Using MSAL with Yammer Groups API

by | Aug 17, 2020 | Uncategorized | 0 comments

This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.

Starting October 31 2020, Yammer Groups API endpoints will only support the usage of Azure Active Directory (AAD) tokens.  Yammer Groups API endpoints will no longer support the usage of Yammer OAuth tokens. Microsoft recommends that customers and partners transition to using Microsoft Authentication Library (MSAL) and AAD tokens with the Yammer API.

 

Last year, we announced Native Mode, which gets your network ready to experience Microsoft 365 integrations. Native Mode requires that all your users are created in AAD, all Groups are Microsoft 365 Connected and all Yammer Files are stored in SharePoint Online. With the move to files in SharePoint, Yammer Files API started  require using AAD tokens.

 

As Yammer continues its journey to integrate into the Microsoft 365 ecosystem, there will be even more shared Yammer experiences across Microsoft 365, such as with Teams, Outlook and other applications. All of these require using AAD tokens. Yammer’s OAuth token cannot be accepted to conduct these operations. Overtime all Yammer API endpoints will be changed to exclusively support AAD tokens.

 

Starting October 31, 2020, Yammer Group API endpoints that are used to Update, Delete Groups, and manage Group Membership and Group Admins will only support AAD tokens. Using Yammer OAuth tokens will result in a bad request response from the server. Create and Read operations will be supported with Yammer OAuth tokens, however using AAD tokens for all API scenarios with Yammer is strongly recommended. 

Notes:

  • All Connected Yammer Groups (including Yammer networks in Native Mode) will require AAD tokens. Using the Yammer OAuth tokens will return a rejected response.
  • In non-Native Yammer networks, users without Group creation rights in AAD will be able to create unconnected Yammer Groups.

What should you do?

  1. Use MSAL to authenticate with Yammer: Microsoft recommends that customers and partners transition their apps to authenticate using the Microsoft Authentication Library (MSAL) to acquire AAD tokens from the Microsoft Identity Platform to operate with the Yammer API. MSAL is available for .NET, JavaScript, Android, and iOS, which support many different application architectures and platforms. Learn about MSAL here.
  2. Set up AAD Client Application: Follow these instructions to set up a client application and assign Delegated Yammer API Permissions to access Yammer APIs.

Notes:

  • Yammer supports Delegated Permissions in Azure Active Directory. This means that your application will access the Yammer API as the signed in user. Application permissions are currently not supported by Yammer in Azure Active Directory.
  • Enabling user_impersonation allows the application to access the Yammer platform on behalf of the signed in user.
  • Application permissions are currently not supported by Yammer in Azure Active Directory.

Application types:

  • Client-side Single page JavaScript Application: If you are using a Single Page AAD App that uses the Implicit Grant Flow, then your AAD App will need to be mapped to its corresponding Yammer platform Application. Please provide details about your application in this form  and our team will work with you on the process to map your Yammer and Azure Active Directory client applications. This is required to ensure that your application is not affected by Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) permissions issues. Learn about CORS here. 
  • Server-side application: Using the Microsoft identity platform implementation of OAuth 2.0, you can add sign in and API access to your mobile and desktop apps   If you are running a server-side app that requires the usage of long-lived AAD tokens, then use the Microsoft Identity Platform OAuth 2.0 authorization code flow to acquire AAD Access Tokens, with a Refresh Token. This enables your app to request a new AAD access token without requiring any user interaction. Take a look at these sample apps that support MSAL 2.0. 

Resources:  

We’re committed to working with the developer community in transitioning to the new world of AAD tokens! Please check out the resources below, post your questions/comments here or email api@yammer.com.

Brought to you by Dr. Ware, Microsoft Office 365 Silver Partner, Charleston SC.

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