🔐 Authentication System using Node.js

A secure Authentication System built using Node.js, Express.js, MongoDB, Mongoose, bcrypt, JWT, Cookies, and EJS.

This project demonstrates a complete authentication flow including user registration, login, password hashing, JWT authentication, cookie-based session handling, and protected routes.

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🚀 Features

• User Registration (Sign Up)
• User Login
• Secure Password Hashing using bcrypt
• JWT Token Authentication
• Cookie-Based Session Handling
• Protected Dashboard Route
• Logout Functionality
• MongoDB Database Integration
• EJS Templating Engine
• Simple Instagram-inspired UI

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🛠️ Tech Stack

Backend

• Node.js
• Express.js
• MongoDB
• Mongoose

Authentication & Security

• bcrypt
• JSON Web Token (JWT)
• Cookie Parser

Frontend

• HTML
• CSS
• EJS

Tools

• Git
• GitHub

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📂 Project Structure

authentication-system-nodejs
│
├── models
│   └── User.js
│
├── public
│   └── style.css
│
├── views
│   ├── signup.ejs
│   ├── login.ejs
│   └── dashboard.ejs
│
├── app.js
├── package.json
├── package-lock.json
└── .gitignore

🔄 Authentication Flow

1. User Registration

User signs up with username & password Password is hashed using bcrypt Stored securely in MongoDB

2. User Login

Credentials are verified Password compared using bcrypt JWT token generated on success

3. JWT Authentication

Token stored in browser cookies Used to access protected routes

4. Protected Dashboard

Only authenticated users can access dashboard Invalid token blocks access

5. Logout

JWT cookie is cleared User redirected to login page

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🎥 Project Flow

Signup → Login → Dashboard → Logout

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📚 Concepts Learned

Express Routing

MongoDB & Mongoose

Schema & Models

Password Hashing

Authentication vs Authorization

JWT Tokens

Cookies & Sessions

Middleware

Protected Routes

EJS Templating

CRUD Operations

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⚙️ Installation

git clone https://github.com/LashminiAD/authentication-system-nodejs.git cd authentication-system-nodejs npm install Start MongoDB mongodb://localhost:27017/AuthDB Run Project npm start

or

nodemon app.js Open in Browser http://localhost:3000

🔮 Future Improvements

Forgot Password Feature

Email Verification

Session Expiry Handling

Remember Me Option

Role-Based Authentication

React Frontend Integration

Deployment on Render/Vercel

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👩‍💻 Author

Lashmini A D ❤️