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How can you securely store and verify passwords in a Node.js application?

Q: How can you securely store and verify passwords in a Node.js application?

**TL;DR.** **Never** store plaintext or fast hashes (MD5/SHA). Use a **slow, salted** password hash — **bcrypt**, **scrypt**, or **argon2** — which is deliberately expensive to resist brute force. Store only the hash (salt is embedded); verify with the library's **constant-time** compare. Use the **async** API so hashing doesn't block the event loop. password argon2/bcrypt salt + high cost

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Hash + verify with argon2

import argon2 from 'argon2';

// On signup — store only the hash (salt + params embedded):
const hash = await argon2.hash(password, { type: argon2.argon2id });

// On login — constant-time verify:
const ok = await argon2.verify(storedHash, password);
if (!ok) return res.status(401).end();

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