---
title: "How the User Token Workflow Works"
---

> Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://contribute.freecodecamp.org/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# How the User Token Workflow Works

User tokens are used to identify users to third parties so challenges completed using those services can be saved to a user's account.

## How they are Created

User tokens are used to submit challenges completed through CodeRoad and freeCodeCamp OS, including Relational Database and Back End Development and APIs courses and projects.

A token gets created when a signed-in user clicks "Generate User Token" in a challenge's setup instructions. The user then clicks "Copy User Token" and follows the instructions to add it to their course environment. Starting a course or project does not generate a token.

## When they Get Deleted

A user token will be deleted when a user resets all their progress, deletes their account, or manually deletes the token using the widget on the settings page. Generating a new token also deletes any existing tokens for that user. Signing out of freeCodeCamp does not delete the token.

## How they Work

Tokens are stored in a `UserToken` collection in the database. Each record has a unique `_id`, exposed as `id` in Prisma, and a `userId` that links to the user's account in the `user` collection. The API signs the token ID in a JWT and sends it to the client when it's created.

The course environment sends that JWT to the `/coderoad-challenge-completed` endpoint in the `coderoad-user-token` header when a challenge is completed. The API verifies the JWT and looks up the token record to identify the user.

Practice challenges are saved to the user's `completedChallenges`. For certification projects that are not already completed, the API first saves the project to `partiallyCompletedChallenges`. The user must then submit their public repository URL on the challenge page to complete the project.

Source: https://contribute.freecodecamp.org/user-token-workflow/index.mdx