

Great!

Motivation: Within GeoPod, I am using local caching after a successful login to improve performance. This PR ensures that all cached auth and session data are securely cleared when a user logs out. This implementation also provides a reusable pattern for clearing other pod-specific caches in the future.

Unfortunately, I am still struggling to understand the exact problem. As far as I can tell, there are three different places that the authentication data might be cached, i.e., GeoPod, solid-auth, and the POD server.

GeoPod uses solidpod which caches auth data through flutter secure storage (related to PR fix login issue solidpod#499 but not this PR).

I suspect this PR is related to how auth data is cached in solid-auth, but I am not aware of the exact problem... We probably need @anushkavidanage's help.

Then there is another issue related to the POD server (and also solid-auth?), as described in SOLID POD: Logout properly solidpod#132

cdawei · 2026-01-08T04:37:19Z

lib/src/auth_manager/native_auth_manager.dart

+// OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
+// SOFTWARE.
+///
+/// Authors: Anushka Vidanage


I believe this should be your name?

Miduo666 · 2026-01-08T05:20:27Z

Hi @cdawei ,

Thank you very much for your patient guidance and for pointing this out. I sincerely apologize for the confusion.

After a thorough re-examination of the entire cache handling logic, I now realize that this implementation is indeed redundant. This code was originally intended to address geopod/issues/13, but I've confirmed that the registerLogoutCacheCallback mechanism in solidpod already provides the standard and correct way to clear app-specific private data.

I will close this PR now to avoid further clutter. Thank you again for your time and for helping me better understand the architecture. I'm sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused!

Best regards,

Miduo

cdawei · 2026-01-08T06:05:04Z

After a thorough re-examination of the entire cache handling logic, I now realize that this implementation is indeed redundant. This code was originally intended to address geopod/issues/13, but I've confirmed that the registerLogoutCacheCallback mechanism in solidpod already provides the standard and correct way to clear app-specific private data.

Thank you for investigating this!

Miduo666 added 4 commits December 9, 2025 18:34

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gjwgit reviewed Dec 13, 2025

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Miduo666 added 2 commits December 14, 2025 10:58

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gjwgit changed the title ~~fix login issue~~ Clear storage on logout Dec 30, 2025

gjwgit requested review from anushkavidanage and cdawei December 30, 2025 19:45

Merge remote-tracking branch 'upstream/dev' into dev

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clear_sharedpreferences

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Miduo666 closed this Jan 8, 2026

Clear storage on logout #34

Clear storage on logout #34

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Miduo666 commented Dec 12, 2025

Pull Request Details

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