@ttoss/auth-core

Framework-agnostic authentication primitives for Node.js, with zero dependencies beyond node:crypto (Amazon Cognito verification excepted).

Installation

pnpm add @ttoss/auth-core

Password hashing

PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA256 with 600,000 iterations (OWASP recommendation) and constant-time comparison. Hashes are self-describing (pbkdf2-sha256$<iterations>$<salt>$<hash>), so iterations can be raised later without invalidating stored hashes. The legacy salt:hash format is still verified for backwards compatibility.

import { comparePassword, hashPassword, needsRehash } from '@ttoss/auth-core';

const stored = await hashPassword('my-password');
const isMatch = await comparePassword('my-password', stored);

// On successful login, upgrade weak/legacy hashes:
if (isMatch && needsRehash(stored)) {
  await saveHash(await hashPassword('my-password'));
}

JWT (HS256)

Sign and verify JWTs for self-hosted authentication, where the application owns the signing secret. verifyJwt returns null for malformed, badly signed, or expired tokens.

import { signJwt, verifyJwt } from '@ttoss/auth-core';

const token = signJwt({
  payload: { sub: 'user_123', email: 'user@example.com' },
  secret: process.env.JWT_SECRET,
  expiresInSeconds: 60 * 60 * 24 * 7, // 7 days
});

const payload = verifyJwt({ token, secret: process.env.JWT_SECRET });

For Amazon Cognito tokens, use @ttoss/auth-core/amazon-cognito, which re-exports aws-jwt-verify.

One-time tokens

Building block for magic links, email verification, and password reset. Store only tokenHash and expires; send token to the user and destroy the record after a successful verification.

import { generateOneTimeToken, verifyOneTimeToken } from '@ttoss/auth-core';

const { token, tokenHash, expires } = generateOneTimeToken({
  expiresInSeconds: 60 * 60, // 1 hour, e.g. for password reset
});

// later, when the user clicks the link:
const isValid = verifyOneTimeToken({ token: received, tokenHash, expires });

API tokens

Personal access tokens in the form <prefix>_<hex>, recognizable in logs and secret scanners. Show the plain token once; persist only the SHA-256 hash and a short display prefix.

import { generateApiToken, verifyApiToken } from '@ttoss/auth-core';

const { token, tokenHash, displayPrefix } = generateApiToken({
  prefix: 'myapp',
});

const isValid = verifyApiToken({
  token: received,
  tokenHash,
  expiresAt: storedExpiresAt, // optional
});

Encryption at rest

AES-256-GCM helpers for storing sensitive values (e.g., third-party API keys) in a database. The ciphertext is a single base64 string containing the IV, auth tag, and payload. Decryption throws on a wrong key or tampered ciphertext.

import {
  decryptValue,
  encryptValue,
  generateEncryptionKey,
} from '@ttoss/auth-core';

// Generate once and store in a secret manager:
const key = generateEncryptionKey(); // 64-char hex (32 bytes)

const ciphertext = encryptValue({ plaintext: 'third-party-api-key', key });
const plaintext = decryptValue({ ciphertext, key });

Webhook signatures

HMAC-SHA256 payload signing using the common sha256=<hex> header convention (e.g., GitHub's X-Hub-Signature-256), with constant-time verification on the receiving side.

import {
  generateWebhookSecret,
  signWebhookPayload,
  verifyWebhookSignature,
} from '@ttoss/auth-core';

// Sender:
const secret = generateWebhookSecret();
const signature = signWebhookPayload({ payload: body, secret });
// send as a header, e.g. `X-Myapp-Signature: ${signature}`

// Receiver:
const isValid = verifyWebhookSignature({ payload: body, secret, signature });

Encoding helpers

import { decode, encode } from '@ttoss/auth-core';

const encoded = encode({ id: 1 }); // base64 JSON
const obj = decode(encoded);