I am struggling to get through implementing refresh/access tokens in a React application. I was able to get the access tokens working but once they expire, it is not able to use the refresh token to create a new one in the browser. It is able to do this via Postman though. I have CORS set up and I am trying to store the token in a httponly cookie. When I log in, I am able to see the cookie in the browser in the Application tab but my back end logging shows it is not able to pull it (Shows missing). I’ve tried looking around for a while and I am stumped how I am able to make the request and get the refresh token to work with postman but not in the browser. Sorry for the large amount of code. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Server.js
const express = require('express');
const path = require('path');
const favicon = require('serve-favicon');
const logger = require('morgan');
const cors = require('cors');
const passport = require('passport');
const session = require('express-session');
const cookieParser = require('cookie-parser');
require('dotenv').config();
require('./config/database');
require('./config/passport')(passport);
const app = express();
const authRoutes = require('./routes/api/auth');
const projectRoutes = require('./routes/api/projects');
const sessionSecret = process.env.SESSION_SECRET || 'yourSecretKey';
app.use(logger('dev'));
app.use(express.json());
app.use(session({
secret: sessionSecret,
resave: false,
saveUninitialized: true,
cookie: { secure: false } // Set to true if using HTTPS
}));
app.use(passport.initialize());
app.use(passport.session());
const corsOptions = {
origin: 'http://localhost:3000',
credentials: true,
methods: 'GET,HEAD,PUT,PATCH,POST,DELETE',
allowedHeaders: 'Content-Type, Authorization'
};
app.use(cors(corsOptions));
app.use(favicon(path.join(__dirname, 'build', 'favicon.ico')));
app.use(express.static(path.join(__dirname, 'build')));
app.use(cookieParser());
const port = process.env.PORT || 3001;
app.use('/api/auth', authRoutes);
app.use('/api/projects', projectRoutes);
console.log('JWT_ACCESS_SECRET:', process.env.JWT_ACCESS_SECRET);
console.log('JWT_REFRESH_SECRET:', process.env.JWT_REFRESH_SECRET);
app.get('/*', function(req, res) {
res.sendFile(path.join(__dirname, 'build', 'index.html'));
});
app.listen(port, function() {
console.log(`Express app running on port ${port}`);
});
axios.js
import axios from 'axios';
import { useAuth } from './Context/AuthContext';
import { useEffect } from 'react';
const api = axios.create({
baseURL: process.env.REACT_APP_API_URL || 'http://localhost:3001/api',
headers: {
'Content-Type': 'application/json'
},
withCredentials: true // Ensure cookies are included with requests
});
export const setAuthToken = (token) => {
if (token) {
api.defaults.headers.common['Authorization'] = `Bearer ${token}`;
} else {
delete api.defaults.headers.common['Authorization'];
}
};
export const useAxiosInterceptors = () => {
const { accessToken, setAccessToken } = useAuth();
useEffect(() => {
const requestInterceptor = api.interceptors.request.use(config => {
if (accessToken) {
config.headers['Authorization'] = `Bearer ${accessToken}`;
}
console.log('Request intercepted with config:', config);
return config;
}, error => {
console.log('Request error:', error);
return Promise.reject(error);
});
const responseInterceptor = api.interceptors.response.use(response => {
return response;
}, async error => {
const originalRequest = error.config;
console.log('Response error:', error);
if (error.response && error.response.status === 401 && !originalRequest._retry) {
originalRequest._retry = true;
const refreshToken = document.cookie
.split('; ')
.find(row => row.startsWith('refreshToken='))
?.split('=')[1];
if (refreshToken) {
try {
console.log('Trying to refresh token with:', refreshToken);
const response = await axios.post(`${process.env.REACT_APP_API_URL}/auth/refresh`, { token: refreshToken });
const { accessToken } = response.data;
setAccessToken(accessToken);
setAuthToken(accessToken);
originalRequest.headers['Authorization'] = `Bearer ${accessToken}`;
console.log('Token refreshed successfully');
return api(originalRequest);
} catch (err) {
console.log('Error refreshing token:', err);
return Promise.reject(err);
}
} else {
console.log('Refresh token is missing');
}
}
return Promise.reject(error);
});
return () => {
api.interceptors.request.eject(requestInterceptor);
api.interceptors.response.eject(responseInterceptor);
};
}, [accessToken, setAccessToken]);
};
export default api;
AuthContext.js
import React, { createContext, useContext, useState, useEffect } from 'react';
import { jwtDecode } from 'jwt-decode';
const AuthContext = createContext();
export const useAuth = () => {
return useContext(AuthContext);
};
export const AuthProvider = ({ children }) => {
const [accessToken, setAccessToken] = useState(() => {
return localStorage.getItem('accessToken') || '';
});
const [user, setUser] = useState(() => {
const token = localStorage.getItem('accessToken');
return token ? jwtDecode(token) : null;
});
useEffect(() => {
if (accessToken) {
localStorage.setItem('accessToken', accessToken);
setUser(jwtDecode(accessToken));
console.log('Access token set and user decoded:', jwtDecode(accessToken));
} else {
localStorage.removeItem('accessToken');
setUser(null);
console.log('Access token removed');
}
}, [accessToken]);
const value = {
accessToken,
setAccessToken,
user,
setUser,
};
return (
<AuthContext.Provider value={value}>
{children}
</AuthContext.Provider>
);
};
auth.js
const express = require('express');
const router = express.Router();
const bcrypt = require('bcrypt');
const passport = require('passport');
const jwt = require('jsonwebtoken');
const { OAuth2Client } = require('google-auth-library');
const User = require('../../models/user');
const { ensureAuth } = require('../../middleware/auth');
require('dotenv').config();
const client = new OAuth2Client(process.env.REACT_APP_GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID);
const generateAccessToken = (user) => {
const accessToken = jwt.sign(
{
id: user._id,
email: user.email,
firstName: user.firstName,
lastName: user.lastName,
googleId: user.googleId,
avatar: user.avatar
},
process.env.JWT_ACCESS_SECRET,
{ expiresIn: '10s', algorithm: process.env.JWT_ALGORITHM }
);
console.log('Access Token from auth.js:', accessToken);
return accessToken;
};
const generateRefreshToken = (user) => {
const refreshToken = jwt.sign(
{
id: user._id,
email: user.email,
firstName: user.firstName,
lastName: user.lastName,
googleId: user.googleId,
avatar: user.avatar
},
process.env.JWT_REFRESH_SECRET,
{ expiresIn: '30d', algorithm: process.env.JWT_ALGORITHM }
);
console.log('Refresh Token from auth.js:', refreshToken);
return refreshToken;
};
// Google OAuth route
router.post('/google', async (req, res) => {
const { token } = req.body;
try {
const ticket = await client.verifyIdToken({
idToken: token,
audience: process.env.REACT_APP_GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID,
});
const { sub, name, email, picture } = ticket.getPayload();
console.log('Google user info:', { sub, name, email, picture });
const [firstName, ...lastNameArray] = name.split(' ');
const lastName = lastNameArray.join(' ');
let user = await User.findOne({ googleId: sub });
if (!user) {
user = new User({
googleId: sub,
firstName,
lastName,
email,
avatar: picture,
});
await user.save();
}
const accessToken = generateAccessToken(user);
const refreshToken = generateRefreshToken(user);
res.cookie('refreshToken', refreshToken, {
httpOnly: true,
secure: false,
maxAge: 30 * 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000, // 30 days
sameSite: 'Lax'
});
res.status(200).json({ accessToken });
} catch (error) {
console.error('Error verifying Google token:', error);
res.status(500).json({ message: 'Internal server error' });
}
});
// New User Registration Route
router.post('/register', async (req, res) => {
const { firstName, lastName, email, password, confirmPassword } = req.body;
console.log('Register request body:', req.body);
if (password !== confirmPassword) {
return res.status(400).json({ message: 'Passwords do not match' });
}
try {
let user = await User.findOne({ email });
if (user) {
return res.status(400).json({ message: 'User already exists' });
}
const hashedPassword = await bcrypt.hash(password, 10);
user = new User({
firstName,
lastName,
email,
password: hashedPassword,
googleId: null
});
await user.save();
const accessToken = generateAccessToken(user);
const refreshToken = generateRefreshToken(user);
res.cookie('refreshToken', refreshToken, {
httpOnly: true,
secure: false,
maxAge: 30 * 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000, // 30 days
sameSite: 'Lax'
});
res.status(201).json({ accessToken });
} catch (error) {
console.error('Error creating user', error);
res.status(500).json({ message: 'Internal server error' });
}
});
// Existing Login Route
router.post('/login', (req, res, next) => {
passport.authenticate('local', (err, user, info) => {
if (err) {
return next(err);
}
if (!user) {
return res.status(401).json({ message: 'Invalid email or password' });
}
req.logIn(user, (err) => {
if (err) {
return next(err);
}
const accessToken = generateAccessToken(user);
const refreshToken = generateRefreshToken(user);
res.cookie('refreshToken', refreshToken, {
httpOnly: true,
secure: false, // Set to false for local development
maxAge: 30 * 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000, // 30 days
sameSite: 'Lax' // Change to Lax for local development
});
res.json({ accessToken });
});
})(req, res, next);
});
// Refresh Token Route
router.post('/refresh', (req, res) => {
const refreshToken = req.body.token;
console.log('Received refresh token in auth.js:', refreshToken);
if (!refreshToken) return res.status(401).json({ message: 'Refresh token is missing' });
jwt.verify(refreshToken, process.env.JWT_REFRESH_SECRET, (err, decoded) => {
if (err) {
console.log('Refresh token verification failed:', err);
return res.status(403).json({ message: 'Invalid refresh token' });
}
const accessToken = generateAccessToken(decoded);
console.log('Generated new access token:', accessToken);
res.json({ accessToken });
});
});
// Get the logged-in user's information
router.get('/me', ensureAuth, (req, res) => {
if (req.isAuthenticated()) {
res.json({ user: req.user });
} else {
res.status(401).json({ message: 'Not authenticated' });
}
});
module.exports = router;
middleware/auth.js
const jwt = require('jsonwebtoken');
const User = require('../models/user');
module.exports.ensureAuth = async function (req, res, next) {
console.log('Checking authentication...');
console.log('Session ID:', req.sessionID);
console.log('Session:', req.session);
const token = req.headers.authorization?.split(' ')[1];
if (!token) {
console.log('Token is missing');
return res.status(401).json({ message: 'Token is missing' });
}
jwt.verify(token, process.env.JWT_ACCESS_SECRET, async (err, decoded) => {
if (err) {
if (err.name === 'TokenExpiredError') {
console.log('Token expired at:', err.expiredAt);
// Check for refresh token in cookies
console.log('Cookies available in request:', req.cookies);
const refreshToken = req.cookies.refreshToken;
if (!refreshToken) {
console.log('Refresh token is missing from middleware');
return res.status(401).json({ message: 'Refresh token is missing' });
}
// Verify refresh token
jwt.verify(refreshToken, process.env.JWT_REFRESH_SECRET, async (err, decodedRefreshToken) => {
if (err) {
console.log('Refresh token verification failed:', err);
return res.status(403).json({ message: 'Invalid refresh token' });
}
// Generate new access token
const newAccessToken = generateAccessToken(decodedRefreshToken);
console.log('Generated new access token:', newAccessToken);
// Set new access token in response header
res.setHeader('Authorization', `Bearer ${newAccessToken}`);
// Verify the new access token
jwt.verify(newAccessToken, process.env.JWT_ACCESS_SECRET, async (err, decodedNewAccessToken) => {
if (err) {
console.log('New access token verification failed:', err);
return res.status(401).json({ message: 'New access token verification failed' });
}
console.log('New access token verified successfully:', decodedNewAccessToken);
try {
const user = await User.findById(decodedNewAccessToken.id);
if (!user) {
console.log('User not found');
return res.status(401).json({ message: 'User not found' });
}
req.user = user;
console.log('User is authenticated:', user);
return next();
} catch (err) {
console.log('Error fetching user:', err);
return res.status(500).json({ message: 'Internal server error' });
}
});
});
} else {
console.log('Token verification failed:', err);
return res.status(401).json({ message: 'Token verification failed' });
}
} else {
console.log('Token verified successfully:', decoded);
try {
const user = await User.findById(decoded.id);
if (!user) {
console.log('User not found');
return res.status(401).json({ message: 'User not found' });
}
req.user = user;
console.log('User is authenticated:', user);
return next();
} catch (err) {
console.log('Error fetching user:', err);
return res.status(500).json({ message: 'Internal server error' });
}
}
});
};
function generateAccessToken(user) {
const accessToken = jwt.sign(
{
id: user.id,
email: user.email,
firstName: user.firstName,
lastName: user.lastName,
googleId: user.googleId,
avatar: user.avatar
},
process.env.JWT_ACCESS_SECRET,
{ expiresIn: '10s', algorithm: process.env.JWT_ALGORITHM }
);
console.log('Access Token from ensureAuth.js:', accessToken);
return accessToken;
}
I have tried adjusting the cookie settings (pretty much every combo possible with these 4
res.cookie('refreshToken', refreshToken, {
httpOnly: false,
secure: false, // Set to false for local development
maxAge: 30 * 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000, // 30 days
sameSite: 'Lax' // Change to Lax for local development
});
Added lots of logging
Postman which works