Ory: Setting Up Registration Traits In Hosted UI
Introduction
This article addresses a common challenge faced by developers using Ory's Account Experience (hosted UI): setting up registration traits during the user registration flow. Specifically, we'll explore how to pre-fill identity traits, such as a newsletter opt-in preference, based on conditions like the user's country. We'll delve into the problem, discuss ideal solutions, examine workarounds, and highlight the need for enhanced flexibility in passing data during flow creation. If you're looking to streamline your user registration process and tailor it to specific user attributes, this guide is for you. By understanding the nuances of Ory's registration flow and the available options, you can create a more seamless and personalized experience for your users.
The Problem: Setting Identity Traits During Registration Flow Creation
When working with Ory's hosted UI for account experience, a common requirement is to set initial values for identity traits during user registration. Identity traits are attributes associated with a user's profile, such as their name, email, or preferences. In this specific scenario, the goal is to manage a newsletter opt-in preference based on the user's country, which is determined from the CloudFlare header. The desired behavior is that if a user registers from a specific country, the newsletter opt-in should be set to false by default.
The challenge arises when attempting to pass this data during the creation of the registration flow. The user tried several approaches, such as appending query parameters to the registration URL, but none of these methods worked as expected. Let’s explore the different methods attempted and why they fell short:
/self-service/registration/browser?newsletter=false/self-service/registration/browser?traits.newsletter=false/self-service/registration/browser?prefill.newsletter=no/self-service/registration/browser?traits={newsletter:false}
None of these attempts successfully pre-filled the newsletter trait. This highlights a limitation in the current functionality, where passing initial trait values directly via the registration flow creation URL is not supported. This limitation forces developers to seek alternative workarounds, which may not be as efficient or elegant as a direct solution.
The Ideal Solution: Passing Traits via URL Parameters
The ideal solution would be to allow passing default or desired trait values directly through the URL when creating the registration flow. This approach would provide a more streamlined and intuitive way to configure initial user attributes. Imagine the flexibility of setting various traits based on different conditions, all within the URL structure.
The suggestion is to extend the functionality to support passing trait values as URL parameters, similar to how the return_to parameter is currently handled. The return_to parameter allows specifying a URL to which the user should be redirected after registration, and a similar mechanism for traits would greatly enhance the system's flexibility.
For example, the following URL structure would be highly desirable:
/self-service/registration/browser?return_to="xyz.com/x/y&traits.newsletter=true&trait.x.y="abcd
In this structure, traits.newsletter=true would set the newsletter opt-in to true, and `trait.x.y=
