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JWT Signature Verifier

Check whether a JSON Web Token signature is valid and whether the token is still within its validity window.

JSON Web Token

Key

What verification actually proves

A valid signature proves two things: the token was issued by someone holding the key, and not a single byte has been altered since. It does not prove the token is still current — check exp separately, which this tool reports alongside the signature result.

  • HMAC secret — for HS256, HS384 and HS512.
  • Public key (PEM) — an SPKI block beginning "BEGIN PUBLIC KEY", for RS/PS/ES algorithms.
  • JWK — the JSON key format returned by most identity providers at their /.well-known/jwks.json endpoint.

Frequently asked questions

Verification fails even though the secret looks right.

The most common causes are a trailing newline in the secret, a secret that is base64-encoded rather than plain text, and an algorithm mismatch between what the header declares and what you expected.

Can I verify with the private key?

Use the public half. This tool asks for a PUBLIC KEY block for asymmetric algorithms; extract it with: openssl rsa -in private.pem -pubout

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