diff --git a/tildes/development.ini b/tildes/development.ini
index f463e17..809bcb6 100644
--- a/tildes/development.ini
+++ b/tildes/development.ini
@@ -45,3 +45,6 @@ webassets.base_dir = %(here)s/static
 webassets.base_url = /
 webassets.cache = false
 webassets.manifest = json
+
+# JWT settings for the API authentication
+jwt.secret = completely_insecure_jwt_secret_that_is_at_least_256_bits_long
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/tildes/production.ini.example b/tildes/production.ini.example
index 3c7ad68..21ad9a1 100644
--- a/tildes/production.ini.example
+++ b/tildes/production.ini.example
@@ -42,6 +42,9 @@ webassets.base_url = /
 webassets.cache = false
 webassets.manifest = json
 
+# JWT settings for the API authentication
+jwt.secret = SomeReallyLongSecretDifferentFromTheSessionSecretAtLeast256BitsLong
+
 # API keys for external APIs
 api_keys.embedly = embedlykeygoeshere
 api_keys.stripe.publishable = pk_live_ActualKeyShouldGoHere
diff --git a/tildes/tildes/auth.py b/tildes/tildes/auth.py
index 6b72f63..23109c2 100644
--- a/tildes/tildes/auth.py
+++ b/tildes/tildes/auth.py
@@ -3,16 +3,24 @@
 
 """Configuration and functionality related to authentication/authorization."""
 
+import jwt
 from collections.abc import Sequence
-from typing import Any, Optional
+from datetime import datetime, timedelta, timezone
+from typing import Any, Callable, Optional
 
-from pyramid.authentication import SessionAuthenticationPolicy
+from pyramid.authentication import (
+    SessionAuthenticationPolicy,
+    CallbackAuthenticationPolicy,
+)
 from pyramid.authorization import ACLAuthorizationPolicy
 from pyramid.config import Configurator
 from pyramid.httpexceptions import HTTPFound
+from pyramid.interfaces import IAuthenticationPolicy
+from pyramid_multiauth import MultiAuthenticationPolicy
 from pyramid.request import Request
 from pyramid.security import Allow, Everyone
 from sqlalchemy.orm import joinedload
+from zope.interface import implementer
 
 from tildes.models.user import User
 
@@ -80,12 +88,20 @@ def includeme(config: Configurator) -> None:
 
     config.set_authorization_policy(ACLAuthorizationPolicy())
 
-    config.set_authentication_policy(
-        SessionAuthenticationPolicy(callback=auth_callback)
-    )
+    # Get the JWT secret from settings
+    jwt_secret = config.registry.settings["jwt.secret"]
+
+    # Configure both session and JWT authentication
+    policies = [
+        SessionAuthenticationPolicy(callback=auth_callback),
+        JWTAuthenticationPolicy(secret=jwt_secret, callback=auth_callback),
+    ]
+    config.set_authentication_policy(MultiAuthenticationPolicy(policies))
 
-    # enable CSRF checking globally by default
-    config.set_default_csrf_options(require_csrf=True)
+    # enable CSRF checking globally by default, but exclude API endpoints
+    config.set_default_csrf_options(
+        require_csrf=True, callback=lambda request: not request.path.startswith("/api/")
+    )
 
     # make the logged-in User object available as request.user
     config.add_request_method(get_authenticated_user, "user", reify=True)
@@ -101,3 +117,78 @@ def has_any_permission(
     return any(
         request.has_permission(permission, context) for permission in permissions
     )
+
+
+@implementer(IAuthenticationPolicy)
+class JWTAuthenticationPolicy(CallbackAuthenticationPolicy):
+    """Authentication policy for JWT tokens.
+
+    This policy checks for an Authorization header with a Bearer token.
+    The token is expected to be a JWT signed with the application's secret key.
+    """
+
+    def __init__(
+        self,
+        secret: str,
+        callback: None | Callable[[int, Request], Optional[Sequence[str]]] = None,
+    ):
+        """Initialize the policy with a secret key for JWT validation."""
+        self.secret = secret
+        self.callback = callback
+
+    def create_jwt_token(self, user_id: int, expiry: int = 86400) -> str:
+        """Create a new JWT token for a user."""
+        payload = {
+            "sub": str(user_id),  # JWT subjects must be strings
+            "iat": datetime.now(timezone.utc),
+            "exp": datetime.now(timezone.utc) + timedelta(seconds=expiry),
+        }
+        return jwt.encode(payload, self.secret, algorithm="HS256")
+
+    def validate_jwt_token(self, token: str) -> Optional[dict[str, Any]]:
+        """Validate a JWT token and return its payload if valid."""
+        try:
+            # jwt.decode() WILL verify the expiration as well.
+            # This does not need to be checked separately.
+            return jwt.decode(token, self.secret, algorithms=["HS256"])
+        except jwt.InvalidTokenError:
+            return None
+
+    def unauthenticated_userid(self, request: Request) -> Optional[int]:
+        """Return the user id from the token without validating it."""
+
+        if not request.path.startswith("/api/"):
+            return None
+
+        auth_header = request.headers.get("Authorization")
+        if not auth_header:
+            return None
+
+        try:
+            auth_type, token = auth_header.split(" ", 1)
+        except ValueError:
+            return None
+
+        if auth_type.lower() != "bearer":
+            return None
+
+        payload = self.validate_jwt_token(token)
+        if not payload:
+            return None
+
+        try:
+            user_id = int(
+                payload["sub"]
+            )  # JWT subjects must be strings, convert to int
+        except (KeyError, ValueError):
+            return None
+
+        return user_id
+
+    def remember(self, _request: Request, _userid: int, **_kw: dict) -> Sequence[tuple]:
+        """This should not be used for JWT authentication as it is stateless."""
+        return []
+
+    def forget(self, _request: Request) -> Sequence[tuple]:
+        """This should not be used for JWT authentication as it is stateless."""
+        return []