I’m working on a Java application that needs to connect to Twitch chat but I’m stuck on the authentication part. I already created an app on Twitch and got my client credentials. The problem is I don’t know how to properly implement the OAuth authorization code flow using Java’s HTTP functionality.
I’ve been reading the Twitch API docs but I’m having trouble translating that into actual Java code. Has anyone here successfully implemented Twitch OAuth in Java? I’m looking for guidance on how to structure the HTTP requests for getting the authorization code and then exchanging it for an access token.
Any code examples or step-by-step explanations would be really helpful since I’m still learning how to work with HTTP requests in Java.
twitch oauth is a bit tricky lol. just make sure your redirect uri is correct—those trailing slashes can mess things up. I usually test in Postman first, makes coding way easier later. gl with it!
The redirect URI setup trips up way more people than the actual HTTP code. When you register on Twitch, make sure your redirect URI matches exactly what’s in your authorization URL - protocol, port numbers, everything. If you’re testing locally, double-check those ports. For Java, I’ve had good luck with HttpClient from java.net.http for both requests. The tricky part is handling the callback after users authorize. You’ll need a simple HTTP server or servlet to catch the authorization code Twitch sends back. Once you’ve got that code, the token exchange is pretty straightforward. Just store that access token securely - you’ll need it for every API call after that.
Had the same problem with Twitch OAuth last year. What worked for me was splitting it into two separate HTTP requests. First, send users to Twitch’s authorization URL - you’ll need your client_id, redirect_uri, and response_type=code as parameters. After they authorize, Twitch redirects back with an authorization code. Then POST to the token endpoint with that code and your client credentials to grab the access token. Most people mess up the token exchange part - you’ve got to send it as application/x-www-form-urlencoded and don’t forget grant_type=authorization_code. I’d go with HttpURLConnection or OkHttp for the requests since they handle the formatting pretty well.
Hit some token refresh issues building my Twitch bot. Most tutorials don’t cover this, but access tokens die after 4 hours - you’ve gotta auto-refresh using the refresh token they give you with the access token. Store both and watch for 401 errors. When they pop up, use the refresh token to grab a new access token without making users re-auth. Quick heads up - if you’re connecting to Twitch chat, validate your token against their validation endpoint first before hitting IRC. Chat servers don’t mess around with invalid tokens.
honestly the hardest part for me was handling the state parameter correctly - twitch docs dont emphasize it enough but you should always include it for security. also dont forget to url-encode your parameters when building the auth url, had weird bugs until i fixed that lol