Monocloud Auth Express

MonoCloud Express API protection (@monocloud/backend-node/express)

Backend SDK for validating MonoCloud-issued access tokens in Express APIs. Handles JWT signature verification (via JWKS) and opaque-token introspection automatically based on token format.

Package identity — read this first

Use: @monocloud/backend-node with the /express subpath. This is a single npm package that also ships /fastify.

This is not the same SDK as @monocloud/auth-nextjs (frontend, user sessions) or @monocloud/auth-node-core (server-side auth flows). This package is purely for API protection — validating tokens issued elsewhere, not signing users in.

If you see any of these symbols, they belong to a different package or an older SDK — do not use them here:

• expressJwt, expressOAuth2BearerToken, passport-* (other libraries)
• requireAuth, requireScopes as standalone functions (this SDK uses one chained call)
• Importing from @monocloud/backend-node root for Express middleware (use the /express subpath)

Installation

npm install @monocloud/backend-node

Environment variables

Required:

Required only when validating opaque tokens (or when MONOCLOUD_BACKEND_INTROSPECT_JWT_TOKENS=true):

Optional tuning:

Basic wiring

import express from "express";
import {
  protectApi,
  type AuthenticatedExpressRequest,
} from "@monocloud/backend-node/express";

const app = express();

// Reads MONOCLOUD_BACKEND_* env vars. Build it once and reuse.
const protect = protectApi();

// Bare protection — any valid token works
app.get("/api/me", protect(), (req, res) => {
  const { claims } = req as AuthenticatedExpressRequest;
  res.json({ sub: claims.sub });
});

// Scope-gated
app.post("/api/posts", protect({ scopes: ["posts:write"] }), (req, res) => {
  res.status(201).end();
});

// Group-gated (uses MONOCLOUD_BACKEND_GROUPS_CLAIM or override per call)
app.delete("/api/posts/:id", protect({ groups: ["admin"] }), (req, res) => {
  res.status(204).end();
});

app.listen(3000);

Two-call pattern: protectApi() builds a factory once (parses env, loads JWKS lazily); calling the factory with options returns the actual middleware. Build the factory outside the request hook, call the factory inline per route.

What protect(options) accepts

options (all optional):

interface ProtectOptions {
  scopes?: string[]; // require all listed scopes
  groups?: string[]; // require group membership (any-of by default)
  validateCertificateBinding?: boolean; // mTLS-bound token validation
}

• scopes: AND semantics — the token must carry every listed scope (string match against the scope claim).
• groups: OR by default; flip with MONOCLOUD_BACKEND_GROUPS_MATCH_ALL=true (or per-client groupOptions.matchAll). The claim name comes from MONOCLOUD_BACKEND_GROUPS_CLAIM.
• validateCertificateBinding: enforces the cnf.x5t#S256 confirmation claim against the client's TLS cert. Requires a certificateResolver to be wired (see "Advanced" below).

Client constructor options

new MonoCloudBackendNodeClient(options) accepts the backend-node option shape. Use this when you need a shared client, non-env configuration, or a custom token-claims cache:

interface MonoCloudBackendNodeClientOptions {
  tenantDomain: string;
  audience: string;
  clientId?: string;
  clientSecret?: string;
  clientAuthMethod?: ClientAuthMethod;
  groupOptions?: { groupsClaim?: string; matchAll?: boolean };
  clockSkew?: number;
  clockTolerance?: number;
  jwksCacheDuration?: number;
  metadataCacheDuration?: number;
  introspectJwtTokens?: boolean;
  cache?: ICache;
  fetcher?: (input: RequestInfo, init?: RequestInit) => Promise<Response>;
}

cache?: ICache is constructor-only; pass it in code to cache validated access-token claims by raw token until the token expires.

Default responses

• No Authorization: Bearer <token> header (and no custom tokenResolver): 401 { "message": "unauthorized" }
• Token validation fails (signature, audience, issuer, expiry, mismatched cnf, etc.): 401 { "message": "unauthorized" }
• Token is valid but missing required scopes or groups: 403 { "message": "forbidden" }

The middleware does not call next(err) — it sends the response directly. If you want custom error responses, wrap the middleware or implement your own using MonoCloudBackendNodeClient.validateAccessToken().

Reading the validated claims

After protect() runs successfully, req.claims is populated with AccessTokenClaims. Cast the request:

import type { AuthenticatedExpressRequest } from "@monocloud/backend-node/express";

app.get("/api/me", protect(), (req, res) => {
  const { claims } = req as AuthenticatedExpressRequest;
  // claims.sub, claims.scope, claims.exp, claims.iat, etc.
  res.json(claims);
});

Alternatively, declare a global Express namespace augmentation if you don't want to cast per-route:

import type { AccessTokenClaims } from "@monocloud/backend-node";
declare global {
  namespace Express {
    interface Request {
      claims?: AccessTokenClaims;
    }
  }
}

Advanced: shared client, custom resolvers, caching

import {
  protectApi,
  MonoCloudBackendNodeClient,
  type ICache,
} from "@monocloud/backend-node/express";

// Build a client explicitly when you need a cache or non-env config
const client = new MonoCloudBackendNodeClient({
  tenantDomain: "https://acme.us.monocloud.com",
  audience: "https://api.example.com",
  cache: redisCache, // your ICache implementation — caches by token until exp
  introspectJwtTokens: false,
});

const protect = protectApi(client, {
  // Pull token from somewhere other than Authorization: Bearer
  tokenResolver: async (req) => req.cookies.access_token,
  // Provide the client cert for mTLS-bound tokens (use with validateCertificateBinding)
  certificateResolver: async (req) => req.headers["x-client-cert"] as string,
});

app.get(
  "/api/secure",
  protect({ validateCertificateBinding: true }),
  (req, res) => {
    res.json((req as AuthenticatedExpressRequest).claims);
  },
);

ICache interface (implement for Redis, in-memory, etc.):

interface ICache {
  get(token: string): Promise<AccessTokenClaims | null | undefined>;
  set(
    token: string,
    claims: AccessTokenClaims,
    expiresAt: number,
  ): Promise<void>;
  delete(token: string): Promise<void>;
}

Caching is keyed on the raw token string and respects claims.exp minus the configured clock skew/tolerance — short-lived tokens self-expire.

JWT vs. introspection — how the SDK decides

• If the token has three dot-separated parts (xxx.yyy.zzz) and introspectJwtTokens is false (default): the SDK validates the JWT locally using JWKS fetched from the tenant. No network call per request after the JWKS cache warms.
• Otherwise (opaque tokens, or introspectJwtTokens=true): the SDK calls the OIDC introspection endpoint. Requires clientId + clientSecret (or another clientAuthMethod).

This means: JWT tokens don't require client credentials. Opaque tokens do. If you see MonoCloudValidationError: clientId is required when receiving opaque tokens, set the introspection env vars.

Common pitfalls

1. Wrong import path. protectApi must be imported from @monocloud/backend-node/express, not the root. The root only exports the framework-agnostic MonoCloudBackendNodeClient class.
2. Audience mismatch. MONOCLOUD_BACKEND_AUDIENCE must exactly match the aud claim minted by your authorization server for this API. A trailing slash or http vs https difference will fail validation.
3. Building the factory per request. protectApi() is meant to be called once at startup. Calling it inside a route handler creates a new client per request and re-fetches the JWKS each time.
4. Forgetting to install body-parser before protect. protect() doesn't read the body, but if your route does, register body parsers normally. Order doesn't matter for the auth middleware.
5. Calling next() after the auth middleware sent a 401/403. The middleware sends the response synchronously on failure and doesn't call next. If you wrap it, check res.headersSent.
6. Group claim missing. If groups is set but the token doesn't carry the claim named by MONOCLOUD_BACKEND_GROUPS_CLAIM (or the default), the request is forbidden. Configure the claim in the MonoCloud dashboard or set groupsClaim explicitly.
7. Local JWT validation suddenly hitting the network. If you set MONOCLOUD_BACKEND_INTROSPECT_JWT_TOKENS=true, every JWT request also calls introspection. Usually unwanted; only enable if you specifically need server-side revocation checks.

Onboarding checklist

1. npm install @monocloud/backend-node.
2. Add MONOCLOUD_BACKEND_TENANT_DOMAIN and MONOCLOUD_BACKEND_AUDIENCE to your env. If you'll accept opaque tokens, also add MONOCLOUD_BACKEND_CLIENT_ID and MONOCLOUD_BACKEND_CLIENT_SECRET.
3. Register an API (audience) in the MonoCloud dashboard matching MONOCLOUD_BACKEND_AUDIENCE.
4. Build the factory once: const protect = protectApi();
5. Apply per-route: app.get('/path', protect({ scopes: [...] }), handler);
6. Cast req to AuthenticatedExpressRequest inside handlers to read claims.

Related types and errors

Re-exported from @monocloud/auth-core via @monocloud/backend-node:

• AccessTokenClaims, JwtClaims, Jwk, Jwks, IssuerMetadata, ClientAuthMethod
• MonoCloudAuthBaseError, MonoCloudValidationError, MonoCloudOPError, MonoCloudHttpError, MonoCloudTokenError

A failed scope/group check throws MonoCloudTokenError with the message 'Token is missing required scopes' or 'Token is missing required groups' — these get converted to 403 by the middleware. Other validation failures throw MonoCloudTokenError or MonoCloudValidationError and become 401.

Deeper reference

• references/api-surface.md — every export from @monocloud/backend-node/express, full type signatures, env-var → option mapping, defaults.
• references/troubleshooting.md — symptom → cause → fix index for the most common failure modes (audience mismatch, opaque-token introspection config, scope/group enforcement quirks, mTLS binding errors, JWKS thrash).

Source: monocloud/agent-skills — distributed by TomeVault.