# The MERN Auth Flow: How JWT actually works (Without the headache)

Authentication is the most confusing part of learning the MERN stack. When I started building full-stack apps, I struggled to understand what actually happens between clicking "Login" and seeing the dashboard. I read tutorials that used NextAuth, Firebase, or Passport.

Source: [Dev.to](https://dev.to/yashdevelopers/-the-mern-auth-flow-how-jwt-actually-works-without-the-headache-549h)