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#2812·outline-apps

Windows app: OIDC sign-in via browser succeeds but does not redirect back to app (self-hosted + Microsoft Entra ID)

Author: maxhoheiserCreated Jul 16, 2026Updated Jul 16, 2026
Labelsbugos/windowsclient

Summary

When signing into the Windows desktop app against a self-hosted Outline instance using Microsoft Entra ID (OIDC), the browser-based sign-in completes successfully — the user is authenticated and lands on the Outline wiki in the browser — but the redirect back to the desktop app never fires. The app stays on the sign-in screen.

Steps to reproduce

  1. Install the Outline Windows desktop app (v1.8.0)
  2. Enter custom server URL (self-hosted, e.g. https://wiki.example.com)
  3. Click Sign in with Microsoft (Entra ID / OIDC)
  4. Browser opens → Entra ID login completes → browser lands on the Outline wiki (authenticated)
  5. Desktop app does not receive the redirect — it remains on the sign-in screen
  6. The user is now signed in on the browser but not in the app

Expected behavior

After successful browser-based OIDC authentication, the OS-level protocol redirect (outline://) should fire and hand the session token back to the desktop app, completing sign-in there too.

Actual behavior

The redirect back to the desktop app does not trigger. The browser stays open showing the authenticated wiki. The desktop app stays stuck on the sign-in screen.

Environment

Field Value
App version 1.8.0
OS Windows 11
Server version self-hosted (latest)
Auth provider Microsoft Entra ID (OIDC)
Deployment Enterprise (Intune-managed devices)

Additional context

  • Sign-in works correctly in the browser against the same server and same OIDC provider
  • The Entra ID OIDC redirect URI is configured as https://wiki.example.com/auth/oidc.callback
  • Similar behaviour reported in the main outline/outline repo: #12916 — suggests the desktop app's protocol handler (outline://auth/...) is either not being triggered by the server or not registered/handled correctly on Windows
  • The referenced server-side code path (server/utils/authentication.ts#L136) may not enter the desktop redirect block for self-hosted instances

Workaround

None found. Users must use the browser version of Outline instead of the desktop app.

Source: OutlineFoundation/outline-apps

View original on GitHubView discussion on GitHub