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## JWT vs OIDC Auth Methods
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Since both the `oidc` and `jwt` auth methods ultimately operate on JWTs as
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bearer tokens, it may be confusing to know which is right for a given use case.
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- **JWT**: The user or application performing the Consul login must already be
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in possession of a valid JWT to begin. There is no browser interaction
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required. This is ideal for machine-oriented headless login where an operator
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may have already arranged for a valid JWT to be dropped on a VM or provided
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2020-07-08 23:09:00 +00:00
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to a container.
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- **OIDC**: The user performing the Consul login does not have a JWT nor do
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they even need to know what that means. This is ideal for human-oriented
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interactive login where an operator or administrator may have deployed SSO
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widely and doesn't want to have the burden of tracking and distributing
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Consul ACL tokens to any authorized coworker who may need to have access to a
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Consul instance. Browser interaction is required. **This is only available in
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[Consul Enterprise](https://www.hashicorp.com/products/consul/)**.
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