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Implement an Express.js authentication middleware to protect routes from unauthorized access.

Steilla Mitchel17626-Jul-2023

Implement an Express.js authentication middleware to protect routes from unauthorized access.

javascriptjavascript express js mern 
Updated on 27-Jul-2023
Steilla Mitchel

Steilla Mitchel

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Aryan Kumar

Aryan Kumar

27-Jul-2023

Sure, here is an example of how you can implement an Express.js authentication middleware to protect routes from unauthorized access:

JavaScript

const express = require('express');
const jwt = require('jsonwebtoken');

const authMiddleware = (req, res, next) => {
  const token = req.headers['authorization'];
  if (!token) {
    return res.status(401).send('Unauthorized');
  }

  try {
    const decodedToken = jwt.decode(token, process.env.JWT_SECRET);
    req.user = decodedToken.user;
  } catch (error) {
    return res.status(401).send('Unauthorized');
  }

  next();
};

module.exports = authMiddleware;

This middleware first checks the authorization header in the request. If the header is not present, the middleware returns a 401 Unauthorized response.

If the header is present, the middleware extracts the token from the header and decodes it using the jwt library. The decode() method returns an object containing the decoded token, including the user's ID.

The middleware then stores the user's ID in the req.user property. This property can then be accessed by other middleware or routes to check if the user is authorized to access the resource.

Finally, the middleware calls the next() function to continue the request processing.

To use this middleware, you would need to add it to your Express application. For example, you could add it to the app.use() method:

app.use(authMiddleware);

This would add the middleware to all routes in the application. You could also add the middleware to specific routes by using the app.route() method:

app.route('/protected').use(authMiddleware);

This would add the middleware to the /protected route only.

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