Simple JWT Authentication Demo

A basic demonstration of JWT (JSON Web Token) authentication using Express.js. This project shows how to implement token-based authentication with protected routes.

🚀 Features

• Basic JWT authentication
• Protected route example
• Express.js REST API
• Simple token verification middleware

🛠️ Installation

# Clone the repository
git clone <your-repo-url>

# Install dependencies
npm install express jsonwebtoken body-parser

🔧 Environment Setup

Create a .env file in the root directory:

JWT_SECRET=your_secret_key
PORT=3000

🏃‍♂️ Quick Start

# Start the server
node server.js

🔍 API Endpoints

Authentication

POST /login
- Generates JWT token
- Body: { "username": "your_username" }

Protected Route

GET /protected
- Requires JWT token in Authorization header
- Returns protected data

📝 Usage Example

Login and Get Token

fetch('http://localhost:3000/login', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    username: 'testuser'
  })
})
.then(res => res.json())
.then(data => console.log(data.token));

Access Protected Route

fetch('http://localhost:3000/protected', {
  headers: {
    'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_JWT_TOKEN'
  }
})
.then(res => res.json())
.then(data => console.log(data));

🔒 Security Note

In production:

• Use a strong secret key
• Store sensitive data in environment variables
• Implement proper error handling
• Add input validation