> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.serverlessapigateway.com/reader-guides/quickstart-first-proxy/quickstart-jwt-protected-route.md).

# Quickstart: JWT-Protected Route

Protect a single route with HS256 JWT validation without forcing authentication on every endpoint. This guide shows how to add an authorizer block and flag individual paths with `auth: true`. Use this when you control the JWT signing secret and need per-route protection.

**Last reviewed:** 2026-03-06

## When to use this

Use these quickstart guides when you are setting up Serverless API Gateway for the first time or adding a new integration pattern. Each guide walks through one isolated concern so you can deploy incrementally instead of configuring everything at once.

## Key concepts

* Every quickstart produces a deployable `wrangler.toml` and JSON config pair -- you can run `wrangler deploy` at the end of each guide.
* Guides are ordered from simplest (health endpoint) to most complex (Auth0/Supabase passwordless), so earlier guides serve as prerequisites for later ones.
* Config can come from a local file, Cloudflare KV, or the `SAG_API_CONFIG_JSON` environment variable -- choose based on your deploy workflow.
* All guides use the same JSON config schema, so patterns you learn in one guide transfer directly to others.

## Repo-grounded example

```json
{
  "authorizer": {
    "type": "jwt",
    "secret": "$env.JWT_SECRET",
    "algorithm": "HS256",
    "issuer": "https://issuer.example.com",
    "audience": "api-audience"
  },
  "paths": [
    {
      "method": "GET",
      "path": "/private",
      "auth": true,
      "response": { "private": true }
    }
  ]
}
```

This snippet configures the `authorizer` block with HS256 signing, an issuer check, and an audience check. The `auth: true` flag on the `/private` path tells the gateway to require a valid bearer token for that route only.

## Troubleshooting

* If `wrangler deploy` fails with a config error, validate your JSON against the schema file (`api-config.schema.json`) before investigating further.
* If the health endpoint returns 404, confirm that your `wrangler.toml` points to the correct main entrypoint and that the config file is being loaded.
* If JWT or Auth0 routes return 500, check that all required environment variables and secrets are set in your Cloudflare dashboard or `.dev.vars` file.
* Use `wrangler tail` to stream live logs from the deployed worker and see the exact error message the gateway produces.

## Related docs

* [introduction](/getting-started/introduction.md)
* [overview](/configuration/overview.md)
* [gateway troubleshooting matrix](/troubleshooting/wrangler-deploy-guide/gateway-troubleshooting-matrix.md)


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