Implementing Authentication and Authorization in React Applications

Authentication and authorization are critical aspects of modern web applications. This guide explores how to implement secure user authentication and role-based authorization in React applications using JWT and Context API.

Understanding Authentication vs. Authorization

Before diving into implementation, it's important to understand the difference between these two concepts:

• Authentication: Verifies the identity of a user (who they are)
• Authorization: Determines what resources a user can access (what they can do)

JWT Authentication Flow

JSON Web Tokens (JWT) provide a stateless authentication mechanism that works well with React applications:

1. User submits login credentials
2. Server validates credentials and returns a JWT
3. Client stores the JWT (localStorage, cookies, etc.)
4. JWT is sent with subsequent requests to protected routes
5. Server validates the JWT for each protected request

Coming Soon...

This post is currently being written. Check back soon for the complete guide with code examples for:

• Setting up the authentication context
• Creating login and registration forms
• Implementing protected routes
• Role-based authorization
• Handling token refresh
• Security best practices