JWT Bearer tokens: what it is, how to configure?

Short answer: JWT (JSON Web Token) is a compact, URL-safe token format used for authentication.

Explain a bit more

✅ Configure JWT auth: services.AddAuthentication(JwtBearerDefaults.AuthenticationScheme) .AddJwtBearer(options => { options.TokenValidationParameters = new TokenValidationParameters { ValidateIssuer = true, ValidateAudience = true, ValidateLifetime = true, ValidateIssuerSigningKey = true, IssuerSigningKey = new SymmetricSecurityKey(Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes("your-secret")) }; }); Use [Authorize] to secure endpoints.

Real-world example (ShopNest)

A ShopNest checkout request flows through middleware, hits a minimal API or controller, uses scoped services, and returns ProblemDetails on errors.

Say this in the interview

1. Define — one clear sentence (the short answer above).
2. Example — relate it to a project like ShopNest or your real work.
3. Trade-off — when you would not use it.