n8n JWT Authentication Nodes

Comprehensive JWT (JSON Web Token) nodes for n8n workflows. Sign, decode, verify, and validate JWT tokens with support for JWKS (JSON Web Key Set) endpoints.

Features

• 🔐 Complete JWT Operations: Sign, Decode, Verify, and Validate tokens
• 🔑 JWKS Support: Automatic key fetching from JWKS endpoints
• ✅ Comprehensive Validation: Claims, expiration, audience, issuer checks
• 🎯 Dual Outputs: Separate success/error paths for better workflow control
• 🔧 Flexible Configuration: Multiple token sources and extraction methods
• 🛡️ Security First: Clear separation between verification and validation

Installation

In n8n

1. Go to Settings > Community Nodes
2. Search for @general-dexterity/n8n-nodes-jwt-auth
3. Click Install

Manual Installation

npm install -g @general-dexterity/n8n-nodes-jwt-auth

Docker

Add to your docker-compose.yml:

services:
  n8n:
    image: n8nio/n8n
    environment:
      - N8N_CUSTOM_EXTENSIONS=/home/node/.n8n/custom
    volumes:
      - ./n8n-nodes-jwt-auth:/home/node/.n8n/custom/node_modules/@general-dexterity/n8n-nodes-jwt-auth

Nodes Included

🔐 JWT Auth

All-in-one node for JWT operations:

• Sign: Create and sign new tokens
• Decode: Parse tokens without verification
• Verify: Verify signature using JWKS
• Validate: Check structure and claims

📖 Full Documentation

✅ JWT Auth Verify

Dedicated node for JWT signature verification using JWKS endpoints.

📖 Full Documentation

🔍 JWT Auth Validate

Validate JWT structure and claims without signature verification.

📖 Full Documentation

Credentials

🔑 JWT Auth JWKS

Configure JWKS endpoints for token verification.

📖 Full Documentation

🗝️ JWT Auth Key

Store signing keys for creating JWT tokens.

📖 Full Documentation

Quick Start

Verify Incoming JWT Tokens

1. Add Webhook Trigger
2. Add JWT Auth node
   • Operation: Verify
   • Token Source: Authorization Header
3. Configure JWKS credential
   • JWKS URL: https://your-provider/.well-known/jwks.json
   • Expected Issuer: https://your-provider
   • Expected Audience: your-api
4. Handle outputs
   • Success → Continue processing
   • Error → Return 401 Unauthorized

Create Signed Tokens

1. Add JWT Auth node
   • Operation: Sign
2. Configure JWT Auth Key credential
   • Key Type: PEM Key or Passphrase
   • Algorithm: RS256 or HS256
3. Set payload
   • Use JSON or individual claims
   • Set expiration time
4. Use generated token in HTTP requests

Common JWKS Endpoints

Provider	JWKS URL Format
Auth0	https://{domain}.auth0.com/.well-known/jwks.json
Okta	https://{domain}.okta.com/oauth2/default/v1/keys
AWS Cognito	https://cognito-idp.{region}.amazonaws.com/{poolId}/.well-known/jwks.json
Azure AD	https://login.microsoftonline.com/{tenant}/discovery/v2.0/keys
Google	https://www.googleapis.com/oauth2/v3/certs

Token Extraction Methods

Authorization Header

Authorization: Bearer eyJhbGciOiJSUzI1NiIs...

JSON Field

{
  "token": "eyJhbGciOiJSUzI1NiIs...",
  "data": "..."
}

Supports dot notation: body.token, data.auth.jwt

Raw String

Direct token input for testing or when already extracted.

Workflow Examples

API Authentication Flow

Webhook → JWT Auth (Verify) → Process Request
                ↓ (Error)
         Return 401 Response

Token Generation for External API

Trigger → Get User Data → JWT Auth (Sign) → HTTP Request with Token

Token Inspection

Webhook → JWT Auth (Decode) → Analyze Claims → Route Based on Role

Testing

A complete Docker-based testing environment is provided:

cd tests
docker-compose up -d

This includes:

• n8n instance with the JWT nodes
• Mock JWKS server for testing
• Example workflows
• Token generation scripts

📖 Testing Documentation

Security Considerations

• ⚠️ Never use Decode for authentication - it doesn't verify signatures
• ⚠️ Validate doesn't check signatures - use only when appropriate
• ✅ Always use Verify for production authentication
• 🔒 Keep signing keys secure in n8n credentials
• 🔄 Regularly rotate signing keys
• 🔐 Use HTTPS for all JWKS endpoints

Development

Building from Source

# Install dependencies
pnpm install

# Build the nodes
pnpm build

# Run tests
pnpm test

Project Structure

├── credentials/       # Credential types
├── nodes/            # Node implementations
├── docs/             # Documentation
├── tests/            # Test environment
└── assets/           # Icons and images

Support

• 🐛 Report Issues
• 💡 Request Features
• 📖 Documentation
• 💬 Discussions

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please read our Contributing Guide for details.

License

MIT - see LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgments

• Built for n8n workflow automation platform
• Uses jose for JWT operations
• Icons from Phosphor