JWT vs OpenID Connect

The stateless authentication darling that everyone uses but often misuses, leading to security headaches meets oauth 2. Here's our take.

JWT

Nice Pick

The stateless authentication darling that everyone uses but often misuses, leading to security headaches.

Pros

• Stateless and scalable for distributed systems
• Self-contained with all necessary info in the token
• Easy to implement with widespread library support

Cons

• Tokens can't be revoked without extra infrastructure
• Prone to security issues if not properly validated

OpenID Connect

OAuth 2.0's identity upgrade. Because who doesn't want a standardized way to know who's logging in?

Pros

• Built on OAuth 2.0, so it's widely supported and integrates seamlessly with existing authorization flows
• Uses JWTs for secure, self-contained identity tokens that are easy to validate and parse
• Provides standardized user profile claims, reducing custom implementation headaches
• Enables single sign-on (SSO) across multiple applications without reinventing the wheel

Cons

• Adds complexity on top of OAuth 2.0, which can be overkill for simple authentication needs
• Requires careful JWT validation and key management to avoid security pitfalls

The Verdict

These tools serve different purposes. JWT is a authentication while OpenID Connect is a ai coding tools. We picked JWT based on overall popularity, but your choice depends on what you're building.

The Bottom Line

JWT wins

Based on overall popularity. JWT is more widely used, but OpenID Connect excels in its own space.