NodeJs Series (Part#4) — Basic Authentication with “basic-auth” Module.

This article continues from the previous article, where we manually checked the username and password in the Authorization header. To simplify the process, we are now using the basic-auth module.

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The basic-auth module in Node.js makes it easier to handle Basic Authentication by parsing the Authorization header and extracting the credentials

Step 1: Install the basic-auth Module

npm install basic-auth

Step 2: Implement Basic Authentication Using the basic-auth Module

1. Open the app.js file
2. Replace the below basicAuth Middleware in app.js

function basicAuth(req, res, next) {
  const credentials = basicAuth(req);  // Extract credentials from the Authorization header

  if (!credentials) {
    return res.status(401).json({ message: 'No credentials provided' });
  }

  // Set your own username and password
  const validUsername = 'user';
  const validPassword = 'password';

  if (credentials.name === validUsername && credentials.pass === validPassword) {
    next();  // Authentication passed, proceed to the route
  } else {
    return res.status(403).json({ message: 'Forbidden: Invalid credentials' });
  }
}

Step 2: Run the Server

node app.js

Step 3: Testing the API

1. Open Postman.
2. Select the method as GET and enter the URL http://localhost:3000/api/secure-data.
3. Under the Authorization tab, select Basic Auth.
4. Enter the username (user) and password (password).
5. Send the request, and you should receive a response

{ "message": "This is a protected route, accessible only with valid credentials!" }

Before proceeding further, let’s first understand what middleware is and how it works in the Next Article.