Strapi is a headless CMS that provides backend infrastructure for applications, allowing developers to choose any frontend technology, such as Next.js, to consume the APIs—REST or GraphQL—it creates from the stored data. This guide details the process of implementing authenticated requests to Strapi using Next.js, ensuring that only authenticated users can access certain endpoints. The tutorial includes setting up a new Strapi application and a Next.js frontend, creating user roles and permissions within Strapi to restrict public access, and fetching data from Strapi's API. It also covers using JSON Web Tokens (JWT) for authentication and storing these tokens in cookies to streamline future requests. By following these steps, developers can secure their backend while providing a seamless experience for authenticated users, with further suggestions to build complete login and logout functionalities for enhanced security.