Authentication in Node.js with Passport.js

Introduction

In this tutorial, we will explore how to implement authentication in a Node.js application using Passport.js, a popular authentication middleware for Node.js. Passport.js provides a flexible and modular authentication framework that supports various authentication strategies, such as username/password, OAuth, and OpenID.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, make sure you have the following installed:

• Node.js and npm (Node Package Manager) installed on your machine.
• Basic knowledge of JavaScript and Node.js.

Step 1: Setup

Let’s start by setting up a new Node.js project. Open your terminal and create a new directory for your project:

mkdir node-passport-auth
cd node-passport-auth

Initialize a new Node.js project:

npm init -y

This will create a package.json file in your project directory.

Step 2: Install Dependencies

Next, we’ll install the required dependencies for our authentication system. We’ll need express for our web server, passport for authentication, and passport-local for handling local username/password authentication.

npm install express passport passport-local

Step 3: Configure Express

Create a new file named app.js and set up a basic Express application:

Step 4: Implement Passport Local Authentication Strategy

We’ll now configure Passport.js to use the Local Strategy for username/password authentication. Create a new file named passport-config.js:

Step 5: Initialize Passport and Configure Sessions

Update app.js to initialize Passport.js and configure sessions:

Step 6: Create Login and Logout Routes

Implement routes for user login and logout:

Step 7: Create Protected Routes

Create a protected route that requires authentication to access:

Step 8: Test the Application

Start the server:

node app.js

Visit http://localhost:3000 in your web browser and explore the application. Try logging in with the hardcoded username and password (user/password) and accessing the profile page.

This tutorial covers the basics of using Passport.js for authentication in a Node.js application. Depending on your requirements, you may need to customize the authentication flow, integrate additional authentication strategies, or implement features like user registration and password recovery. Passport.js provides a flexible and modular framework that can be extended to meet various authentication needs.