[[controllerMethods]]
== Controller Methods

The plugin registers some convenience methods into all controllers in your application. As of version 3.1.0 this is implemented by a trait that is applied to all controllers but was implemented in earlier versions by adding methods to each controller's `MetaClass`. All are accessor methods, so they can be called as methods or properties. They include:

=== isLoggedIn

Returns `true` if there is an authenticated user.

[source,groovy]
.Listing {counter:listing}. Example use of `isLoggedIn()`
----
class MyController {

   def someAction() {
      if (isLoggedIn()) {
         ...
      }

      ...

      if (!isLoggedIn()) {
         ...
      }

      // or

      if (loggedIn) {
         ...
      }

      if (!loggedIn) {
         ...
      }
   }
}
----

=== getPrincipal

Retrieves the current authenticated user's Principal (a `GrailsUser` instance unless you've customized this) or `null` if not authenticated.

[source,groovy]
.Listing {counter:listing}. Example use of `getPrincipal()`
----
class MyController {

   def someAction() {
      if (isLoggedIn()) {
         String username = getPrincipal().username
         ...
      }

      // or

      if (isLoggedIn()) {
         String username = principal.username
         ...
      }
   }
}
----

=== getAuthenticatedUser

Loads the user domain class instance from the database that corresponds to the currently authenticated user, or `null` if not authenticated. This is the equivalent of adding a dependency injection for `springSecurityService` and calling `PersonDomainClassName.get(springSecurityService.principal.id)` (the typical way that this is often done).

[source,groovy]
.Listing {counter:listing}. Example use of `getAuthenticatedUser()`
----
class MyController {

   def someAction() {
      if (isLoggedIn()) {
         String email = getAuthenticatedUser().email
         ...
      }

      // or

      if (isLoggedIn()) {
         String email = authenticatedUser.email
         ...
      }
   }
}
----