JWT Authentication
JWT (JSON Web Token) Authentication is a stateless authentication mechanism where a server generates a token containing encoded claims (like user identity and permissions) as a JSON object, which is then signed and sent to the client. The client includes this token in subsequent requests, allowing the server to verify it without storing session data, making it ideal for distributed systems and APIs. It's widely used in web and mobile applications to securely transmit information between parties.
Developers should use JWT Authentication when building stateless APIs, microservices, or single-page applications (SPAs) that require scalable, cross-domain authentication without server-side session storage. It's particularly useful for scenarios like mobile app logins, third-party API integrations, and real-time applications where tokens can be easily validated and contain custom claims for authorization. However, it's not suitable for highly sensitive data without additional encryption, as tokens are encoded but not encrypted by default.