Creating a JSON Web Token (JWT)

Here is an example of a reference Go implementation (as a cli tool) for generating tokens without the use of any 3rd party library:

package main

import (
	"crypto"
	"crypto/ecdsa"
	"crypto/rand"
	"crypto/rsa"
	"crypto/sha256"
	"crypto/x509"
	"encoding/base64"
	"encoding/json"
	"encoding/pem"
	"flag"
	"fmt"
	"io/ioutil"
	"os"
	"strings"
	"time"
)

// Header is the base64UrlEncoded string of a JWT header for the RS256 algorithm
const RSAHeader = "eyJhbGciOiJSUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9"

// Header is the base64UrlEncoded string of a JWT header for the EC256 algorithm
const ECHeader = "eyJhbGciOiJFUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9"

// Claims represents constraints that should be applied to the use of the token
type Claims struct {
	Iat   float64 `json:"iat,omitempty"`   // Issued At
	Exp   float64 `json:"exp,omitempty"`   // Expires At
	Accid string  `json:"accid,omitempty"` // Account ID
	Conid string  `json:"conid,omitempty"` // Content ID
	Maxu  float64 `json:"maxu,omitempty"`  // Max Uses
	Maxip float64 `json:"maxip,omitempty"` // Max IPs
	Ua    string  `json:"ua,omitempty"`    // User Agent
}

func main() {
	var key, algorithm string

	c := Claims{Iat: float64(time.Now().Unix())}

	flag.StringVar(&key, "key", "", "Path to private.pem key file")
	flag.StringVar(&c.Accid, "account-id", "", "Account ID")
	flag.StringVar(&c.Conid, "content-id", "", "Content ID (eg, video_id or live_job_id)")
	flag.Float64Var(&c.Exp, "expires-at", float64(time.Now().AddDate(0, 0, 1).Unix()), "Epoch timestamp (in seconds) for when the token should stop working")
	flag.Float64Var(&c.Maxu, "max-uses", 0, "Maximum number of times the token is valid for")
	flag.Float64Var(&c.Maxip, "max-ips", 0, "Maximum number of unique IP addresses the token is valid for")
	flag.StringVar(&c.Ua, "user-agent", "", "User Agent that the token is valid for")
	flag.StringVar(&algorithm, "algo", "", "Key algorithm to use for signing. Valid: ec256, rsa256")
	flag.Parse()

	if key == "" {
		fmt.Printf("missing required flag: -key\n\n")
		flag.Usage()
		os.Exit(1)
	}

	if algorithm == "" {
		fmt.Printf("missing required flag: -algo\n\n")
		flag.Usage()
		os.Exit(2)
	}

	if algorithm != "rsa256" && algorithm != "ec256" {
		fmt.Printf("missing valid value for -algo flag. Valid: rsa256, ec256\n\n")
		flag.Usage()
		os.Exit(3)
	}

	if c.Accid == "" {
		fmt.Printf("missing required flag: -account-id\n\n")
		flag.Usage()
		os.Exit(4)
	}

	bs, err := json.Marshal(c)
	if err != nil {
		fmt.Println("failed to marshal token to json", err)
		os.Exit(5)
	}

	kbs, err := ioutil.ReadFile(key)
	if err != nil {
		fmt.Println("failed to read private key", err)
		os.Exit(6)
	}

	if algorithm == "rsa256" {
		processRSA256(kbs, bs)
	} else {
		processEC256(kbs, bs)
	}
}

func processRSA256(kbs, bs []byte) {
	block, _ := pem.Decode(kbs)
	if block == nil {
		fmt.Println("failed to decode PEM block containing private key")
		os.Exit(7)
	}

	if block.Type != "RSA PRIVATE KEY" {
		fmt.Println("failed to decode PEM block containing private key")
		os.Exit(8)
	}

	pKey, err := x509.ParsePKCS1PrivateKey(block.Bytes)
	if err != nil {
		fmt.Println("failed to parse rsa private key", err)
		os.Exit(9)
	}

	message := RSAHeader + "." + base64.RawURLEncoding.EncodeToString(bs)

	hash := crypto.SHA256
	hasher := hash.New()
	_, _ = hasher.Write([]byte(message))
	hashed := hasher.Sum(nil)

	r, err := rsa.SignPKCS1v15(rand.Reader, pKey, hash, hashed)
	if err != nil {
		fmt.Println("failed to sign token", err)
		os.Exit(10)
	}

	sig := strings.TrimRight(base64.RawURLEncoding.EncodeToString(r), "=")

	fmt.Println(message + "." + sig)
}

func processEC256(kbs, bs []byte) {
	block, _ := pem.Decode(kbs)
	if block == nil {
		fmt.Println("failed to decode PEM block containing private key")
		os.Exit(7)
	}

	if block.Type != "EC PRIVATE KEY" {
		fmt.Println("failed to decode PEM block containing private key")
		os.Exit(8)
	}

	pkey, err := x509.ParseECPrivateKey(block.Bytes)
	if err != nil {
		fmt.Println("failed to parse ec private key", err)
		os.Exit(9)
	}

	message := ECHeader + "." + base64.RawURLEncoding.EncodeToString(bs)
	hash := sha256.Sum256([]byte(message))

	r, s, err := ecdsa.Sign(rand.Reader, pkey, hash[:])
	if err != nil {
		fmt.Println("failed to sign token", err)
		os.Exit(10)
	}

	curveBits := pkey.Curve.Params().BitSize

	keyBytes := curveBits / 8
	if curveBits%8 > 0 {
		keyBytes++
	}

	rBytes := r.Bytes()
	rBytesPadded := make([]byte, keyBytes)
	copy(rBytesPadded[keyBytes-len(rBytes):], rBytes)

	sBytes := s.Bytes()
	sBytesPadded := make([]byte, keyBytes)
	copy(sBytesPadded[keyBytes-len(sBytes):], sBytes)

	out := append(rBytesPadded, sBytesPadded...)

	sig := base64.RawURLEncoding.EncodeToString(out)
	fmt.Println(message + "." + sig)
}