Authentication Overview

This guide explains how to authenticate with our API. We support several authentication methods:

API Keys

The simplest authentication method is to use API keys. Each API key is associated with a specific user and has specific permissions.

// Example API Key request
const response = await fetch('https://api.example.com/data', {
  headers: {
    'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_API_KEY'
  }
});

OAuth 2.0

For more secure applications, we support OAuth 2.0 authentication flow:

1. Authorization Request: Redirect users to our authorization URL
2. User Consent: User approves access to their account
3. Authorization Code: Our server returns an authorization code
4. Token Exchange: Exchange the code for an access token
5. API Requests: Use the access token to access protected resources

JWT Tokens

After authentication, we issue JWT tokens that contain encoded information about the user and their permissions.

// Example JWT token usage
const response = await fetch('https://api.example.com/protected-resource', {
  headers: {
    'Authorization': 'Bearer eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9...'
  }
});

Session Management

Sessions are valid for 24 hours by default. To refresh a session:

const refreshResponse = await fetch('https://api.example.com/auth/refresh', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'Content-Type': 'application/json',
    'Authorization': 'Bearer CURRENT_REFRESH_TOKEN'
  }
});

// Parse the new tokens
const { accessToken, refreshToken } = await refreshResponse.json();

Best Practices

1. Never store API keys or tokens in client-side code
2. Use environment variables for sensitive credentials
3. Implement token refresh mechanisms for long-running applications
4. Set appropriate token expiration times
5. Use HTTPS for all API requests