Storing JWT in React and Sending Auth Headers with Every Request
Explore how to manage JWTs in a React frontend by storing tokens securely, automatically attaching them to API requests using Axios interceptors, and protecting client routes with PrivateRoute. Understand the balance between user experience and security by combining frontend route guards with backend token verification to secure your MERN application.
We'll cover the following...
The authentication chapter built a protected API: login returns a JWT, and protected routes require that token. This lesson covers the frontend side of that flow. After login, React must store the token, send it with protected API requests so the backend can authenticate the user, and redirect users without a token away from protected pages. Server-side API protection and client-side route guards work together to create a complete auth flow.
Note: This React code is for read-along. It sends the token to the protected Express routes from the authentication chapter, using the
Authorization: Bearerheader that theprotectmiddleware reads.
To make the flow concrete, the next visual should show the token stored at login and attached to later requests.
That starts with keeping the token after login. ...