Handling an invalid Link Token

Catch the error in the onExit callback and refetch a new link_token for the next time the user opens Link

Occasionally, the end user may invalidate the existing link_token that was used to open Link by taking too long to go through the flow (30+ minutes), or attempting too many invalid logins. If this happens, Link will exit with an INVALID_LINK_TOKEN error code.

To allow your user to open Link again, recognize the error in the onExit callback, fetch a new link_token, and use it to reinitialize Link. You can obtain a new link_token by making another /link/token/create request:

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1// Using Express
2const express = require('express');
3const app = express();
4app.use(express.json());
5
6const { Configuration, PlaidApi, PlaidEnvironments } = require('plaid');
7
8const configuration = new Configuration({
9  basePath: PlaidEnvironments[process.env.PLAID_ENV],
10  baseOptions: {
11    headers: {
12      'PLAID-CLIENT-ID': process.env.PLAID_CLIENT_ID,
13      'PLAID-SECRET': process.env.PLAID_SECRET,
14    },
15  },
16});
17
18const client = new PlaidApi(configuration);
19
20app.post('/api/create_link_token', async function (request, response) {
21  // Get the client_user_id by searching for the current user
22  const user = await User.find(...);
23  const clientUserId = user.id;
24  const request = {
25    user: {
26      // This should correspond to a unique id for the current user.
27      client_user_id: clientUserId,
28    },
29    client_name: 'Plaid Test App',
30    products: [Products.],
31    language: 'en',
32    webhook: 'https://webhook.example.com',
33    country_codes: [CountryCode.Us],
34  };
35  try {
36    const createTokenResponse = await client.linkTokenCreate(request);
37    response.json(createTokenResponse.data);
38  } catch (error) {
39    // handle error
40  }
41});

For the Link web integration, reinitializing Link means creating a new iframe. To avoid stacking iframes for each Link initialization, you can clean up the old iframe by calling the destroy() method on the Plaid Link handler.

1// Initialize Link with a new link_token each time.
2const configs = {
3  token: (await $.post('/create_link_token')).link_token,
4  onSuccess: (public_token, metadata) => {
5    // Send the public_token to your app server.
6  },
7  onExit: (err, metadata) => {
8    // The user exited the Link flow with an INVALID_LINK_TOKEN error.
9    // This can happen if the token expires or the user has attempted
10    // too many invalid logins.
11    if (err != null && err.error_code === 'INVALID_LINK_TOKEN') {
12      linkHandler.destroy();
13      linkHandler = Plaid.create({
14        ...configs,
15        // Fetch a new link_token because the old one was invalidated.
16        token: (await $.post('/create_link_token')).link_token,
17      });
18    }
19    // metadata contains the most recent API request ID and the
20    // Link session ID. Storing this information is helpful
21    // for support.
22  },
23};
24
25let linkHandler = Plaid.create(configs);

When the user is ready, they will be able to reopen Link and go through the authentication process again.