JSON Web Token
A JSON Web Token (JWT) implementation for Ruby
Description
A Ruby implementation of the JSON Web Token standard RFC 7519
Installation
gem install json_web_token
Philosophy & Design Goals
- Minimal API surface area
- Clear separation and conformance to underlying standards
- Thorough test coverage
- Modularity for comprehension and extensibility
- Fail fast and hard, with maximally strict validation
- Inspired by The Harmful Consequences of Postel's Maxim
- Implement only the REQUIRED elements of the JWT standard (initially)
Intended Audience
Token authentication of API requests to Rails via these prominent gems:
Secure Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) using the rack-cors gem
Usage
JsonWebToken.sign(claims, options)
Returns a JSON Web Token string
claims
(required) string or hash
options
(required) hash
- alg (optional, default:
HS256
) - key (required unless alg is 'none')
Example
require 'json_web_token'
# sign with default algorithm, HMAC SHA256
jwt = JsonWebToken.sign({foo: 'bar'}, key: 'gZH75aKtMN3Yj0iPS4hcgUuTwjAzZr9C')
# sign with RSA SHA256 algorithm
opts = {
alg: 'RSA256',
key: < RSA private key >
}
jwt = JsonWebToken.sign({foo: 'bar'}, opts)
# unsecured token (algorithm is 'none')
jwt = JsonWebToken.sign({foo: 'bar'}, alg: 'none')
JsonWebToken.verify(jwt, options)
Returns a hash:
- < JWT claims set >, if the Message Authentication Code (MAC), or signature, is verified
- 'invalid', otherwise
jwt
(required) is a JSON web token string
options
(required) hash
- alg (optional, default:
HS256
) - key (required unless alg is 'none')
Example
require 'json_web_token'
secure_jwt_example = 'eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLA0KICJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJpc3MiOiJqb2UiLA0KICJleHAiOjEzMDA4MTkzODAsDQogImh0dHA6Ly9leGFt.cGxlLmNvbS9pc19yb290Ijp0cnVlfQ.dBjftJeZ4CVP-mB92K27uhbUJU1p1r_wW1gFWFOEjXk'
# verify with default algorithm, HMAC SHA256
{ok: claims} = JsonWebToken.verify(secure_jwt_example, key: 'gZH75aKtMN3Yj0iPS4hcgUuTwjAzZr9C')
# verify with RSA SHA256 algorithm
opts = {
alg: 'RSA256',
key: < RSA public key >
}
{ok: claims} = JsonWebToken.verify(jwt, opts)
# unsecured token (algorithm is 'none')
unsecured_jwt_example = 'eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLA0KICJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJpc3MiOiJqb2UiLA0KICJleHAiOjEzMDA4MTkzODAsDQogImh0dHA6Ly9leGFt.'
{ok: claims} = JsonWebToken.verify(unsecured_jwt_example, alg: 'none')
Supported encryption algorithms
alg Param Value | Digital Signature or MAC Algorithm |
---|---|
HS256 | HMAC using SHA-256 per RFC 2104 |
HS384 | HMAC using SHA-384 |
HS512 | HMAC using SHA-512 |
RS256 | RSASSA-PKCS-v1_5 using SHA-256 per RFC3447 |
RS384 | RSASSA-PKCS-v1_5 using SHA-384 |
RS512 | RSASSA-PKCS-v1_5 using SHA-512 |
ES256 | ECDSA using P-256 and SHA-256 per DSS |
ES384 | ECDSA using P-384 and SHA-384 |
ES512 | ECDSA using P-521 and SHA-512 |
none | No digital signature or MAC performed (unsecured) |
Supported Ruby Versions
Ruby 2.0.0 and up
Limitations
Future implementation may include these features:
- processing of OPTIONAL JWT registered claim names (e.g. 'exp')
- representation of a JWT as a JSON Web Encryption (JWE) RFC 7516
- OPTIONAL nested JWTs