JWT Auth Demo

A lightweight, open-source ASP.NET Core application demonstrating JWT (JSON Web Token) authentication implementation.

It’s a companion to my post, where I dive deeper.

Overview

JWT Auth Demo is a simple yet comprehensive example of how to implement JWT-based authentication in ASP.NET Core applications. This project serves as both a reference implementation and a starting point for developers looking to add secure authentication to their web applications.

Features

• JWT token generation and validation
• User authentication with in-memory database
• Secure password handling
• Protected API endpoints
• Clean, easy-to-understand architecture

Technology Stack

• ASP.NET Core (.NET 9.0)
• Entity Framework Core with In-Memory Database
• JWT Bearer Authentication

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• .NET 9.0 SDK or later
• Any code editor (Visual Studio, VS Code, JetBrains Rider, etc.)

Installation

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/yourusername/jwt-auth-demo.git
   cd jwt-auth-demo

2. Build the application

   dotnet build

3. Run the application

   dotnet run

The application will start on https://localhost:5001 by default.

Usage

Authentication

To authenticate and receive a JWT token:

POST /api/auth/login
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "username": "[email protected]",
  "password": "yourpassword"
}

Using the Token

Include the token in the Authorization header for subsequent requests:

GET /api/protected-resource
Authorization: Bearer your_jwt_token_here

Project Structure

• Controllers/ - API endpoints
• Data/ - Database context and models
• Services/ - Business logic including authentication service

Configuration

JWT settings can be configured in the appsettings.json file:

{
  "Jwt": {
    "Key": "your-secret-key-here",
    "Issuer": "your-issuer",
    "Audience": "your-audience",
    "ExpiryInMinutes": 60
  }
}

⚠️ Note: For production use, ensure you use a strong secret key stored securely (not in your source code).

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

1. Fork the repository
2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some amazing feature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
5. Open a Pull Request

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgments

• ASP.NET Core team for the excellent authentication framework
• The open-source community for inspiration and guidance