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JWT-at-edge auth

The edge validates signed JWTs before forwarding to your origin. Failed validations get 401 without ever hitting your origin.

Status: skeleton

Full content lands in a follow-up pass.

Configuration

In the portal: Sites → your site → Security tab → JWT-at-edge.

Field Value
Algorithm HS256, RS256, ES256, or EdDSA
Key Shared secret (HS256) or public key PEM (asymmetric)
Issuer claim required optional
Audience claim required optional
Token location Authorization: Bearer, cookie name, or query param
Routes protected path prefixes (default: all)

Why edge auth

  • Cuts cost: invalid tokens get rejected before reaching your origin (no compute, no bandwidth)
  • Cuts latency: legitimate users get a sub-50ms reject path on bad tokens (no origin round trip)
  • Hardens against credential stuffing: rate-limit + JWT validation at the edge means abuse never reaches origin

What it doesn't do

  • It doesn't issue tokens — your application is still the IDP
  • It doesn't enforce per-user rate limits — that's the rate-limit feature, separately
  • It doesn't decrypt JWE tokens (signed JWS only)