Frequently Asked Questions

AuthnzNet is a full-featured OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect server distributed as a single .NET global tool. It gives developers a complete, standards-compliant identity provider that runs locally with zero configuration — install it, run quickstart, and you have a working auth server in seconds.

IdentityServer is a powerful, highly configurable framework that requires significant setup, configuration, and a commercial license for production. AuthnzNet takes the opposite approach: it's a ready-to-run server that works immediately with sensible defaults, includes built-in login and consent UI, and is free to use. Both implement the same OAuth 2.0 and OIDC protocols, so any client that works with IdentityServer will work with AuthnzNet.

Yes. The CLI tool and local server are completely free with no usage limits, no license fees, and no time restrictions. When AuthnzNet Cloud launches (coming soon), it will offer a managed production service with additional pricing tiers.

AuthnzNet supports all four standard OAuth 2.0 grant types: Authorization Code (with PKCE), Client Credentials, Resource Owner Password, and Refresh Token. The authorization code flow includes built-in login and consent pages, so the complete interactive flow works out of the box.

The local server uses SQLite — a zero-configuration, file-based database stored in your application data folder. There's nothing to install or manage. The database schema is automatically created on first run. When you switch to AuthnzNet Cloud for production, your data is managed in PostgreSQL.

The local CLI server is designed for development, testing, and staging environments. For production deployments, AuthnzNet Cloud (coming soon) provides a fully managed service with PostgreSQL, auto-scaling, and a global CDN. The transition is seamless — just change the Authority URL in your application.

AuthnzNet automatically generates an RSA-2048 key pair on first run and persists it locally. All JWTs are signed with RS256 (asymmetric signing), and the public key is published via the standard JWKS endpoint at /.well-known/jwks.json. Your applications validate tokens using the published public key — no shared secrets needed.

AuthnzNet is a standard OIDC provider, so it works with any language or framework that supports OpenID Connect: ASP.NET Core, Next.js (NextAuth), Python (Authlib), Java (Spring Security), Go, Ruby, PHP, and more. If your library can point at a discovery URL, it works with AuthnzNet.

A tenant is an isolated environment with its own users, clients, and settings — think of it as a separate organization or project. A client is an OAuth application within a tenant that has a client ID and secret. One tenant can have multiple clients (e.g., a web app, a mobile app, and an API).