JOSE is a framework intended to provide a method to securely transfer claims (such as authorization information) between parties. The JOSE framework provides a collection of specifications to serve this purpose. A JSON Web Token (JWT) contains claims that can be used to allow a system to apply access control to resources it owns.
JWTs can be represented as either JSON Web Signature (JWS) or a JSON Web Encryption (JWE) objects. Claims within a JWS can be read as they are simply base64-encoded (but carry with them a signature for authentication). Claims in a JWE on the other hand, are encrypted and as such, are entirely opaque to clients using them as their means of authentication and authorization.
This library implements JWS and JWEs along with a subset of the encryption / authentication algorithms recommended by the JOSE framework.
http://jose.readthedocs.org/en/latest