Access Tokens and Refresh Tokens

Explore the use of access tokens and refresh tokens in the HyperID authentication system and how they are structured

What are Access Tokens and Refresh Tokens?

Access and refresh tokens are fundamental components of the HyperID authentication system and play a critical role in ensuring secure and seamless user interactions.

Access tokens are short-lived tokens that grant access to specific resources or actions on behalf of a user. In contrast, refresh tokens are long-lived tokens used to obtain new access tokens without requiring the user to re-authenticate.

The Purpose of Access Tokens and Refresh Tokens

Access tokens serve as the keys that unlock access to user-specific resources or perform actions on their behalf. These tokens are time-limited, which increses security by minimizing the exposure of sensitive data.

Refresh tokens, on the other hand, enable continuous interaction without frequent user logins. When an access token expires, a refresh token can be used to request a new one, ensuring uninterrupted service while maintaining security.

In This Chapter

In the following sections of this chapter, you will learn how to obtain, validate, re-issue, and revoke tokens. Additionally, we will provide an in-depth exploration of their intricate structure to ensure you have a comprehensive understanding of access and refresh tokens in the HyperID authentication system.

At the end of each section, you'll discover practical code samples that illustrate these concepts in action.