JWT Token Rotation — Automatic Token Rotation for Long-Lived Sessions

In this tutorial, you will learn about JWT Token Rotation. We cover key concepts, practical examples, and best practices to help you master this topic.

JWT token rotation automatically replaces short-lived tokens before they expire, using refresh token rotation with reuse detection to limit the impact of stolen refresh tokens and maintain continuous session access.

What You'll Learn

• Access token refresh lifecycle
• Refresh token rotation patterns
• Reuse detection for stolen tokens
• Concurrent session handling
• Rotation policies per client type

flowchart LR
    A["Token Issue"] --> B["Access Token (15min TTL)"]
    A --> C["Refresh Token (7 day TTL)"]
    B --> D["Use for API calls"]
    D --> E{"Expired?"}
    E -->|"No"| D
    E -->|"Yes"| F["Send refresh token"]
    F --> G{"Reuse detected?"}
    G -->|"Yes"| H["Possible token theft - invalidate all"]
    G -->|"No"| I["Issue new access + refresh"]
    I --> B
    I --> J["Old refresh invalidated"]

What's Next

Implement rotation in your {{< ilink "JWT" "JWT Authentication Service" }} and review {{< ilink "JWT" "JWT Revocation" }} for theft response.