jose

What is jose?

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.

What are jose's main functionalities?

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);

Other packages similar to jose

jsonwebtoken

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.

node-jose

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.

jws

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.

README

jose

jose is JavaScript module for JSON Object Signing and Encryption, providing support for JSON Web Tokens (JWT), JSON Web Signature (JWS), JSON Web Encryption (JWE), JSON Web Key (JWK), JSON Web Key Set (JWKS), and more. The module is designed to work across various Web-interoperable runtimes including Node.js, browsers, Cloudflare Workers, Deno, Bun, and others.

💗 Help the project

Support from the community to continue maintaining and improving this module is welcome. If you find the module useful, please consider supporting the project by becoming a sponsor.

Dependencies: 0

jose has no dependencies and it exports tree-shakeable ESM. CJS is also supported.

Documentation

jose is distributed via npmjs.com, deno.land/x, cdnjs.com, jsdelivr.com, and github.com.

example ESM import

import * as jose from 'jose'

example CJS require

const jose = require('jose')

JSON Web Tokens (JWT)

The jose module supports JSON Web Tokens (JWT) and provides functionality for signing and verifying tokens, as well as their JWT Claims Set validation.

• Signing using the SignJWT class
• Verification & JWT Claims Set Validation using the jwtVerify function
  • Using a remote JWKS
  • Using a local JWKS
• Utility functions
  • Decoding Token's Protected Header
  • Decoding JWT Claims Set prior to its validation

Encrypted JSON Web Tokens

The jose module supports encrypted JSON Web Tokens and provides functionality for encrypting and decrypting tokens, as well as their JWT Claims Set validation.

• Encryption using the EncryptJWT class
• Decryption & JWT Claims Set Validation using the jwtDecrypt function
• Utility functions
  • Decoding Token's Protected Header

Key Utilities

The jose module supports importing, exporting, and generating keys and secrets in various formats, including PEM formats like SPKI, X.509 certificate, and PKCS #8, as well as JSON Web Key (JWK).

• Key Import Functions
  • JWK Import
  • Public Key Import (SPKI)
  • Public Key Import (X.509 Certificate)
  • Private Key Import (PKCS #8)
• Key and Secret Generation Functions
  • Asymmetric Key Pair Generation
  • Symmetric Secret Generation
• Key Export Functions
  • JWK Export
  • Private Key Export
  • Public Key Export

JSON Web Signature (JWS)

The jose module supports signing and verification of JWS messages with arbitrary payloads in Compact, Flattened JSON, and General JSON serialization syntaxes.

• Signing - Compact, Flattened JSON, General JSON
• Verification - Compact, Flattened JSON, General JSON
  • Verify using a remote JWKS
  • Verify using a local JWKS
• Utility functions
  • Decoding Token's Protected Header

JSON Web Encryption (JWE)

The jose module supports encryption and decryption of JWE messages with arbitrary plaintext in Compact, Flattened JSON, and General JSON serialization syntaxes.

• Encryption - Compact, Flattened JSON, General JSON
• Decryption - Compact, Flattened JSON, General JSON
• Utility functions
  • Decoding Token's Protected Header

Other

The following are additional features and utilities provided by the jose module:

• Calculating JWK Thumbprint
• Calculating JWK Thumbprint URI
• Verification using a JWK Embedded in a JWS Header
• Unsecured JWT
• JOSE Errors

Implemented specifications

The jose module implements the following specifications:

• JSON Web Signature (JWS) - RFC7515
• JSON Web Encryption (JWE) - RFC7516
• JSON Web Key (JWK) - RFC7517
• JSON Web Algorithms (JWA) - RFC7518
• JSON Web Token (JWT) - RFC7519
• JSON Web Key Thumbprint - RFC7638
• JSON Web Key Thumbprint URI - RFC9278
• JWS Unencoded Payload Option - RFC7797
• CFRG Elliptic Curve ECDH and Signatures - RFC8037
• secp256k1 EC Key curve support - RFC8812

The algorithm implementations have been tested using test vectors from their respective specifications as well as RFC7520.

Supported Runtimes

The jose module is compatible with JavaScript runtimes that support the utilized Web API globals and standard built-in objects or are Node.js.

The following runtimes are supported (this is not an exhaustive list):

• Bun
• Browsers
• Cloudflare Workers
• Deno
• Electron
• Node.js
• Vercel's Edge Runtime

Please note that certain algorithms may not be available depending on the runtime used. You can find a list of available algorithms for each runtime in the specific issue links provided above.

Supported Versions

Version	Security Fixes 🔑	Other Bug Fixes 🐞	New Features ⭐
v4.x	✅	✅	✅
v2.x	✅	❌	❌