What's the meaning of the "kid" claim in a JWT token?
kid
is an optional header claim which holds a key identifier, particularly useful when you have multiple keys to sign the tokens and you need to look up the right one to verify the signature.
Once a signed JWT is a JWS, consider the definition from the RFC 7515:
4.1.4. "kid" (Key ID) Header Parameter
The
kid
(key ID) Header Parameter is a hint indicating which key was used to secure the JWS. This parameter allows originators to explicitly signal a change of key to recipients. The structure of thekid
value is unspecified. Its value MUST be a case-sensitive string. Use of this Header Parameter is OPTIONAL.When used with a JWK, the
kid
value is used to match a JWKkid
parameter value.
The kid
(key ID) claim is an optional header claim, used to specify the key for validating the signature.
It is described here: http://self-issued.info/docs/draft-jones-json-web-token-01.html#ReservedHeaderParameterName