Fix: Authentication Tokens Not Saving

TL;DR

Your authentication tokens aren’t being saved in your database because you haven’t implemented the storage logic after generating them. This guide walks you through adding code to save tokens, and how to check it’s working.

Steps to Fix Authentication Token Storage

1. Understand the Process
• When a user logs in successfully, your application generates an authentication token.
• This token needs to be stored securely in your database, linked to the user’s account.
• Without this storage, the token is lost when the server restarts or the application refreshes.
2. Locate Token Generation Code

Find the code responsible for creating authentication tokens. This usually happens after successful user verification (e.g., checking password). The exact location depends on your framework and setup.

3. Add Database Storage Logic

After generating the token, add code to save it in your database. Here’s a general example using Python with Flask and SQLAlchemy:

from flask import Flask, request
from flask_sqlalchemy import SQLAlchemy

db = SQLAlchemy()
app = Flask(__name__)
app.config['SQLALCHEMY_DATABASE_URI'] = 'sqlite:///users.db' # Replace with your database URL

class User(db.Model):
    id = db.Column(db.Integer, primary_key=True)
    username = db.Column(db.String(80), unique=True, nullable=False)
    token = db.Column(db.String(255))

@app.route('/login', methods=['POST'])
def login():
    # ... (User verification logic here) ...
    if verified:
        import uuid
        token = str(uuid.uuid4())
        user.token = token  # Assuming 'user' is the authenticated user object
        db.session.commit()
        return {'message': 'Login successful', 'token': token}

Important: Replace sqlite:///users.db with your actual database connection string.

4. Check Your Database Schema
• Ensure your user table has a column to store the authentication token (e.g., named ‘token’).
• The data type should be appropriate for storing long strings (e.g., VARCHAR(255) or TEXT).
5. Verify Token Storage

After implementing the storage logic, test it thoroughly:

• Log in with a user account.
• Check your database directly (using a database management tool like phpMyAdmin or DBeaver) to confirm that the token has been saved for that user.
• Retrieve the user from the database and check if the ‘token’ column contains the expected value.
6. Handle Token Updates

Consider what happens when a user logs in again. You might want to:

• Invalidate the old token by setting it to NULL or deleting it before saving the new one.
• Generate a new token each time the user logs in for increased security.
7. Security Considerations
• Hashing: Store tokens securely using hashing algorithms (e.g., bcrypt) instead of plain text. This protects them if your database is compromised.
• HTTPS: Always use HTTPS to encrypt communication between the client and server, preventing token interception.
• Token Expiration: Implement token expiration times to limit their validity.