JWTs consist of three parts: header, payload, and signature, separated by dots.
Structure
- Header: Algorithm and token type.
- Payload: Claims about the user or session.
- Signature: Cryptographic verification using a secret key.
Security considerations
- Never store sensitive data in the payload (it's base64-encoded, not encrypted).
- Validate signatures on every request to prevent tampering.
- Set short expiration times and implement refresh token rotation.
- Use strong signing algorithms (RS256, ES256) over HS256 when possible.
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