JWT (JSON Web Token)

A compact, URL-safe token format for securely transmitting claims between parties. A JWT consists of three Base64URL-encoded parts: header (algorithm and type), payload (claims like user ID, expiration, and issuer), and signature (cryptographic verification). JWTs are commonly used as Bearer tokens in OAuth 2.0 and API authentication. They are self-contained, eliminating the need for server-side session storage.