Passkeys: A Deep Dive into Authentication

Passkeys: A Deep Dive into Authentication

From ConTejas Code by Tejas Kumar

January 12, 2026 · 1h 37m

About this episode

This episode explores the complexities of digital identity and the evolution of web authentication, focusing on the emerging standard of passkeys.

Links - Codecrafters (sponsor): https://tej.as/codecrafters - Clerk: https://clerk.com - Auth0: https://auth0.com - Arctic (OAuth Library): https://arctic.js.org - Lucia (Session Library): https://lucia-auth.com Why do we still use passwords in 2026? In this episode of ConTejas Code, we tear down the complex world of digital identity. From the horror story of getting hacked at a hookah bar to the mathematical elegance of public-key cryptography, we cover how the internet knows who you actually are. Let's break down the history of web authentication, explain why "logging in" is so much harder than it looks, and demystify the new standard taking over the web: Passkeys (WebAuthn). Whether you are a developer looking for an implementation playbook or just curious why your banking app requires a fingerprint, this deep dive explains the difference between Identity, Identifiers, and Credentials—and why you should stop rolling your own auth immediately. Chapters 00:00:00 Welcome to ConTejas Code 00:01:06 Sponsor: CodeCrafters 00:01:42 Why Authentication Matters (High Stakes vs. Low Stakes) 00:07:30 Storytime: Getting Hacked at a Shisha Bar 00:19:48 The Vocabulary: Identity, Identifiers…

People in this episode

Host: Tejas Kumar

Topics covered

  • authentication
  • digital identity
  • web security
  • passkeys
  • public-key cryptography
  • user experience

Keywords

  • authentication
  • passkeys
  • digital identity
  • public-key cryptography
  • web security
  • OAuth
  • session management

Sponsors

Codecrafters

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Clerk, Auth0, Arctic, Lucia

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