In this detailed guide, developers are walked through the process of setting up user authentication on an Apollo Server using Prisma as the ORM, JSON Web Tokens (JWT), and Bcrypt to manage authentication and authorization in a GraphQL or REST API. The setup involves creating a project directory, configuring an Apollo Server with Prisma, and structuring the project files for scalability and maintainability. The guide explains setting up a PostgreSQL database with Docker, transitioning from dummy data to a real database, and implementing signup and login functionalities with password encryption and token generation. The context of the server is modified to include request headers for passing tokens, and a separate file manages token verification for authentication. The tutorial concludes by highlighting areas not covered, such as user roles and data protection, positioning the content as an introductory resource for developers to start using JWT for authentication on Apollo servers.