Login Page & API Authentication with JWT

This project is a full-stack web application that demonstrates a secure login system using JSON Web Tokens (JWT) for authentication. It consists of a React frontend and an Express.js backend, showcasing best practices in modern web development.

Project Structure

The project is divided into two main parts:

1. Frontend (React)
2. Backend (Express.js)

Frontend

The frontend is a React application that provides a user interface for login and user management. Key features include:

• React Router for navigation
• Context API for state management
• Secure storage of authentication tokens
• Protected routes for authenticated users

Backend

The backend is an Express.js server that handles authentication and user management. Key features include:

• RESTful API design
• JWT-based authentication
• CORS configuration for secure cross-origin requests
• Helmet for enhanced security headers
• Cookie-based token storage

Key Technologies and Concepts

This project demonstrates proficiency in several important web development concepts:

1. JWT Authentication: Implementing secure, token-based authentication for stateless client-server communication.

2. React Hooks and Context API: Utilizing modern React patterns for state management and component logic.

3. Express.js Middleware: Implementing custom middleware for request processing, error handling, and authentication.

4. API Security: Implementing best practices such as CORS and Helmet to protect the API.

5. Frontend-Backend Integration: Demonstrating how to properly integrate a React frontend with an Express.js backend.

6. Routing: Implementing client-side routing in React and server-side routing in Express.js.

7. Environment Configuration: Using environment variables for configuration management.

8. Error Handling: Implementing proper error handling on both frontend and backend.

Getting Started

1. Clone the repository

2. Install dependencies for both frontend and backend:

   cd frontend && npm install
   cd ../backend && npm install

3. Set up environment variables (refer to .env.example in the backend folder)

4. Start the backed & frontend server:

   npm start

Future Improvements

• Implement user registration functionality
• Add more robust error handling and validation
• Integrate with a production-ready database
• Implement refresh token mechanism for enhanced security
• Add unit and integration tests

This project serves as a solid foundation for building secure, full-stack web applications using modern JavaScript technologies.