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Managing tokens

An authentication token is the credential the app sends with each request to prove who the signed-in user is. Token managers issue these tokens when a user signs in, and validate, revoke, and list them afterwards.

Default token managers​

Serverpod provides two built-in token managers:

The main trade-off between them:

JwtTokenManagerServerSideSessionsTokenManager
ValidationStateless, no database queryDatabase query per validation
RevocationTakes effect when the short-lived access token expiresImmediate

Pick JWT to avoid database load on every request. Pick server-side sessions when revocation must take effect immediately.

Using the token managers​

After you configure at least one token manager with pod.initializeAuthServices() (see Setup), access the token manager through the AuthServices.instance.tokenManager property.

final tokenManager = AuthServices.instance.tokenManager;

The property returns a MultiTokenManager, a wrapper that combines all configured token managers. Serverpod creates it automatically when you initialize the authentication services. The first builder you pass becomes the primary token manager. The MultiTokenManager:

  • Uses the primary token manager for issuing new tokens.
  • Validates tokens against all managers (primary and additional).
  • Delegates management operations to all managers.

Token validation flow​

When validating a token, the MultiTokenManager:

  1. Tries the primary token manager first.
  2. If validation fails, tries each additional token manager in order.
  3. Returns the first successful validation result.
  4. Returns null if all managers fail to validate.

This allows you to support multiple token types simultaneously, which is useful for:

  • Migrating from one token type to another.
  • Supporting legacy tokens alongside new tokens.
  • Using different token types for different use cases.

Token lifecycle management​

Issuing tokens​

Tokens are issued automatically by identity providers when users authenticate. You can also issue tokens programmatically:

final authSuccess = await AuthServices.instance.tokenManager.issueToken(
  session,
  authUserId: userId,
  method: 'custom',
  scopes: {Scope.admin},
);

The returned AuthSuccess carries everything the app needs: the token, its expiry, the granted scopes, and, for JWT, the refresh token. Send the whole object back to the app.

Attaching metadata to tokens​

You can attach metadata to tokens in two ways. Configure a global callback on the token manager, or insert a metadata row right after issuing the token. For more details, see the specific configuration sections for server-side sessions and JWT.

Validating tokens​

Tokens are validated automatically by the authentication handler, the hook Serverpod runs for every request that carries an authentication token. You can also validate tokens manually:

final authInfo = await AuthServices.instance.tokenManager.validateToken(
  session,
  token,
);

if (authInfo != null) {
  // Token is valid
  final authUserId = authInfo.authUserId;
} else {
  // Token is invalid or expired
}

Revoking tokens​

Revoke specific tokens by token ID:

await AuthServices.instance.tokenManager.revokeToken(
  session,
  tokenId: 'token-id-here',
);

If you attach custom metadata to server-side sessions or JWT tokens, you can look up token IDs in your metadata tables, for example by device or user agent. Pass those IDs to revokeToken to revoke exactly those tokens.

Revoke all tokens for a user:

await AuthServices.instance.tokenManager.revokeAllTokens(
  session,
  authUserId: userId,
);

Revoke tokens by method:

await AuthServices.instance.tokenManager.revokeAllTokens(
  session,
  authUserId: userId,
  method: 'email',
);

Listing tokens​

List all tokens for a user:

final tokens = await AuthServices.instance.tokenManager.listTokens(
  session,
  authUserId: userId,
);

for (final token in tokens) {
  print('Token: ${token.tokenId}, Method: ${token.method}');
}

List tokens by method (for example, 'google', 'email', or 'apple'):

final tokens = await AuthServices.instance.tokenManager.listTokens(
  session,
  authUserId: userId,
  method: 'google',
);

Accessing specific token managers​

If you configure more than one token manager, retrieve a specific one with the static AuthServices.getTokenManager<T>() method.

final jwtManager = AuthServices.getTokenManager<JwtTokenManager>();
final sessionManager = AuthServices.getTokenManager<ServerSideSessionsTokenManager>();