Secure OAuth is easy to demo and hard to operate at scale

OAuth security, often perceived as a straightforward task, becomes complex when scaled across multiple applications and environments, revealing vulnerabilities in the underlying platform rather than the code itself. The Authorization Code Flow with Proof Key for Code Exchange (PKCE) is recommended for browser-based applications, but challenges arise when managing independent deployments of frontends and backends, environment-specific configurations, and secure handling of secrets. Operational risks increase when teams manually assemble solutions without a standardized platform, leading to potential security incidents from minor configuration errors. A managed cloud application platform, such as Upsun, mitigates these issues by automating infrastructure management, ensuring production-quality preview environments, and facilitating a consistent, auditable delivery model. This approach helps maintain secure, repeatable workflows, emphasizing that secure OAuth at scale is more about delivery choices than library selections.