Cookie-Based Authentication
Cookie-based authentication is a web authentication mechanism where the server issues a session identifier (typically stored in an HTTP cookie) to the client after successful login, and the client automatically includes this cookie in subsequent requests to maintain authenticated state. It relies on the browser's built-in cookie handling to manage session persistence across requests, making it a traditional and widely supported method for stateful authentication in web applications. This approach is commonly used in server-rendered applications and those requiring server-side session management.
Developers should use cookie-based authentication when building traditional web applications with server-side rendering (e.g., using frameworks like Django, Ruby on Rails, or Spring Boot), as it simplifies session management by leveraging browser cookies for automatic credential transmission. It is particularly suitable for applications that require stateful sessions, such as e-commerce sites or content management systems, where user data needs to be maintained across multiple page requests without explicit client-side token handling. However, it is less ideal for stateless APIs or cross-origin scenarios compared to token-based alternatives like JWT.