Introduction to API authentication

What this guide covers

Plan authentication around secret isolation, least privilege, safe environments, and observable failures. Work through each step in order, preserve safe reference details, and stop before repeating an action if the original result is still unclear.

Step-by-step

1. Read the approved integration documentation for your environment before generating credentials.
2. Create or obtain a key only through the authenticated account workflow available to your role.
3. Store the secret in an environment variable or managed secret store, never in browser code or source control.
4. Send credentials only over HTTPS and only to the documented host for the selected environment.
5. Rotate exposed or obsolete keys promptly and update dependent services in a controlled deployment.

Troubleshooting

• A 401 response often indicates a missing, malformed, expired, or environment-mismatched credential.
• A 403 response can indicate insufficient permission even when authentication succeeded.
• Log request IDs and safe metadata; never log full authorization headers.

If the result changes after a check, record what changed and the exact time. That detail is often more useful than repeating every step.

Before contacting support

Prepare the smallest set of information needed to explain the issue. Redact passwords, one-time codes, API keys, authorization headers, CVVs, full card numbers, and full bank account details.

• Environment name and request ID
• HTTP status and redacted response
• Credential creation or rotation time

State the expected outcome, observed outcome, current impact, and whether the issue is ongoing or intermittent.