Client Session vs Token Based Authentication

Developers should learn and use Client Sessions when building interactive web applications that require state persistence, such as e-commerce sites (to track shopping carts), social media platforms (to maintain login status), or single-page applications (SPAs) that need to cache user data locally meets developers should use token based authentication when building stateless apis, such as restful or graphql services, as it scales well by eliminating server-side session storage and supports cross-origin requests in single page applications (spas) and mobile apps. Here's our take.

Client Session

Nice Pick

Developers should learn and use Client Sessions when building interactive web applications that require state persistence, such as e-commerce sites (to track shopping carts), social media platforms (to maintain login status), or single-page applications (SPAs) that need to cache user data locally

Pros

• It reduces server load by offloading state management to the client, improves performance by minimizing server requests, and enhances user experience by enabling features like remembering user preferences or maintaining authentication across browser sessions
• Related to: cookies, local-storage

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

Token Based Authentication

Developers should use Token Based Authentication when building stateless APIs, such as RESTful or GraphQL services, as it scales well by eliminating server-side session storage and supports cross-origin requests in Single Page Applications (SPAs) and mobile apps

Pros

• It is ideal for microservices architectures where services need to verify user identity without shared session stores, and for implementing features like single sign-on (SSO) across multiple applications
• Related to: json-web-tokens, oauth-2

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

The Verdict

Use Client Session if: You want it reduces server load by offloading state management to the client, improves performance by minimizing server requests, and enhances user experience by enabling features like remembering user preferences or maintaining authentication across browser sessions and can live with specific tradeoffs depend on your use case.

Use Token Based Authentication if: You prioritize it is ideal for microservices architectures where services need to verify user identity without shared session stores, and for implementing features like single sign-on (sso) across multiple applications over what Client Session offers.

The Bottom Line

Client Session wins

Developers should learn and use Client Sessions when building interactive web applications that require state persistence, such as e-commerce sites (to track shopping carts), social media platforms (to maintain login status), or single-page applications (SPAs) that need to cache user data locally