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title: JSON Web Token (JWT) Authentication
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Many 3rd party integrations available for Kubernetes, such as GitLab and HashiCorp Vault, involve giving an external process access to the Kubernetes API using a native Kubernetes Service Account token for authentication.

In Rancher v2.9.0 and later, service accounts on downstream clusters can now authenticate through a JSON web token (JWT) using the Rancher authentication proxy. In Rancher versions earlier than  v2.9.0, only Rancher-issued tokens were supported.

To enable this feature, follow these steps:

1. In the upper left corner, click **☰ > Cluster Management**.
1. Click **Advanced** to open the dropdown menu.
1. Select **JWT Authentication**.
1. Click the checkbox for the cluster you want to enable JWT authentication for, and click **Enable**. Alternatively, you can click **⋮** > **Enable**.
