# jose > "JSON Web Almost Everything" - JWA, JWS, JWE, JWT, JWK, JWKS for Node.js with minimal dependencies

## Implemented specs & features The following specifications are implemented by `jose` - JSON Web Signature (JWS) - [RFC7515][spec-jws] - JSON Web Encryption (JWE) - [RFC7516][spec-jwe] - JSON Web Key (JWK) - [RFC7517][spec-jwk] - JSON Web Algorithms (JWA) - [RFC7518][spec-jwa] - JSON Web Token (JWT) - [RFC7519][spec-jwt] - JSON Web Key Thumbprint - [RFC7638][spec-thumbprint] - JWS Unencoded Payload Option - [RFC7797][spec-b64] - CFRG Elliptic Curve ECDH and Signatures - [RFC8037][spec-okp] - secp256k1 EC Key curve support - [JOSE Registrations for WebAuthn Algorithms][draft-secp256k1] The test suite utilizes examples defined in [RFC7520][spec-cookbook] to confirm its JOSE implementation is correct. Available JWT validation profiles - Generic JWT - OIDC ID Token (`id_token`) - [OpenID Connect Core 1.0][spec-oidc-id_token] - OAuth 2.0 JWT Access Tokens (`at+JWT`) - [JWT Profile for OAuth 2.0 Access Tokens][draft-ietf-oauth-access-token-jwt] - OIDC Logout Token (`logout_token`) - [OpenID Connect Back-Channel Logout 1.0][spec-oidc-logout_token]
Have a question about using `jose`? - [ask][ask]. Found a bug? - [report it][bug]. Missing a feature? - If it wasn't already discussed before, [ask for it][suggest-feature]. Found a vulnerability? - Reach out to us via email first, see [security vulnerability disclosure][security-vulnerability]. ## Sponsor [auth0-logo][sponsor-auth0] 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][sponsor-auth0].

## Support If you or your business use `jose`, please consider becoming a [sponsor][support-sponsor] so I can continue maintaining it and adding new features carefree. ## Documentation - [jose API Documentation][documentation] - [JWK (JSON Web Key)][documentation-jwk] - [JWKS (JSON Web Key Set)][documentation-jwks] - [JWT (JSON Web Token)][documentation-jwt] - [JWS (JSON Web Signature)][documentation-jws] - [JWE (JSON Web Encryption)][documentation-jwe] ## Usage For the best performance Node.js version **>=12.0.0** is recommended, but **^10.13.0** lts/dubnium is also supported. Installing `jose` ```console npm install jose ``` Usage ```js const jose = require('jose') const { JWE, // JSON Web Encryption (JWE) JWK, // JSON Web Key (JWK) JWKS, // JSON Web Key Set (JWKS) JWS, // JSON Web Signature (JWS) JWT, // JSON Web Token (JWT) errors // errors utilized by jose } = jose ``` #### Keys and KeyStores Prepare your Keys and KeyStores. See the [documentation][documentation-jwk] for more. ```js 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][documentation-jwt] for more. ```js 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][documentation-jwt] for more. ```js 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 Verifying 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 `profile` option of `JWT.verify` or the `JWT.IdToken.verify` shorthand 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][documentation-jwt] for more. ```js 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`][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)
#### JWT Access Token Verifying 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][draft-ietf-oauth-access-token-jwt] and it is pretty easy to omit some. Use the `profile` option of `JWT.verify` or the `JWT.AccessToken.verify` shorthand 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][documentation-jwt] for more. ```js 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)
#### Logout Token Verifying 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 `profile` option of `JWT.verify` or the `JWT.LogoutToken.verify` 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][documentation-jwt] for more. ```js 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][documentation-jws] for more. ```js jose.JWS.sign( { sub: 'johndoe' }, privateKey, { kid: privateKey.kid } ) ``` #### JWS Verifying Verify with a public or symmetric key. See the [documentation][documentation-jws] for more. ```js 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][documentation-jwe] for more. ```js 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][documentation-jwe] for more. ```js 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] | | RSAES-PKCS1-v1_5 | ✓ | RSA1_5 | | PBES2 | ✓ | PBES2-HS256+A128KW[1], PBES2-HS384+A192KW[1], PBES2-HS512+A256KW[1] | | ECDH-ES (for all EC keys) | ✓ | ECDH-ES, ECDH-ES+A128KW[1], ECDH-ES+A192KW[1], ECDH-ES+A256KW[1] | | ECDH-ES (for OKP X25519) | ✓ via [plugin][plugin-x25519] | ECDH-ES, ECDH-ES+A128KW, ECDH-ES+A192KW, ECDH-ES+A256KW | | ECDH-ES (for OKP X448) | ✕ || | (X)ChaCha | ✓ via [plugin][plugin-chacha] | C20PKW, XC20PKW, ECDH-ES+C20PKW, ECDH-ES+XC20PKW | | JWE Content Encryption Algorithms | Supported || | -- | -- | -- | | AES GCM | ✓ | A128GCM, A192GCM, A256GCM | | AES_CBC_HMAC_SHA2 | ✓ | A128CBC-HS256, A192CBC-HS384, A256CBC-HS512 | | (X)ChaCha | ✓ via [plugin][plugin-chacha] | C20P, XC20P | | JWT profile validation | Supported | profile option value | | -- | -- | -- | | ID Token - [OpenID Connect Core 1.0][spec-oidc-id_token] | ✓ | `id_token` | | JWT Access Tokens [JWT Profile for OAuth 2.0 Access Tokens][draft-ietf-oauth-access-token-jwt] | ✓ | `at+JWT` | | Logout Token - [OpenID Connect Back-Channel Logout 1.0][spec-oidc-logout_token] | ✓ | `logout_token` | | JARM - [JWT Secured Authorization Response Mode for OAuth 2.0][draft-jarm] | ◯ || 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][documentation-none] 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 RSA-OAEP-256 is only supported when Node.js >= 12.9.0 runtime is detected ## FAQ #### Semver? **Yes.** Everything that's either exported in the TypeScript definitions file or [documented][documentation] is subject to [Semantic Versioning 2.0.0](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html). The rest is to be considered private API and is subject to change between any versions. #### 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. #### How is it different from [`jws`](https://github.com/brianloveswords/node-jws), [`jwa`](https://github.com/brianloveswords/node-jwa) or [`jsonwebtoken`](https://github.com/auth0/node-jsonwebtoken)? - 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] `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`](https://github.com/digitalbazaar/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`][node-jose] for [`openid-client`](https://github.com/panva/node-openid-client) and [`oidc-provider`](https://github.com/panva/node-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 [ask]: https://github.com/panva/jose/issues/new?labels=question&template=question.md&title=question%3A+ [bug]: https://github.com/panva/jose/issues/new?labels=bug&template=bug-report.md&title=bug%3A+ [documentation-jwe]: /docs/README.md#jwe-json-web-encryption [documentation-jwk]: /docs/README.md#jwk-json-web-key [documentation-jwks]: /docs/README.md#jwks-json-web-key-set [documentation-jws]: /docs/README.md#jws-json-web-signature [documentation-jwt]: /docs/README.md#jwt-json-web-token [documentation-none]: /docs/README.md#jwknone [documentation]: /docs/README.md [node-jose]: https://github.com/cisco/node-jose [security-vulnerability]: https://github.com/panva/jose/issues/new?template=security-vulnerability.md [spec-b64]: https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc7797 [spec-cookbook]: https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc7520 [spec-jwa]: https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc7518 [spec-jwe]: https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc7516 [spec-jwk]: https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc7517 [spec-jws]: https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc7515 [spec-jwt]: https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc7519 [spec-okp]: https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc8037 [draft-secp256k1]: https://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-ietf-cose-webauthn-algorithms-04 [draft-ietf-oauth-access-token-jwt]: https://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-ietf-oauth-access-token-jwt [draft-jarm]: https://openid.net/specs/openid-financial-api-jarm.html [spec-thumbprint]: https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc7638 [spec-oidc-id_token]: https://openid.net/specs/openid-connect-core-1_0.html#IDToken [spec-oidc-logout_token]: https://openid.net/specs/openid-connect-backchannel-1_0.html#LogoutToken [oidc-token-hash]: https://www.npmjs.com/package/oidc-token-hash [suggest-feature]: https://github.com/panva/jose/issues/new?labels=enhancement&template=feature-request.md&title=proposal%3A+ [support-sponsor]: https://github.com/sponsors/panva [sponsor-auth0]: https://auth0.com/overview?utm_source=GHsponsor&utm_medium=GHsponsor&utm_campaign=panva-jose&utm_content=auth [plugin-x25519]: https://github.com/panva/jose-x25519-ecdh [plugin-chacha]: https://github.com/panva/jose-chacha