Engineering Notes

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Insights, ideas, and practical knowledge from the world of software, technology, and digital products.

RS256 vs HS256: Choosing a JWT Signing Algorithm for Multi-Tenant Systems

HS256 and RS256 solve the same problem differently — one shares a secret, one doesn’t. Here’s why that distinction matters more once more than one service needs to verify a token.

6 min read

Backend & Identity

A Backend & Identity Glossary: JWT, JWKS, Multi-Tenancy, and More

Plain definitions for the terms that come up most when talking about authentication and multi-tenant backend architecture — not a complete course, a working reference.

5 min read

Backend & Identity

argon2id vs bcrypt vs scrypt: Choosing a Password Hashing Algorithm

Three real options for hashing passwords, what actually separates them, and why argon2id is the current default recommendation — not a trend, a specific set of tradeoffs.

7 min read

Backend & Identity

In-House vs. Outsourced Backend Engineering: What Actually Changes

The tradeoff isn’t cost vs. quality — it’s who owns the decisions that are expensive to unwind later. What actually changes when backend work is subcontracted instead of owned.

6 min read