Technical Overview of Amazon Device Activation via Code
The Device Activation via Code flow, often referred to as Code-Based Linking (CBL), is an authentication mechanism designed for devices with limited input capabilities, such as Smart TVs, set-top boxes, and IoT devices. This document outlines the technical specifications, architectural components, and implementation details required to integrate Amazon's authentication services into such devices. Instead of requiring users to enter their credentials directly on the device using a cumbersome on-screen keyboard, this flow generates a short alphanumeric code on the device. The user then enters this code on a secondary device (laptop or smartphone) to authorize the primary device. Overview The Code-Based Linking (CBL) process decouples the authentication request from the credential entry. It relies on the OAuth 2.0 Device Authorization Grant (RFC 8628). The high-level workflow is as follows: The Client Device requests a device code and user code from the authorizati...