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JSON Web Almost Everything - JWA, JWS, JWE, JWK, JWT, JWKS for Node.js with minimal dependencies
The 'jose' npm package is a JavaScript library that provides a variety of cryptographic operations based on JSON Web Tokens (JWT), JSON Web Encryption (JWE), JSON Web Signature (JWS), and JSON Web Key (JWK). It is designed to be compliant with the JOSE (JSON Object Signing and Encryption) suite of standards, and it supports various algorithms for encryption, decryption, signing, and verification of tokens.
JWT Signing
This code sample demonstrates how to create and sign a JWT with a specified algorithm and secret.
const { SignJWT } = require('jose');
const jwt = await new SignJWT({ 'urn:example:claim': true })
.setProtectedHeader({ alg: 'HS256' })
.setIssuedAt()
.setIssuer('urn:example:issuer')
.setAudience('urn:example:audience')
.setExpirationTime('2h')
.sign(new TextEncoder().encode('your-256-bit-secret'));
console.log(jwt);
JWT Verification
This code sample shows how to verify a JWT using a secret key and retrieve the payload and protected header.
const { jwtVerify } = require('jose');
const { payload, protectedHeader } = await jwtVerify(jwt, new TextEncoder().encode('your-256-bit-secret'));
console.log(payload);
console.log(protectedHeader);
JWE Encryption
This code sample illustrates how to encrypt a JWT using RSA-OAEP-256 for key management and A256GCM for content encryption.
const { EncryptJWT } = require('jose');
const jwe = await new EncryptJWT({ 'urn:example:claim': true })
.setProtectedHeader({ alg: 'RSA-OAEP-256', enc: 'A256GCM' })
.setIssuedAt()
.setIssuer('urn:example:issuer')
.setAudience('urn:example:audience')
.setExpirationTime('2h')
.encrypt(publicKey);
console.log(jwe);
JWE Decryption
This code sample demonstrates how to decrypt a JWE and obtain the payload and protected header using a private key.
const { jwtDecrypt } = require('jose');
const { payload, protectedHeader } = await jwtDecrypt(jwe, privateKey);
console.log(payload);
console.log(protectedHeader);
JWK Key Generation
This code sample shows how to generate a public and private key pair for the RS256 algorithm.
const { generateKeyPair } = require('jose');
const { publicKey, privateKey } = await generateKeyPair('RS256');
console.log(publicKey);
console.log(privateKey);
The 'jsonwebtoken' package is similar to 'jose' in that it provides functionality for creating and verifying JWTs. It is widely used and has a simpler API for basic JWT operations, but it does not support JWE or more advanced JOSE features.
The 'node-jose' package is another alternative that implements the JOSE suite of standards. It offers similar functionalities to 'jose' but has a different API design and may have different performance characteristics.
The 'jws' package is focused on JSON Web Signatures (JWS). It is a simpler library that allows signing and verifying messages but does not handle JWTs, JWEs, or JWKs directly.
"JSON Web Almost Everything" - JWA, JWS, JWE, JWT, JWK, JWKS for Node.js with minimal dependencies
The following specifications are implemented by jose
The test suite utilizes examples defined in RFC7520 to confirm its JOSE implementation is correct.
Available JWT validation profiles
Legend:
JWK Key Types | Supported | kty |
---|---|---|
RSA | ✓ | RSA |
Elliptic Curve | ✓ | EC (P-256, secp256k1, P-384, P-521) |
Octet Key Pair | ✓ | OKP (Ed25519, Ed448, X25519, X448) |
Octet sequence | ✓ | oct |
Serialization | JWS Sign | JWS Verify | JWE Encrypt | JWE Decrypt |
---|---|---|---|---|
Compact | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
General JSON | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Flattened JSON | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
JWS Algorithms | Supported | |
---|---|---|
RSASSA-PKCS1-v1_5 | ✓ | RS256, RS384, RS512 |
RSASSA-PSS | ✓ | PS256, PS384, PS512 |
ECDSA | ✓ | ES256, ES256K, ES384, ES512 |
Edwards-curve DSA | ✓ | EdDSA |
HMAC with SHA-2 | ✓ | HS256, HS384, HS512 |
JWE Key Management Algorithms | Supported | |
---|---|---|
AES | ✓ | A128KW, A192KW, A256KW |
AES GCM | ✓ | A128GCMKW, A192GCMKW, A256GCMKW |
Direct Key Agreement | ✓ | dir |
RSAES OAEP | ✓ | RSA-OAEP, RSA-OAEP-256 |
RSAES-PKCS1-v1_5 | ✓ | RSA1_5 |
PBES2 | ✓ | PBES2-HS256+A128KW, PBES2-HS384+A192KW, PBES2-HS512+A256KW |
ECDH-ES (for all EC keys) | ✓ | ECDH-ES, ECDH-ES+A128KW, ECDH-ES+A192KW, ECDH-ES+A256KW |
ECDH-ES (for OKP X25519) | ✓ via plugin | ECDH-ES, ECDH-ES+A128KW, ECDH-ES+A192KW, ECDH-ES+A256KW |
ECDH-ES (for OKP X449) | ✕ | |
(X)ChaCha | ✓ via plugin | C20PKW, X20CPKW, ECDH-ES+C20PKW, ECDH-ES+XC20PKW |
JWE Content Encryption Algorithms | Supported | |
---|---|---|
AES GCM | ✓ | A128GCM, A192GCM, A256GCM |
AES_CBC_HMAC_SHA2 | ✓ | A128CBC-HS256, A192CBC-HS384, A256CBC-HS512 |
(X)ChaCha | ✓ via plugin | C20P, X20CP |
JWT profile validation | Supported | profile option value |
---|---|---|
ID Token - OpenID Connect Core 1.0 | ✓ | id_token |
JWT Access Tokens JWT Profile for OAuth 2.0 Access Tokens | ◯ | |
Logout Token - OpenID Connect Back-Channel Logout 1.0 | ◯ | |
JARM - JWT Secured Authorization Response Mode for OAuth 2.0 | ◯ |
Notes
x5c
is only supported when Node.js >= 12.0.0 runtime is detectedPending Node.js Support 🤞:
Won't implement:
x5c
, jwk
) to JWK.asKey
and validate with that
key, similarly the application can handle fetching and then instantiating the referenced x5u
or jku
in its own code. This way you opt-in to these behaviours.Have a question about using jose
? - ask.
Found a bug? - report it.
Missing a feature? - If it wasn't already discussed before, ask for it.
Found a vulnerability? - Reach out to us via email first, see security vulnerability disclosure.
If you want to quickly add secure token-based authentication to Node.js projects, feel free to check Auth0’s free plan at auth0.com/overview.
If you or your business use jose
, please consider becoming a sponsor so I can continue maintaining it and adding new features carefree.
There are two plugin extensions with functionality which is either not available in Node.js crypto
module yet and therefore needs a crypto polyfill (libsodium), or are not IETF WG standards/drafts
"worthy" of landing in the core library.
For the best performance Node.js version >=12.0.0 is recommended, but ^10.13.0 lts/dubnium is also supported.
Installing jose
npm install jose
Usage
const jose = require('jose')
const {
JWE, // JSON Web Encryption (JWE)
JWK, // JSON Web Key (JWK)
JWKS, // JSON Web Key Set (JWKS)
JWS, // JSON Web Signature (JWS)
JWT, // JSON Web Token (JWT)
errors // errors utilized by jose
} = jose
Prepare your Keys and KeyStores. See the documentation for more.
const key = jose.JWK.asKey(fs.readFileSync('path/to/key/file'))
const jwk = { kty: 'EC',
kid: 'dl4M_fcI7XoFCsQ22PYrQBkuxZ2pDcbDimcdFmmXM98',
crv: 'P-256',
x: 'v37avifcL-xgh8cy6IFzcINqqmFLc2JF20XUpn4Y2uQ',
y: 'QTwy27XgP7ZMOdGOSopAHB-FU1JMQn3J9GEWGtUXreQ' }
const anotherKey = jose.JWK.asKey(jwk)
const keystore = new jose.JWKS.KeyStore(key, key2)
The JWT module provides IANA registered claim type and format validations on top of JWS as well as convenience options for verifying UNIX timestamps, setting maximum allowed JWT age, verifying audiences, and more.
The JWS module on the other hand handles the other JWS Serialization Syntaxes with all their additional available features and allows signing of any payload, i.e. not just serialized JSON objects.
Sign with a private or symmetric key with plethora of convenience options. See the documentation for more.
jose.JWT.sign(
{ 'urn:example:claim': 'foo' },
privateKey,
{
algorithm: 'PS256',
audience: 'urn:example:client_id',
expiresIn: '1 hour',
header: {
typ: 'JWT'
},
issuer: 'https://op.example.com'
}
)
Verify with a public or symmetric key with plethora of convenience options. See the documentation for more.
jose.JWT.verify(
'eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJQUzI1NiIsImtpZCI6IjRQQXBsVkJIN0toS1ZqN0xob0RFM0VVQnNGc0hvaTRhSmxBZGstM3JuME0ifQ.eyJ1cm46ZXhhbXBsZTpjbGFpbSI6ImZvbyIsImF1ZCI6InVybjpleGFtcGxlOmNsaWVudF9pZCIsImlzcyI6Imh0dHBzOi8vb3AuZXhhbXBsZS5jb20iLCJpYXQiOjE1NTEyOTI2MjksImV4cCI6MTU1MTI5NjIyOX0.nE5fgRL8gvlStf_wB4mJ0TSXVmhJRnUVQuZ0ts6a1nWnnk0Rv69bEJ12BoMdpyPrGa_W6dxU4HFj89F4pQwW0kqBK2-TZ_n9lq-iqupj46w_lpKOfPC3clVc7ZmqYF81bEA-nX93cSKqVV-qPNPEFenb8XHKszYhBFu_uiRg9rXj2qXVU7PXGJAGTzhVgVxB-3XDB1bQ_6KiDCwzVPftrHxEYLydRCaHzggDg6sAFUhQqhPguKuE2gs6jVUh_gIL2RXeoLoinx6gZ72rfovaOmud-yzNIUN8Tvo0pqBmx0s_lEhTlfrQCzN7hZNmV1eG0GDDE-S_CfZhPePnVJZoRA',
publicKey,
{
issuer: 'https://op.example.com',
audience: 'urn:example:client_id',
algorithms: ['PS256']
}
)
ID Token is a JWT, but profiled, there are additional requirements to a JWT to be accepted as an
ID Token and it is pretty easy to omit some, use the profile
option of JWT.verify
to make sure
what you're accepting is really an ID Token meant to your Client. This will then perform all
doable validations given the input. See the documentation for more.
jose.JWT.verify(
'eyJhbGciOiJQUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCIsImtpZCI6InIxTGtiQm8zOTI1UmIyWkZGckt5VTNNVmV4OVQyODE3S3gwdmJpNmlfS2MifQ.eyJzdWIiOiJmb28iLCJub25jZSI6ImE1MWNjZjA4ZjRiYmIwNmU4ODcxNWRkYzRiYmI0MWQ4IiwiYXVkIjoidXJuOmV4YW1wbGU6Y2xpZW50X2lkIiwiZXhwIjoxNTYzODg4ODMwLCJpYXQiOjE1NjM4ODUyMzAsImlzcyI6Imh0dHBzOi8vb3AuZXhhbXBsZS5jb20ifQ.RKCZczgICF5G9XdNDSwe4dolGauQHptpFKPzahA2wYGG2HKrKhyC8ZzqpeVc8cbntuqFBgABJVv6_9YICRx_dgwPYydTpZfZYjHnxrdWF9QsIPEGs672mrnhqIXUnXoseZ0TF6GOq6P7Qbf6gk1ru7TAbr_ieyJnNWcJhh5iHpz1k3mFz0TyTh7UNXshtQXftPUipqz4OBni5r9UaZXHw8B3QYOnms8__GJ3owOxaqkr1jgRs_EWqMlBNjPaj7ElVaeBWljDKuoK673tH0heSpgzUmUX_W8IDUVqs33uglpZwAQC7cAA5mGEg2odcRpvpP5M-WaP4RE9dl9jzcYmrw',
keystore,
{
profile: 'id_token',
issuer: 'https://op.example.com',
audience: 'urn:example:client_id',
nonce: 'a51ccf08f4bbb06e88715ddc4bbb41d8',
algorithms: ['PS256']
}
)
Note: Depending on the channel you receive an ID Token from the following claims may be required
and must also be checked: at_hash
, c_hash
or s_hash
. Use e.g. oidc-token-hash
to validate those hashes after getting the ID Token payload and signature validated by jose
Sign with a private or symmetric key using compact serialization. See the documentation for more.
jose.JWS.sign(
{ sub: 'johndoe' },
privateKey,
{ kid: privateKey.kid }
)
Verify with a public or symmetric key. See the documentation for more.
jose.JWS.verify(
'eyJhbGciOiJFUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJqb2huZG9lIn0.T_SYLQV3A5_kFDDVNuoadoURSEtuSOR-dG2CMmrP-ULK9xbIf2vYeiHOkvTrnqGlWEGBGxYtsP1VkXmNsi1uOw',
publicKey
)
Encrypt using the recipient's public key or a shared symmetrical secret. See the documentation for more.
jose.JWE.encrypt(
'eyJhbGciOiJFUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJqb2huZG9lIn0.T_SYLQV3A5_kFDDVNuoadoURSEtuSOR-dG2CMmrP-ULK9xbIf2vYeiHOkvTrnqGlWEGBGxYtsP1VkXmNsi1uOw',
publicKey,
{ kid: publicKey.kid }
)
Decrypt using the private key or a shared symmetrical secret. See the documentation for more.
jose.JWE.decrypt(
'eyJlbmMiOiJBMTI4Q0JDLUhTMjU2IiwiYWxnIjoiRUNESC1FUyIsImVwayI6eyJrdHkiOiJFQyIsImNydiI6IlAtMjU2IiwieCI6IkVsUGhsN1ljTVZsWkhHM0daSkRoOVJhemNYYlN2VFNheUF6aTBINFFtRUEiLCJ5IjoiM0hDREJTRy12emd6cGtLWmJqMU05UzVuUEJrTDBBdFM4U29ORUxMWE1SayJ9fQ..FhmidRo0twvFA7jcfKFNJw.o112vgiG_qUL1JR5WHpsErcxxgaK_FAa7vCWJ--WulndLpdwdRXHd9k3aL_k8K67xoAThrt10d7dSY2TlPpHdYkw979u0V-C4TNrpzNkv5jpBjU6hHyKpoGZfEsiTD1ivHaFy3ZLCTS69kN_eVKsZGLVf_dkq6Sz6bWE4-ln_fuwukPyMvjTyaTreLjPLBZW.ocKwptCm4Zn437L5hWFnHg',
privateKey
)
Note: the secp256k1 JOSE parameters registration and the RFC is still in a draft state. If the WG draft changes its mind about the parameter names again the new values will be propagated as a MINOR library version.
When you require jose
you can work with secp256k1
EC keys right away, the EC JWK crv
used is as per the specification secp256k1
.
const jose = require('jose')
let key = jose.JWK.generateSync('EC', 'secp256k1')
key = jose.JWK.asKey(fs.readFileSync('path/to/key/file'))
key.crv === 'secp256k1'
For legacy reasons the unregistered EC JWK crv
value P-256K
is also supported but you must
require jose
like so to use it:
const jose = require('jose/P-256K')
let key = jose.JWK.generateSync('EC', 'P-256K')
key = jose.JWK.asKey(fs.readFileSync('path/to/key/file'))
key.crv === 'P-256K'
Electron >=6.0.0 runtime is supported to the extent of the crypto engine BoringSSL feature parity with standard Node.js OpenSSL. The following is disabled in Electron runtime because of its lack of support.
A128KW
, A192KW
and A256KW
algorithms are not available, this also means that other JWAs
depending on those are not working, those are ECDH-ES+A128KW
, ECDH-ES+A192KW
,
ECDH-ES+A256KW
, PBES2-HS256+A128KW
, PBES2-HS384+A192KW
, PBES2-HS512+A256KW
)Ed448
, X25519
and X448
are not supportedsecp256k1
is not supportedYes. Everything that's either exported in the TypeScript definitions file or documented is subject to Semantic Versioning 2.0.0. The rest is to be considered private API and is subject to change between any versions.
It is only built for >=10.13.0 Node.js environment - including jose
in transpiled
browser-environment targeted projects is not supported and may result in unexpected results.
jws
, jwa
or jsonwebtoken
?node-jose
node-jose
is built to work in any javascript runtime, to be able to do that it packs a lot of
backfill and javascript implementation code in the form of
node-forge
, this significantly increases the footprint
of the module with dependencies that either aren't ever used or have native implementation available
in Node.js already, those are often times faster and more reliable.
crypto
the direct
dependency count will go down from 1 to 0. 🚀I was using node-jose
for
openid-client
and
oidc-provider
and came to realize its shortcomings
in terms of performance and API (not having well defined errors).
+ this was an amazing opportunity to learn JOSE as a whole
FAQs
JWA, JWS, JWE, JWT, JWK, JWKS for Node.js, Browser, Cloudflare Workers, Deno, Bun, and other Web-interoperable runtimes
The npm package jose receives a total of 8,560,422 weekly downloads. As such, jose popularity was classified as popular.
We found that jose demonstrated a healthy version release cadence and project activity because the last version was released less than a year ago. It has 1 open source maintainer collaborating on the project.
Did you know?
Socket for GitHub automatically highlights issues in each pull request and monitors the health of all your open source dependencies. Discover the contents of your packages and block harmful activity before you install or update your dependencies.
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