jose
"JSON Web Almost Everything" - JWA, JWS, JWE, JWT, JWK, JWKS for Node.js with minimal dependencies
![](https://github.com/panva/jose/raw/HEAD/img/demo.gif?raw=true)
Implemented specs & features
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
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.
Support
If you or your business use jose
, please consider becoming a sponsor so I can continue maintaining it and adding new features carefree.
Documentation
Usage
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,
JWK,
JWKS,
JWS,
JWT,
errors
} = jose
Keys and KeyStores
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, anotherKey)
JWT vs JWS
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.
JWT Signing
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'
}
)
JWT Verifying
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']
}
)
Verifying OIDC ID Tokens (Click to expand)
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
JWT.IdToken.verify
API 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.IdToken.verify(
'eyJhbGciOiJQUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCIsImtpZCI6InIxTGtiQm8zOTI1UmIyWkZGckt5VTNNVmV4OVQyODE3S3gwdmJpNmlfS2MifQ.eyJzdWIiOiJmb28iLCJub25jZSI6ImE1MWNjZjA4ZjRiYmIwNmU4ODcxNWRkYzRiYmI0MWQ4IiwiYXVkIjoidXJuOmV4YW1wbGU6Y2xpZW50X2lkIiwiZXhwIjoxNTYzODg4ODMwLCJpYXQiOjE1NjM4ODUyMzAsImlzcyI6Imh0dHBzOi8vb3AuZXhhbXBsZS5jb20ifQ.RKCZczgICF5G9XdNDSwe4dolGauQHptpFKPzahA2wYGG2HKrKhyC8ZzqpeVc8cbntuqFBgABJVv6_9YICRx_dgwPYydTpZfZYjHnxrdWF9QsIPEGs672mrnhqIXUnXoseZ0TF6GOq6P7Qbf6gk1ru7TAbr_ieyJnNWcJhh5iHpz1k3mFz0TyTh7UNXshtQXftPUipqz4OBni5r9UaZXHw8B3QYOnms8__GJ3owOxaqkr1jgRs_EWqMlBNjPaj7ElVaeBWljDKuoK673tH0heSpgzUmUX_W8IDUVqs33uglpZwAQC7cAA5mGEg2odcRpvpP5M-WaP4RE9dl9jzcYmrw',
keyOrStore,
{
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
Verifying OAuth 2.0 JWT Access Tokens (Click to expand)
Draft specification profiles are updated as minor versions of the library, therefore,
since they may have breaking changes use the ~
semver operator when using these and pay close
attention to changelog and the drafts themselves.
When accepting a JWT-formatted OAuth 2.0 Access Token there are additional requirements for the JWT
to be accepted as an Access Token according to the specification
and it is pretty easy to omit some. Use the
JWT.AccessToken.verify
API to make sure what you're accepting is really a JWT Access Token
meant for your Resource Server. This will then perform all doable validations given the input. See
the documentation for more.
jose.JWT.AccessToken.verify(
'eyJhbGciOiJQUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6ImF0K0pXVCIsImtpZCI6InIxTGtiQm8zOTI1UmIyWkZGckt5VTNNVmV4OVQyODE3S3gwdmJpNmlfS2MifQ.eyJzdWIiOiJmb28iLCJjbGllbnRfaWQiOiJ1cm46ZXhhbXBsZTpjbGllbnRfaWQiLCJhdWQiOiJ1cm46ZXhhbXBsZTpyZXNvdXJjZS1zZXJ2ZXIiLCJleHAiOjE1NjM4ODg4MzAsImlzcyI6Imh0dHBzOi8vb3AuZXhhbXBsZS5jb20iLCJzY29wZSI6ImFwaTpyZWFkIn0.UYy8vEGWS0cS24giCYobMMy9-bqI45p807yV1l-2WXX2J4UO-eohV_R58LE2oM88gl414c6XydO6QSYXul5roNPoOs41jpEvreQIP-HmegjbWGutktWJKfvoOblE5FjYwjrwStjLQGUzkq6KWcnDLPGmpFy7n6gZ4LF8YVz4dLEaO335hMNVNrmSPSXYqr7bAWybnLVpLxjDYwNfCO1g0_TlFx8fHh2OftHoOOmJFltFwb8JypkSB-JXVVSEh43IOEjeeMJIG_ylWIOxfLLi5Q7vPWgub83ZTkuGNe4KmlQJKIsH5k0yZSshsLYUOOH0RiXqQ-SA4Ubh3Fowigdu-g',
keyOrStore,
{
issuer: 'https://op.example.com',
audience: 'urn:example:resource-server',
algorithms: ['PS256']
}
)
Verifying OIDC Logout Token (Click to expand)
Draft specification profiles are updated as minor versions of the library, therefore,
since they may have breaking changes use the ~
semver operator when using these and pay close
attention to changelog and the drafts themselves.
Logout Token is a JWT, but profiled, there are additional requirements to a JWT to be accepted as an
Logout Token and it is pretty easy to omit some, use the
JWT.LogoutToken.verify
API to make sure what you're accepting is really an Logout Token meant to your
Client. This will then perform all doable validations given the input. See the
documentation for more.
jose.JWT.LogoutToken.verify(
'eyJhbGciOiJQUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJmb28iLCJhdWQiOiJ1cm46ZXhhbXBsZTpjbGllbnRfaWQiLCJpYXQiOjE1NjM4ODg4MzAsImp0aSI6ImhqazMyN2RzYSIsImlzcyI6Imh0dHBzOi8vb3AuZXhhbXBsZS5jb20iLCJldmVudHMiOnsiaHR0cDovL3NjaGVtYXMub3BlbmlkLm5ldC9ldmVudC9iYWNrY2hhbm5lbC1sb2dvdXQiOnt9fX0.SBi7uNUvjHL9TFoFzautGgTQ1MjyeGUNYHL7inpgq3XgTv6xc9EAKuPRtpixmhdNhmInGwUvAeqDSJxomwv1KK1cTndrC9zAMZ7h657BGQAwGhu7nTm41fWMpKQdiLa9sqp3yit5_FNBmqUNeOoMPrYT_Vl9ytsoNO89MUQy2aqCd-Z7BrNJZH0QycdW6dmYlrmZL7w3t3TaAXoJDJ4Hgl2Itkkkb6_6gO-VoPIdVD8sDuf1zQzGhIkmcFrk0fXczVYOkeF2hNYBuvsM8LuO-EPA3oyE2In9djai3M7yceTQetRa1vwlqWkg_xmYS59ry-6wT44aN7-Y6p0TdXm-Zg',
keyOrStore,
{
issuer: 'https://op.example.com',
audience: 'urn:example:client_id',
algorithms: ['PS256']
}
)
JWS Signing
Sign with a private or symmetric key using compact serialization. See the
documentation for more.
jose.JWS.sign(
{ sub: 'johndoe' },
privateKey,
{ kid: privateKey.kid }
)
JWS Verifying
Verify with a public or symmetric key. See the documentation for more.
jose.JWS.verify(
'eyJhbGciOiJFUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJqb2huZG9lIn0.T_SYLQV3A5_kFDDVNuoadoURSEtuSOR-dG2CMmrP-ULK9xbIf2vYeiHOkvTrnqGlWEGBGxYtsP1VkXmNsi1uOw',
publicKey
)
JWE Encrypting
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 }
)
JWE Decrypting
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
)
Detailed Support Matrix
JWK Key Types | Supported | kty value | crv values |
---|
RSA | ✓ | RSA | |
Elliptic Curve | ✓ | EC | P-256, secp256k1[1], P-384, P-521 |
Octet Key Pair | ✓ | OKP | Ed25519, Ed448[1], X25519[1], X448[1] |
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[1], ES384, ES512 |
Edwards-curve DSA | ✓ | EdDSA |
HMAC with SHA-2 | ✓ | HS256, HS384, HS512 |
Unsecured JWS | ✓ | none[2] |
JWE Key Management Algorithms | Supported | |
---|
AES | ✓ | A128KW[1], A192KW[1], A256KW[1] |
AES GCM | ✓ | A128GCMKW, A192GCMKW, A256GCMKW |
Direct Key Agreement | ✓ | dir |
RSAES OAEP | ✓ | RSA-OAEP, RSA-OAEP-256[3], RSA-OAEP-384[3], RSA-OAEP-512[3] |
RSAES-PKCS1-v1_5 | ✓ | RSA1_5 |
PBES2 | ✓ | PBES2-HS256+A128KW[1], PBES2-HS384+A192KW[1], PBES2-HS512+A256KW[1] |
ECDH-ES | ✓[4] | ECDH-ES, ECDH-ES+A128KW[1], ECDH-ES+A192KW[1], ECDH-ES+A256KW[1] |
JWE Content Encryption Algorithms | Supported | |
---|
AES GCM | ✓ | A128GCM, A192GCM, A256GCM |
AES_CBC_HMAC_SHA2 | ✓ | A128CBC-HS256, A192CBC-HS384, A256CBC-HS512 |
Legend:
- ✓ Implemented
- ✕ Missing node crypto support / won't implement
- ◯ TBD
1 Not supported in Electron due to Electron's use of BoringSSL
2 Unsecured JWS is supported for the JWS and JWT sign and verify
operations but it is an entirely opt-in behaviour, downgrade attacks are prevented by the required
use of a special JWK.Key
-like object that cannot be instantiated through the key import API
3 RSAES OAEP using SHA-2 and MGF1 with SHA-2 is only supported when Node.js >=12.9.0
runtime is detected
4 ECDH-ES with X25519 and X448 keys is only supported when Node.js ^12.17.0 || >=13.9.0
runtime is detected
5 Draft specification profiles are updated as minor versions of the library, therefore,
since they may have breaking changes use the ~
semver operator when using these and pay close
attention to changelog and the drafts themselves.
FAQ
Semver?
Yes. 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.
Although. Draft specification profiles are updated as minor versions of the library, therefore,
since they may have breaking changes use the ~
semver operator when using these and pay close
attention to changelog and the drafts themselves.
How do I use it outside of Node.js
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.
- it supports JWK Key Format for all four key types (oct, RSA, EC and OKP)
- it is providing Key and KeyStore abstractions
- there is JSON Web Encryption support
- it supports all JWS / JWE Serialization Syntaxes
- it supports the "crit" member validations to make sure extensions are handled correctly
- it is not only validating the signatures, it is making sure the JWE/JWS is syntactically correct,
e.g. not having duplicated header parameters between protected/unprotected or per-recipient
headers
How is it different from 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.
What is the ultimate goal?
- No dependencies, the moment JWK formatted keys are supported by node's
crypto
the direct
dependency count will go down from 1 to 0. 🚀 - Just the API one needs, having used other jose modules for 3+ years I only include what's useful
Why? Just, why?
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