Account linking

[jambaceesay]

Hello. After linking an account from the backend with the auth0 node package and calling the continue endpoint to continue the login process for some reason I always get this error:
Unable to deserialize user after prompt.
Any Ideas on what am doing wrong will really be appreciated.

[rueben.tiow]

Hi @jambaceesay,

Welcome to the Auth0 Community!

I understand that you have encountered issues with Account Linking, specifically with the Unable to deserialize user after prompt error.

Unfortunately, this is an expected error when using Account Linking with Redirect Rules.

This happens because after the first user (secondary user) links with the second user (primary user), the user_id of the first user will no longer exist and will be referenced using the second user’s ID. Meaning that the linked account shares one unique user_id, which is why the error happens.

In this situation, we recommend linking the users after the redirection (after the /continue endpoint) has completed and using user_metadata flags to determine if the user satisfies for account linking. This way, the system is able to determine the user_id.

Lastly, I found that this is a known issue, and we have an item included in our backlog to address this problem. However, I cannot provide any ETA as to when this item will be fixed.

I hope this helps!

Please reach out if you have any additional questions or need further clarification.

Thanks,
Rueben