Implementing JWT Authentication

Tutorial 3 of 5

1. Introduction

In this tutorial, we will learn about JSON Web Tokens (JWT) and how to implement JWT Authentication in your application. JWT is a standard for securely transmitting information as a JSON object. This information can be verified and trusted because it is digitally signed.

By the end of this tutorial, you will be able to:
- Understand what JWT is and why it's used for authentication.
- Implement JWT authentication in your application.
- Securely transmit user information as a JSON object.

Prerequisites

To follow this tutorial, you should have a basic understanding of:
- JavaScript (specifically Node.js and Express.js)
- REST APIs
- User authentication and authorization

2. Step-by-Step Guide

What is JWT?

JWT stands for JSON Web Token. It's a compact, URL-safe means of representing claims to be transferred between two parties. The claims in a JWT are encoded as a JSON object that is used as the payload of a JSON Web Signature (JWS) structure, enabling the claims to be digitally signed.

Why use JWT for Authentication?

When a user logs in, the server creates a unique token associated with that user and sends it back to the user. The client will then include the token in the header of every request. The server can then verify the token and respond with data for that user.

How to Implement JWT Authentication

Step 1: Install Required Packages

We will use jsonwebtoken to sign and verify tokens, and express-jwt to validate tokens and protect routes.

npm install jsonwebtoken express-jwt

Step 2: Create and Verify JWT

Use jsonwebtoken to sign and verify tokens. Here's an example:

const jwt = require('jsonwebtoken');

const data = {
  id: 1,
  username: 'testuser',
};

const secret = 'your-own-secret-key';

const token = jwt.sign(data, secret, { expiresIn: '1h' });

console.log('Token:', token);

try {
  const decoded = jwt.verify(token, secret);
  console.log('Decoded:', decoded);
} catch (err) {
  console.error('Error:', err);
}

Step 3: Protect Routes

Use express-jwt to validate tokens and protect routes. Here's an example:

const express = require('express');
const jwt = require('express-jwt');

const app = express();

const secret = 'your-own-secret-key';

app.use(jwt({ secret }));

app.get('/', (req, res) => {
  res.send('You are authenticated'); // if JWT is valid, this will be sent
});

app.listen(3000, () => console.log('Server started on 3000'));

3. Code Examples

Example 1: Sign JWT

Here's how to sign a token with user data:

const jwt = require('jsonwebtoken');

const user = {
  id: 1,
  username: 'testuser',
};

const secret = 'your-own-secret-key';

const token = jwt.sign(user, secret, { expiresIn: '1h' });

console.log('Token:', token);

Example 2: Verify JWT

Here's how to verify the token:

const jwt = require('jsonwebtoken');

const token = 'your-jwt-token';
const secret = 'your-own-secret-key';

try {
  const decoded = jwt.verify(token, secret);
  console.log('Decoded:', decoded);
} catch (err) {
  console.error('Error:', err);
}

4. Summary

We have learned what JWT is, why it is used for authentication, and how to implement JWT authentication in our applications. You can now securely transmit user data as a JSON object and use it for authentication and authorization purposes.

5. Practice Exercises

Exercise: Create a login route that signs a JWT with user data and sends it back to the client.
Exercise: Create a middleware function that verifies the JWT and attaches the user data to the request object.
Exercise: Protect a route with your middleware function. Test it with and without the JWT.

Tip: You can use tools like Postman to test your API endpoints. You can also use online JWT decoders to see the content of your tokens.

Next Steps

Learn about different strategies to store JWTs.
Understand how to handle token expiration and token refresh.
Learn about JWT security best practices.