Generate an Authentication Token¶

You can use cURL to try the authentication process in two steps: get a token, and send the token to a service.

1. Get an authentication token by providing your user name and either your API key or your password. Here are examples of both approaches:

   You can request a token by providing your user name and your password.

   $ curl -X POST https://localhost:5000/v2.0/tokens -d '{"auth":{"passwordCredentials":{"username": "joecool", "password":"coolword"}, "tenantId":"5"}}' -H 'Content-type: application/json'
   

   Successful authentication returns a token which you can use as evidence that your identity has already been authenticated. To use the token, pass it to other services as an X-Auth-Token header.

   Authentication also returns a service catalog, listing the endpoints you can use for Cloud services.

2. Use the authentication token to send a GET to a service you would like to use.

Authentication tokens are typically valid for 24 hours. Applications should be designed to re-authenticate after receiving a 401 (Unauthorized) response from a service endpoint.

Note

If you programmatically parse an authentication response, be aware that service names are stable for the life of the particular service and can be used as keys. You should also be aware that a user’s service catalog can include multiple uniquely-named services that perform similar functions.