# JWT format support for M2M tokens

## Why JWT?

JWT M2M tokens offer several advantages over opaque tokens:

- **Networkless verification** — JWTs can be verified locally using your instance's public key, without making a network request to Clerk's servers
- **No verification cost** — Opaque token verification costs `$0.00001` per request, while JWT verification is free since it happens locally
- **Self-contained** — All necessary information (machine ID, claims, expiration) is embedded in the token itself
- **Lower latency** — Local verification is significantly faster than a network round-trip

## When to use opaque tokens

Opaque tokens remain valuable for security-sensitive scenarios:

- **Instant revocation** — Opaque tokens can be invalidated immediately, while JWTs remain valid until they expire
- **Maximum security** — Opaque tokens do not contain any embedded information. Server-side verification is required to access payload data.

## Getting Started

**Dashboard**

To generate your M2M token format:

1. Navigate to [Machines](https://dashboard.clerk.com/~/machines/configure) in the Clerk Dashboard
2. Select the machine you want to generate the token for.
3. Select **Generate token**
4. Toggle **Generate token as JWT**
5. Select **Create**

**SDK**

```javascript
// Create a JWT token on Machine A
const m2mToken = await clerkClient.m2m.createToken({
  tokenFormat: 'jwt',
})

// Send authenticated request to Machine B
await fetch('<machine-b-url>', {
  headers: {
    Authorization: `Bearer ${m2mToken.token}`,
  },
})

// Verify the token on Machine B — no network request needed
const verified = await clerkClient.m2m.verify({ token })
```

### Pricing

We will begin charging for M2M token usage starting March 16, 2026. The pricing will be:

- `$0.001` per token creation
- `$0.00001` per token verification (opaque tokens only)

For more details, see the [M2M tokens documentation](https://clerk.com/docs/machine-auth/m2m-tokens.md) and [token formats documentation](https://clerk.com/docs/guides/development/machine-auth/token-formats.md).