Django and React Authentication System

This project implements a secure authentication system using Django as the backend and React as the frontend. The backend utilizes Django REST Framework (DRF) and SimpleJWT for token-based authentication, with JWT tokens stored in HTTP-only cookies for enhanced security.

Features

• User Registration: Users can register with a username, email, and password.
• Login: Secure login with JWT access and refresh tokens.
• Logout: Tokens are invalidated by clearing cookies.
• Token Refresh: Access tokens can be refreshed using the refresh token stored in cookies.
• Authenticated Endpoints: Users can fetch their private data (e.g., notes) after logging in.
• Custom Authentication: Uses cookies to store and validate JWT tokens.

API Endpoints

Base URLs

• Admin Panel: /admin/
• API Base: /api/

Authentication Endpoints

• Login: POST /api/token/
  Obtain access and refresh tokens.
• Refresh Token: POST /api/token/refresh/
  Refresh access tokens using the refresh token.
• Logout: POST /api/logout/
  Log out by clearing cookies.
• Register: POST /api/register/
  Create a new user account.
• Check Authentication: POST /api/authenticated/
  Verify if the user is authenticated.

Notes Endpoints

• Fetch Notes: GET /api/notes/
  Retrieve all notes for the logged-in user.

Project Structure

• Models: Defines Note model with a foreign key relationship to the User.
• Serializers: Includes serializers for user registration, notes, and authentication.
• Views: Implements views for handling authentication, registration, and fetching user-specific data.
• URLs: Organizes routes for the API and application.

Authentication Flow

1. Login:

   • Users log in using their username and password.
   • Access and refresh tokens are returned in HTTP-only cookies.

2. Token Validation:

   • Securely validate tokens from cookies using custom authentication.

3. Token Refresh:

   • Renew access tokens via the refresh token stored in cookies.

4. Logout:

   • Clear cookies to log out the user.

Prerequisites

• Python 3.8+
• Django 4.0+
• Django REST Framework
• Django REST Framework SimpleJWT

Setup

1. Clone the Repository:

   git clone https://github.com/ScotuzziJr/Authentication-System
   cd Authentication-System

2. Install Dependencies:

   pip install -r requirements.txt

3. Run Migrations:

   python manage.py migrate

4. Start the Development Server:

   python manage.py runserver

5. Access the Admin Panel:

   • Create a superuser:

     python manage.py createsuperuser

   • Visit /admin/ to log in with the superuser credentials.

Security Considerations

• Tokens are stored in HTTP-only cookies to prevent access via JavaScript.
• Cookies are marked Secure and SameSite=None to allow cross-site requests over HTTPS.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.