In this tutorial, we will walk you through the process of building a session-based authentication system using Node.js, Express.js, Express-Session, Cookie-Parser, and MongoDB as the database.
First, make sure you have Node.js and MongoDB installed on your system. Create a new Node.js project and initialize it using npm.
Install the required dependencies: express, express-session, cookie-parser, and mongoose.
Set up the basic Express.js server with the necessary middleware. Require and use the cookie-parser middleware to parse the cookies, and use the express-session middleware to handle session management. Configure the session options, such as the secret key, session duration, and any other desired settings.
Connect to your MongoDB database using mongoose. Set up the necessary schema and model for the user data.
Create routes for user registration, login, and logout. In the registration route, validate the user input, create a new user object, and save it to the database. In the login route, retrieve the user data, compare the password, and if it matches, create a session for the user. In the logout route, destroy the session.
To protect routes that require authentication, create a middleware function that checks if the user has an active session. If not, redirect them to the login page.
Finally, integrate the authentication system into your views and templates. Create the necessary forms for registration and login, and handle the form submissions in the routes previously created.
Remember to handle any errors appropriately, such as duplicate user email during registration or incorrect login credentials.
By following this tutorial, you will be able to create a session-based authentication system using Node.js, Express.js, Express-Session, Cookie-Parser, and MongoDB. Enhance the security and user experience of your applications with this robust authentication system.