slicing Bearer from the prepend of the token if it exists

app/middlewares/authMiddleware.js

@@ -1,18 +1,24 @@
 const jwt = require("jsonwebtoken");
 
 const verifyToken = (req, res, next) => {
-  const token = req.header("Authorization");
+  let token = req.header("Authorization");
 
   if (!token) {
-    return res.status(403).send("A token is required for authentication");
+    return res.status(403).json({ error: "A token is required for authentication" });
+  }
+
+  if (token.startsWith("Bearer ")) {
+    token = token.slice(7, token.length); 
   }
 
   try {
     const jwtSecretKey = process.env.JWT_SECRET_KEY || "default_secret_key";
-    const decoded = jwt.verify(token.replace("Bearer ", ""), jwtSecretKey);
+    
+    const decoded = jwt.verify(token, jwtSecretKey);
     req.user = decoded;
+    
   } catch (err) {
-    return res.status(401).send("Invalid Token");
+    return res.status(401).json({ error: "Invalid token" });
   }
 
   return next();