𝗝𝗪𝗧 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗙𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗔𝗣𝗜
Authentication asks "Who are you?" Authorization asks "What can you do?"
If you build an AI platform without security, anyone can access private data. They can change user profiles or view student progress. You must protect your resources.
JWT (JSON Web Token) solves this. Instead of sending a password with every request, the user sends a secure token.
The workflow:
- Register user
- Hash password
- Login and verify credentials
- Generate JWT token
- Access protected routes
You should use these tools:
- passlib with bcrypt for password hashing
- python-jose for token generation
Never store passwords in plain text. If a hacker steals your database, they get everything. Instead, store a hash.
A hash turns "password123" into a long string of random characters. You cannot turn the hash back into the password. You only verify if the input matches the hash.
How to build it:
Registration The user sends a username and password. You hash the password and store it in your database.
Login The user sends credentials. You find the stored hash. You use the library to verify the password. If it matches, you create a token.
JWT Generation A token contains user data and an expiry time. You sign the token with a secret key. If a user tries to change the data, the signature fails.
The login response looks like this: { "access_token": "eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1Ni...", "token_type": "bearer" }
Now the user holds a key to your system.
In the next part, we will learn how to use these tokens to protect specific routes and manage user roles.
Summary of steps:
- Register user
- Hash and store password
- Verify password during login
- Generate signed JWT
Source: https://dev.to/zeroshotanu/fastapi-for-ai-engineers-part-6-jwt-authentication-in-fastapi-5fpk
Optional learning community: https://t.me/GyaanSetuAi