JWT Authentication — 7 Common Mistakes Developers Make (And How to Fix Them)

Short summary

JWTs are powerful but dangerous when misconfigured in production. This tutorial details 7 critical mistakes: storing tokens in localStorage, using jwt.decode() without verification, missing expirations, weak secrets, sensitive payload data, and refresh token strategy gaps. Each includes code fixes and a production-ready checklist for secure authentication.

• •Store JWT in httpOnly cookies, never localStorage
• •Always set token expiration and implement refresh tokens
• •Use strong environment-stored secrets and jwt.verify() not jwt.decode()

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