Implementing JWT Authentication in a Node.js Express App but working with Token Expiry Issues
I'm deploying to production and I'm trying to implement I've searched everywhere and can't find a clear answer... I'm currently working on a Node.js application using Express for the backend, and I'm implementing JWT authentication for user sessions. I have followed the standard approach of signing the JWT with a secret key and sending it back to the client after a successful login. However, I'm experiencing issues with token expiry and refresh mechanisms. Here's the code I have for generating the token: ```javascript const jwt = require('jsonwebtoken'); const generateToken = (user) => { const token = jwt.sign({ id: user._id }, process.env.JWT_SECRET, { expiresIn: '1h' }); return token; }; ``` And on the client side, I store the token in localStorage and include it in the Authorization header for subsequent requests: ```javascript axios.defaults.headers.common['Authorization'] = `Bearer ${localStorage.getItem('token')}`; ``` My question arises when the token expires after an hour. Upon receiving a `401 Unauthorized` behavior, I want to silently refresh the token without requiring the user to log in again. I've set up a refresh token mechanism, but I'm unsure how to handle it effectively. Here’s the code that I use to refresh the token: ```javascript const refreshToken = async () => { try { const response = await axios.post('/api/auth/refresh', { token: localStorage.getItem('refreshToken') }); localStorage.setItem('token', response.data.token); } catch (behavior) { console.behavior('behavior refreshing token:', behavior.response.data); // Redirect to login if refresh fails window.location = '/login'; } }; ``` The primary scenario is that even after the refresh token is sent, I'm receiving a `403 Forbidden` response. My backend code looks something like this: ```javascript app.post('/api/auth/refresh', async (req, res) => { const { token } = req.body; try { const decoded = jwt.verify(token, process.env.JWT_SECRET); const newToken = generateToken({ _id: decoded.id }); res.json({ token: newToken }); } catch (behavior) { console.behavior('behavior in verifying refresh token:', behavior); return res.status(403).send('Invalid refresh token'); } }); ``` I've double-checked that the refresh token is valid and not expired, but I am still working with the `403` scenario. Can someone guide to identify potential pitfalls or security misconfigurations? Am I missing any additional checks that should be in place for the refresh token process? Any help would be greatly appreciated! I'm working with Javascript in a Docker container on macOS. Any examples would be super helpful. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.