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Identity Creation Migration

Overview

This document describes the migration of automatic identity creation from individual view components to a centralized router navigation guard. This change ensures that user identities are created consistently regardless of entry point, improving the user experience and reducing code duplication.

Problem Statement

Previously, automatic identity creation was scattered across multiple view components:

HomeView.vue - Primary entry point
InviteOneAcceptView.vue - Deep link entry point
ContactsView.vue - Contact management
OnboardMeetingMembersView.vue - Meeting setup

This approach had several issues:

Inconsistent behavior - Different entry points could have different identity creation logic
Code duplication - Similar identity creation code repeated across multiple components
Race conditions - Multiple components could attempt identity creation simultaneously
Maintenance overhead - Changes to identity creation required updates in multiple files

Implementation

The solution moves identity creation to a global router navigation guard in src/router/index.ts:

router.beforeEach(async (to, from, next) => {
  try {
    // Skip identity check for certain routes
    const skipIdentityRoutes = ['/start', '/new-identifier', '/import-account', '/database-migration'];
    if (skipIdentityRoutes.includes(to.path)) {
      return next();
    }

    // Check if user has any identities
    const allMyDids = await retrieveAccountDids();
    
    // Create identity if none exists
    if (allMyDids.length === 0) {
      logger.info("[Router] No identities found, creating default seed-based identity");
      await generateSaveAndActivateIdentity();
    }
    
    next();
  } catch (error) {
    logger.error("[Router] Identity creation failed:", error);
    next('/start'); // Redirect to manual identity creation
  }
});

Benefits

Centralized Logic - All identity creation happens in one place
Consistent Behavior - Same identity creation process regardless of entry point
Early Execution - Identity creation happens before any view loads
Error Handling - Centralized error handling with fallback to manual creation
Maintainability - Single point of change for identity creation logic

Migration Details

Files Modified

src/router/index.ts
- Added global beforeEach navigation guard
- Added identity creation logic with error handling
- Added route exclusions for manual identity creation
src/views/HomeView.vue
- Removed automatic identity creation logic
- Removed isCreatingIdentifier state and UI
- Simplified initializeIdentity() method
- Added fallback error handling
src/views/InviteOneAcceptView.vue
- Kept identity creation as fallback for deep links
- Added logging for fallback scenarios
- Simplified logic since router guard handles most cases
src/views/ContactsView.vue
- Kept identity creation as fallback for invite processing
- Added logging for fallback scenarios
- Simplified logic since router guard handles most cases
src/views/OnboardMeetingMembersView.vue
- Kept identity creation as fallback for meeting setup
- Added logging for fallback scenarios
- Simplified logic since router guard handles most cases

Route Exclusions

The following routes are excluded from automatic identity creation:

/start - Manual identity creation selection
/new-identifier - Manual seed-based identity creation
/import-account - Manual account import
/database-migration - Database migration process

Fallback Strategy

For deep link scenarios and edge cases, individual views retain minimal identity creation logic as fallbacks:

Only triggers if activeDid is missing
Includes logging to identify when fallbacks are used
Maintains backward compatibility

Testing Considerations

Test Scenarios

First-time user navigation
- Navigate to any route without existing identity
- Verify automatic identity creation
- Verify proper navigation to intended route
Existing user navigation
- Navigate to any route with existing identity
- Verify no unnecessary identity creation
- Verify normal navigation flow
Manual identity creation routes
- Navigate to /start, /new-identifier, /import-account
- Verify no automatic identity creation
- Verify manual creation flow works
Error scenarios
- Simulate identity creation failure
- Verify fallback to /start route
- Verify error logging
Deep link scenarios
- Test invite acceptance without existing identity
- Verify fallback identity creation works
- Verify proper invite processing

Performance Impact

Positive: Reduced code duplication and simplified view logic
Minimal: Router guard adds negligible overhead
Improved: Consistent identity creation timing

Security Considerations

Privacy Preservation

Identity creation still uses the same secure seed generation
No changes to cryptographic implementation
Maintains user privacy and data sovereignty

Error Handling

Centralized error handling prevents identity creation failures from breaking the app
Fallback to manual creation ensures users can always create identities
Proper logging for debugging and monitoring

Future Enhancements

Potential Improvements

Identity Type Selection
- Allow users to choose identity type during automatic creation
- Support for different identity creation methods
Progressive Enhancement
- Add identity creation progress indicators
- Improve user feedback during creation process
Advanced Fallbacks
- Implement more sophisticated fallback strategies
- Add retry logic for failed identity creation
Analytics Integration
- Track identity creation success rates
- Monitor fallback usage patterns

Rollback Plan

If issues arise, the migration can be rolled back by:

Removing the router navigation guard from src/router/index.ts
Restoring automatic identity creation in individual views
Reverting to the previous implementation pattern

Conclusion

This migration successfully centralizes identity creation logic while maintaining backward compatibility and improving the overall user experience. The router navigation guard approach provides a robust, maintainable solution that ensures consistent identity creation across all entry points.

6.7 KiB Raw Blame History