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Token Authentication

Token authentication is a string that if provided by a client, allows it to connect. It is the most straightforward authentication provided by the NATS server.

To use token authentication, you can specify an authorization section with the token property set:

authorization {
    token: "s3cr3t"
}

Token authentication can be used in the authorization section for clients and clusters.

Or start the server with the --auth flag:

> nats-server --auth s3cr3t

A client can easily connect by specifying the server URL:

> nats-sub -s nats://s3cr3t@localhost:4222 ">"
Listening on [>]

Bcrypted Tokens

Tokens can be bcrypted enabling an additional layer of security, as the clear-text version of the token would not be persisted on the server configuration file.

You can generate bcrypted tokens and passwords using the mkpasswd tool:

> mkpasswd
pass: dag0HTXl4RGg7dXdaJwbC8
bcrypt hash: $2a$11$PWIFAL8RsWyGI3jVZtO9Nu8.6jOxzxfZo7c/W0eLk017hjgUKWrhy

Here's a simple configuration file:

authorization {
    token: "$2a$11$PWIFAL8RsWyGI3jVZtO9Nu8.6jOxzxfZo7c/W0eLk017hjgUKWrhy"
}

The client will still require the clear-text token to connect:

nats-sub -s nats://dag0HTXl4RGg7dXdaJwbC8@localhost:4222 ">"
Listening on [>]