Spring Boot JWT Authentication with React

Implemented secure authentication using Spring Security and JWT, integrating a React frontend with protected REST APIs and token-based authorization. It implements a simple login system where users authenticate and receive a JWT token, which is then used to access protected APIs.

The goal of this project is to demonstrate secure authentication flow between a React frontend and a Spring Boot backend using JWT.

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🚀 Features

• User Login Authentication
• JWT Token Generation
• Secure API Access using JWT
• Token validation using Spring Security filters
• React frontend for login interface
• Protected API endpoints
• Full stack authentication flow demo

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🏗️ Project Architecture

React Frontend
      │
      │ HTTP Request (Login)
      ▼
Spring Boot Backend
      │
      │ Generate JWT Token
      ▼
Client Receives Token
      │
      │ Token sent in Authorization Header
      ▼
Protected Spring Boot APIs

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🛠️ Tech Stack

Backend

• Spring Boot
• Spring Security
• JWT (JSON Web Token)
• Maven
• Java

Frontend

• React.js
• JavaScript
• HTML
• CSS
• Axios (for API requests)

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🔐 Authentication Flow

1. User enters username and password in React login page
2. React sends request to Spring Boot login API
3. Spring Boot validates credentials
4. If valid → JWT token is generated
5. Token is sent back to React
6. React stores the token
7. Token is sent in Authorization Header for protected API requests

Example header:

Authorization: Bearer <JWT_TOKEN>

💡 Learning Objectives

This project demonstrates:

• How JWT authentication works
• Integration of Spring Security with JWT
• Communication between React and Spring Boot
• Securing REST APIs using token-based authentication

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👨‍💻 Author

Mohit Kumar

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