Examples

Nim Authentication API

Building an Authentication API

Nim authentication API uses JWT for secure endpoints.

Introduction to JWT in Nim

JSON Web Tokens (JWT) are a compact, URL-safe means of representing claims to be transferred between two parties. In the context of Nim, JWTs are often used to secure API endpoints by ensuring that the requests are authenticated. This section will guide you through the basics of integrating JWT into your Nim applications for authentication purposes.

Setting Up a Nim Project

To begin, you'll need to set up a Nim project. If you haven't already installed Nim, you can do so by following the instructions on the official Nim installation page. Once Nim is installed, create a new project directory and initialize it:

Installing Required Packages

Next, you need to install the jwt and jester packages, which are essential for handling JWTs and creating a simple HTTP server, respectively. Add these dependencies to your my_auth_project.nimble file:

Creating a Basic Server with Jester

We'll begin by creating a simple HTTP server using Jester. This server will handle authentication requests and verify JWTs. Here's a basic setup:

Generating and Verifying JWTs

In the code above, generateToken is a utility function that creates a JWT using a secret key and a payload. The payload contains the claims you want to encode in the JWT. To verify a token, you can use the verifyJwt function:

Securing Endpoints with JWT

To secure an endpoint, you need to ensure that each request contains a valid JWT. You can achieve this by checking the token at the beginning of each request handler:

Conclusion and Next Steps

In this example, you've learned how to set up a Nim server that uses JWT for authentication. By generating and verifying tokens, you can secure your application endpoints effectively. As you proceed to the next topic in this series, you'll explore database CRUD operations to complement your authentication setup.

Examples

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