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How do I make node.js using express find a JSON Web Token (JWT) inside of a response header cookie in user's browser?

I have a question on how to search for my JWT token inside of a user's browser cookies.
Below I have some code that searches the user's browser for cookies in the response header, but I am not sure how to make the code more specific and search for the JWT token within the cookie and verify that it is an actual JWT token that was a assigned to that user.
const jwt = require('jsonwebtoken');
const router = require('express')();
const cookieParser = require('cookie-parser');
router.use(cookieParser());
module.exports = function(req,res,next){
const token = req.header('Cookie');
if (!token) {
return res.status(403).send('Access Denied');
}
try{
const verified = req.header('Cookie');
req.user = verified;
// const verified = jwt.verify(token, process.env.TOKEN_SECRET);
// req.user = verified;
next();
} catch (err) {
res.clearHeader;
res.status(403).send('Invalid Token');
}
};

I hope I didn't misunderstand your question and waste a bunch time.
Short Answer: How to retrieve information
Use req.body or req.headers. If something will contain the token or authentication details, then it's one of these two.
Full Auth Walkthrough:
To get the JSON Web Tokens you first have to generate them. Wouldn't recommend implementing your own token authentication though. I'll show how to create a whole authentication system here step by step.
For simplicity, let's say we have an exported route in a file auth.js, this route will be a sub-route domain.com/auth, an array of all active refreshTokens and the jwt:
const express = require("express")
const jwt = require("jsonwebtoken")
let route = (exports.route = express())
let refreshTokens = []
What we will do is generate a long-lasting refresh token, which users will be able to use to generate a smaller 15-minute access token. Afterwards, you generate a new access token with the refresh token and so on. But to get the refresh token you need to login or register. Users can also logout killing the refresh token.
route.post("/token", async (req, res) => {
// Input: Refresh Token
// Output: Access Token Generation
})
route.post("/login", async (req, res) => {
// Input: User, Password
// Output: Refresh Token
})
route.delete("/logout", async (req, res) => {
// Input: Token to Remove
})
Let's start with the end. You have a refresh token, you won't to destroy it. Simply filter the array against this token and submit a status. The token becomes unusable after it's cleared from the array, that's the goal here.
route.delete("/logout", async (req, res) => {
refreshTokens = refreshTokens.filter((token) => token != req.body.token)
res.sendStatus(204)
})
With me so far? Now let's jump back to the start. If you log in with an email and password, if they're wrong respond with an error message, if they're correct receive the tokens.
route.post("/login", async (req, res) => {
const username = req.body.username
const password = req.body.password
// This is just a quick demonstration,
// you would have to use the bcrypt hash
// or other hash/salt methods. DO NOT
// STORE passwords plaintext
// Not existent user = Unauthorized
if (username != 'admin') return res.sendStatus(401)
// Wrong Password = Forbidden
if (password != 'abc123') return res.sendStatus(403)
const user = {
id: 0,
username: username,
password: password
}
const accessToken = generateAccessToken(user)
const refreshToken = generateRefreshToken(user)
let result = {
success: true,
accessToken: accessToken,
refreshToken: refreshToken,
}
res.send(result)
})
Now how do we sign the JSON web tokens? Let's take a look at the two methods used here:
function generateAccessToken(content) {
return jwt.sign(content, process.env.ACCESS_TOKEN_SECRET, {
expiresIn: "15m",
})
}
function generateRefreshToken(content) {
const token = jwt.sign(content, process.env.REFRESH_TOKEN_SECRET)
refreshTokens.push(token)
return token
}
Both use some sort of environment tokens, but why? That's the token you will have to generate once for the back end. It will be used as a public key. We simply generate the access tokens for 15 minutes and push the refresh tokens to the array.
route.post("/token", async (req, res) => {
const refreshToken = req.body.token
if (refreshToken == null) return res.sendStatus(401)
if (!refreshTokens.includes(refreshToken)) return res.sendStatus(403)
jwt.verify(refreshToken, process.env.REFRESH_TOKEN_SECRET, (err, user) => {
if (err) return res.sendStatus(403)
res.json({ accessToken:
generateAccessToken({
id: 0,
username: user.name,
password: user.password
})
})
})
})
We verify the refresh token, if it exists and it is valid, return a new access token for 15 minutes. That's it for the token part, you can login (create refresh token), retrieve an access token and logout (kill refresh token)
How to Use: Authenticate and Authorize
Admin pages should return 403 while the forum board should be different whether you're logging as a guest or an actual user. The first one is authentication, the second authorization.
Let's create two functions for each. Express is quite handy with the next() function
exports.authenticate = function (req, res, next) {
const authHeader = req.headers["authorization"]
const token = authHeader?.split(" ")[1]
jwt.verify(token || "", process.env.ACCESS_TOKEN_SECRET, (err, user) => {
req.user = err ? {} : user
next()
});
};
exports.authorize = function (req, res, next) {
const authHeader = req.headers["authorization"]
const token = authHeader?.split(" ")[1]
if (token == null)
return res.sendStatus(401)
jwt.verify(token, process.env.ACCESS_TOKEN_SECRET, (err, user) => {
if (err) return res.sendStatus(403)
req.user = user
next()
})
}
Now you're done with the whole authentication system (aside some cleanup's) and probably the registration system. Let's make use of it.
Client side you can create a REST api like so:
POST http://localhost:8081/auth/login
Content-Type: application/json
{
"username": "admin",
"password": "abc123"
}
# Returns refresh and access token.
###
DELETE http://localhost:8081/auth/logout
Content-Type: application/json
{
"token": "REFRESH_TOKEN"
}
# Logs out a user.
###
POST http://localhost:8081/auth/token
Content-Type: application/json
{
"token": "REFRESH_TOKEN"
}
#
# This is how you can provide the access token
# when making a request to say a forum api
#
GET http://localhost:8081/forum/api/board/0
Authorization: Bearer ACCESS_TOKEN
Usage:
route.get("forum/board/:id", authenticate, async (req, res) => {
res.send(req.user)
})
Expected Output when going to localhost:8081/forum/board/7 authenticated:
{id:0,username:"admin",password:"abc123"}
Otherwise:
{}
Nevertheless, do not try implementing your own authentication. Really, you shouldn't.
Source
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbsmsi7l3r4

How to set the token to local storage or cookies so that i can allow user to access certain web pages

I am trying to build an authentication system so, i used node , mysql,express for that so now i am simply saving and checking user exist in database can access but now i added JWT to it, so now i want this JWT token to store in localstorage or in cookies so, can someone guide me how can i do so
this is my authentication controller.js
var Cryptr = require('cryptr');
cryptr = new Cryptr('myTotalySecretKey');
var express = require('express');
const ap = express();
var jwt = require('jsonwebtoken');
var connection = require('./../config');
module.exports.authenticate = function (req, res) {
var email = req.body.email;
var password = req.body.password;
connection.query('SELECT * FROM users WHERE email = ?', [email], function (error, results, fields) {
if (error) {
res.json({
status: false,
message: 'there are some error with query'
});
} else {
if (results.length > 0) {
decryptedString = cryptr.decrypt(results[0].password);
if (password == decryptedString) {
jwt.sign({ email, password },
'secretkey',
{ expiresIn: '10days' },
(err, token) => {
console.log('token:' + token);
module.exports = token;
console.log(token);
res.redirect('/home.html');
}
);
} else {
res.redirect('/login.html');
console.log("Wrong Input");
}
}
else {
res.redirect('/login.html');
}
}
});
};
now i want to pass the token value to the local-storage or cookies so that i can restrict someone from acessing a page, i am reallly new to node js so any help would be appriciated

First I should notify you that do not put any secret things like password in jwt payload because the values of the payload could be accessed easily, you can try to copy paste a jwt in jwt.io site and see the payload.
set jwt in cookie like below, this will use express cookie method that does set Http Set-Cookie header:
res.cookie('jwt', generated_cookie)
.redirect('/home.html');
Also if you want to use localStorage you can set jwt in header and then in your code get the jwt from the header of login request and save it in localStorage and after that you should pass it as header in all other request, but this approach is a better solution for api calls like when you use react or vue ...
res.set({x-token: generated_token});
// In your code get
// get token from response
localStorage.setItem('token', token);
// now whenever calling api pass token as header

I show you one solution using jwt token, you choose another way:
Back-end file e.g. api.js
let jwt = require('jsonwebtoken')
let secret = 'yourSecret'; //secret key necessary to encode token
let Cryptr = require('cryptr');
let cryptr = new Cryptr('myTotalySecretKey');
module.exports = function(router,upload) {
function tokenAuth(req, res, next){
let token = req.body.token || req.body.query || req.headers['x-access-token']
if(token){
jwt.verify(token, secret, function(err,decoded){
if(err){
res.json({ authenticated: false, message:'Invalid token'})
} else {
req.decoded = decoded;
next()
}
})
} else {
res.json({success:false, message:'No token provided'});
}
}
router.post('/authenticate', function(req, res){
connection.query('SELECT * FROM users WHERE email = ?', [email], function (error, results, fields){
if(error) {
res.json({ success:false, message: err })
}
if(!results.length){
res.json({success:false, message:'User no found'})
} else if (results.length>0){
if(!req.body.password){
res.json({success:false, message:'Password was not provided'});
} else {
var validPassword = cryptr.decrypt(results[0].password);
if(validPassword === req.body.password){
res.json({success:false, message:'Incorrect password'})
} else {
var token = jwt.sign({username: results[0].username, email: results[0].email}, secret, {expiresIn: '24h'})
res.json({success:true, message:'You have logged in correctly!', token: token })
}
}
}
})
})
//If you want create a route for authenticated users for example comment posts, you can use our `tokenAuth function`
router.post('/post/comment',tokenAuth,function(req,res){
//access only for authenticated users
}
return router
}
This tokenAuth function we'll be use in paths restricted to authenticated users
server file e.g. server.js
const express = require('express');
const app = express();
const port = process.env.PORT || 80;
const http = require('http').Server(app);
const routes = require(path_to_api.js)(router);
app.use('/myApi', routes)
//***Here you should implement more details about your project such as routes, body parsers and other middlewares*****//
//Connect to your database
http.listen(port, ()=> console.log(`Server running on ${port}`))
Front-end file e.g. controller.js
function(login){
return fetch('/myApi/authenticate',{
method: 'POST',
headers: {
'Content-Type': 'application/json',
},
body: JSON.stringify(login)
}).then(result=>result.json()).then(data=> window.localStorage.setItem('token', data.token))
}
//`login` argument should be an object and should be like {username: 'user username', password: 'user password'}

In order to make a user store cookies, you can use the Set-Cookie header. From MDN:
Set-Cookie: <cookie-name>=<cookie-value>
In order to pass a header using Express, you can use res.set(), e.g. res.set("Set-Cookie", "Token=" + token). I also suggest you use the HttpOnly cookie directive, since it seems from your post that you don't access this token directly via Javascript and you simply want to check it when the client requests a webpage: res.set("Set-Cookie", "Token=" + token + "; HttpOnly").
The client will send the Cookie header to you when it requests a resource. You can check this header using req.header('Cookie'), and the output will be "Token=<token>" if the user is authenticated. You can then check this token for authenticity.

How to set authorization header in node js?

Hello I am working on node application in which I am working on jsonwebtokens,passport-jwt.I created application backend side and working fine on postman but I stuck on front end side. when i send token in headers in postman then token based page open on postman fine but on front side display unauthorized.How can i send token in header so that this page also open on front end side.
My code:
app.post("/login", function(req, res) {
if(req.body.name && req.body.password){
var name = req.body.name;
var password = req.body.password;
}
var user = users[_.findIndex(users, {name: name})];
if( ! user ){
res.status(401).json({message:"no such user found"});
}
if(user.password === req.body.password) {
// from now on we'll identify the user by the id and the id is the only personalized value that goes into our token
var payload = {id: user.id};
var token = jwt.sign(payload, jwtOptions.secretOrKey);
//res.json({message: "ok", token: token});
res.redirect('/secret')
} else {
res.status(401).json({message:"passwords did not match"});
}
});
app.get("/secret", passport.authenticate('jwt', { session: false }), function(req, res){
res.json("Success! You can not see this without a token");
});
Where am i doing wrong??

in your /login you can save them tokens in a sessionStorage for future use...
something like this
if(user.password === req.body.password) {
....
var payload = {id: user.id};
var token = jwt.sign(payload, jwtOptions.secretOrKey);
req.session.token = token ;
}
}
use this session to update sessionStorage on client side
here is an article that is what you need for keeping logged in post login...
also you need to destroy the cookies on Logout

if you are getting token,you can send it as:
**
let headers = new Headers({ 'Content-Type': 'application/json',
'Authorization': 'Bearer ' + this.token });
**

Increase the timeout of one time OTP in node js

I am using speakeasy library to generate one time OTP https://www.npmjs.com/package/speakeasy
var token = speakeasy.totp({
secret: secret.base32,
encoding: 'base32',
step:300
});
console.log(token);
var verified = speakeasy.totp.verify({
secret: secret.base32,
encoding: 'base32',
token: token
});
console.log(verified);
But when i add the step parameter value to 300 (expire token after 5 minutes)i will get false on console.log(verified)
So whats the correct way to increase the token expiration time?

Please try with the time option. With the time option, you can get a time-based token for a custom time.
var token = speakeasy.totp({
secret: secret.base32,
encoding: 'base32',
time: 1453667708 // specified in seconds
});
Hope it will help you!

Issue with client-session middleware: req.session_state = undefined after being set

I've hit a bit of a problem getting client-session middleware working in Express. In short the session_state doesn't seem to be accessible when redirecting to new route after being set. For reference I have followed this video tutorial (client-session part starts 36:00 approx.) and double checked my steps but still encountering problems. Middleware is set up as follows:
var sessions = require('client-sessions');
Instantiated with code from the Express website.
app.use(sessions({
cookieName: 'session',
secret: 'iljkhhjfebxjmvjnnshxhgoidhsja',
duration: 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000,
activeDuration: 1000 * 60 * 5
}));
I have the sessions middleware placed between bodyParser and routes if that makes any difference.
Here are the sections my routes/index.js pertaining to the issue. The req.session_state seems to get set ok and the correct user details log to the console.
// POST login form
router.post('/login', function(req, res) {
User.findOne( { email: req.body.email }, function(err,user){
if(!user) {
console.log("User not found...");
res.render('login.jade',
{ message: 'Are you sure that is the correct email?'} );
} else {
if(req.body.password === user.password) {
// User gets saved and object logs correctly in the console
req.session_state = user;
console.log("session user...", req.session_state);
res.redirect('/dashboard');
}
}
//res.render('login.jade', { message: 'Invalid password'} );
});
});
However, something is going wrong when the res.redirect('/dashboard'); is run because the session_state is not accessible when it hits that route. Here is the code for the /dashboard route.
router.get('/dashboard', function(req, res) {
// OUTPUT = 'undefined' ???
console.log("dash...", req.session_state);
// 'if' fails and falls through to /login redirect
if(req.session && req.session_state){
console.log("dash route...", req.session_state);
User.findOne( { email: req.session_state.email }, function
(err, user){
if(!user){
req.session.reset();
res.redirect('/login');
} else {
res.locals.user = user;
res.render('dashboard.jade')
}
});
} else {
res.redirect('/login');
}
//res.render('dashboard', { title: 'Your Dashboard' });
});
Basically, the object stored in session_state is not accessible after the /dashboard redirect. I've been trying to debug it for a day or so without any luck. Any help much appreciated. Sorry if I am missing something obvious. Just getting my feet wet with session middleware so maybe I haven't fully grasped Session or I am overlooking something. Thanks in advance!

I've updated my answer with code that should help you set the cookie and an alternative session manager known as a token. In this example I've provided to parts to a middle ware one part which attaches the cookie (this can be expanded on to determine your use case) and the second part which checks the token for expiration or what ever else might be in there (i.e. audience, issuer, etc.)
app.use('/js/',function(req, res, next) {
//check if the request has a token or if the request has an associated username
if(!req.headers.cookie){
console.log('no cookies were found')
var token = jwt.sign({user_token_name:req.body.user_name},app.get('superSecret'), {
expiresIn: 1 *100 *60 // expires in 1 mintue can be what ever you feel is neccessary
});
//make a token and attach it to the body
// req.body.token = token // this is just placing the token as a payload
res.cookie('austin.nodeschool' , token,{ maxAge: 100000, httpOnly: true }) //this sets the cookie to the string austin.nodeschool
}
if(req.body.user_name){
next()
}else{
res.send('request did not have a username').end() // this is here because my middleware also requires a username to be associated with requests to my API, this could easily be an ID or token.
}
},function(req, res, next) {
// console.log(req.headers) this is here to show you the avilable headers to parse through and to have a visual of whats being passed to this function
if(req.headers.cookie){
console.log(req.headers.cookie) //the cookie has the name of the cookie equal to the cookie.
var equals = '=';
var inboundCookie = req.headers.cookie
var cookieInfo = splitCookie(inboundCookie,equals) //splitCookie is a function that takes the inbound cookie and splits it from the name of the cookie and returns an array as seen below.
console.log(cookieInfo)
var decoded = jwt.verify(cookieInfo[1], app.get('superSecret'));
console.log(decoded)
// You could check to see if there is an access_token in the database if there is one
// see if the decoded content still matches. If anything is missing issue a new token
// set the token in the database for later assuming you want to
// You could simply check if it's expired and if so send them to the login if not allow them to proceed through the route.
}
next()
});