Enforce org access in your API using M2M tokens

If you’re using org-scoped machine-to-machine (M2M) apps, Kinde will automatically include a trusted org_code claim in the token. You can then enforce access control in your own APIs using this claim.

When to enforce org context

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You should validate org_code in any API route or resource that is tenant-specific, such as:

• /orgs/:org_code/users
• /reports/:org_code/usage
• Backend functions or queues scoped to a customer’s data

If the token’s org doesn’t match the route or request context, you should reject the request.

What to check

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When you receive a token, decode it and check the following.

1. The token is valid and not expired.
2. The token contains org_code.
3. The org_code in the token matches the organization being accessed.

Example in Node.js (Express)

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const jwt = require("jsonwebtoken");
function verifyOrgAccess(req, res, next) {
  const authHeader = req.headers.authorization;
  const token = authHeader?.split(" ")[1];
  if (!token) return res.status(401).send("Missing token");
  // If Kinde is **not** validating the token for you,
  // verify the signature instead of a raw decode.
  // const PUBLIC_KEY = ... // fetch from /.well-known/openid-configuration
  const decoded = jwt.verify(token, PUBLIC_KEY, {algorithms: ["RS256"]});
  // Check for required claims
  if (!decoded?.org_code) return res.status(403).send("Token not scoped to an organization");
  const orgFromRoute = req.params.org_code;
  if (decoded.org_code !== orgFromRoute) {
    return res.status(403).send("Token does not match organization");
  }
  next();
}

Then apply the middleware:

app.get("/orgs/:org_code/users", verifyOrgAccess, (req, res) => {
  // safe to fetch users for this org
});

Tips for working with org scoped M2M apps accessing your API

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• You don’t need to verify the token signature if Kinde is validating the token on the backend (e.g. if you’re using our hosted APIs).
• If you’re validating the token yourself, use the public key from your environment’s OpenID configuration: https://<your-subdomain>.kinde.com/.well-known/openid-configuration
• Always treat org_code as a binding contract — never override it with user input

How to treat global tokens

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If the token has no org_code, treat it as not authorized to access org-specific resources unless explicitly allowed.

You may choose to:

• Reject the request
• Allow access only to system-level endpoints
• Prompt developers to use org-scoped apps instead