CrashPlan API authentication methods

Overview

Most requests to the Code42 API must be authenticated. This article describes the available Code42 API authentication methods and provides examples of their use.

Considerations

The examples in this article use curl, but the concepts apply to other tools that can be used to interact with the Code42 API.
Users on CrashPlan product product plans cannot use the Code42 Developer Portal for their API integrations. Only users on Incydr product plans can use the portal.
Although basic authentication is deprecated, you can still use basic authentication to obtain a token. For more information on deprecations, see Code42 API release notes.

Comparison of Code42 API authentication methods

The Code42 API offers the following authentication methods:

Obtain a token with an API client: You obtain a temporary authentication token that is good for 15 minutes and use it to authenticate API requests.
Use basic authentication (deprecated): You provide your username and password to authenticate each API request.
Use basic authentication to obtain a token: You obtain a temporary authentication token that is good for 30 minutes and use it to authenticate API requests.

The following table describes the advantages and disadvantages of each authentication method:

Authentication method	Advantages	Disadvantages
Obtain a token with an API client	Better performance than basic authentication More secure than a token obtained with a username and password Utilizes a secret that can be reset if needed Tokens expire in 15 minutes	More complex to use than basic authentication
Use basic authentication	Simple to use	Passwords may be saved in the history of your tool Not allowed for version 3 resources, except for the resource that provides a token Deprecated
Use basic authentication to obtain a token	Better performance than basic authentication More secure than basic authentication (tokens expire in 30 minutes)	More complex to use than basic authentication Not as secure as a token obtained with an API client

Obtain a token with an API client

To obtain a token, first create an API client.

After you create an API client and have saved the client ID and secret, submit the information to obtain an authentication token.

Request the token with the /api/v3/oauth/token resource:

curl -X POST -u '<clientID>:<secret>' -H "Accept: application/json" "<requestURL>/api/v3/oauth/token?grant_type=client_credentials"

In the example (which uses curl), replace <ClientID> with the API client ID and replace <Secret> with the API client secret. Replace <request_url> with the URL of your Code42 cloud instance:

For example:

curl -X POST -u 'key-79muGw9i424:DWL-mPQ' -H "Accept: application/json" "https://console.eu5.cpg.crashplan.com/api/v3/oauth/token?grant_type=client_credentials"

A successful request returns an authentication token. For example:

{"access_token":"eyJjdHkiO_bxYJOOn28y...5HGtGHgJzHVCE8zfy1qRBf_rhchA","token_type":"bearer","expires_in":900}

Use the authentication token (also known as a bearer token) in all your API requests. For example, following is an API request to get a list of users:

curl -X GET 'https://console.eu5.cpg.crashplan.com/api/v3/users?active=true&blocked=false&pageSize=100' -H "authorization: Bearer eyJjdHkiO_bxYJOOn28y...5HGtGHgJzHVCE8zfy1qRBf_rhchA"

Use basic authentication

Basic authentication is deprecated. Instead, use basic authentication to obtain a token. For more information about this and other API deprecations, see Code42 API release notes.

To use basic authentication, include your Code42 username in the API request and supply your password when prompted.

curl -u "username" <request_url>/api/v1/Computer

Replace <request_url> with the address of your Code42 environment (do not include the brackets in your request).

You can use basic authentication for any version 1 or 4 and later resource, and version 3's /auth/jwt resource.

Use basic authentication to obtain a token

Request URLs

The request URL you use in your authentication request depends on your Code42 cloud address. Use the following request URLs:

Step 1: Get the token

Include your Code42 username in a GET request to auth/jwt and supply your password when prompted.
Copied!
```
curl -u "username" <request_url>/api/v3/auth/jwt?useBody=true
```
Replace <request_url> with the address of your Code42 environment (do not include the brackets in your request).

Authentication cookies are not supported
You must include the ?useBody=true query parameter in the auth/jwt request to return the token in the response body. Omitting the ?useBody=true query parameter or using ?useBody=false results in the token being returned in an authentication cookie, which is not supported by the Code42 API. Include the returned token in subsequent API requests using the authorization header with the Bearer scheme, for example, -H 'authorization: Bearer <token>'

If your organization uses two-factor authentication for local users, you must also include a totp-auth header value containing the six- to eight-digit Time-based One-Time Password (TOTP) supplied by the Google Authenticator mobile app. (Sending the request without the TOTP displays the error message TIME_BASED_ONE_TIME_PASSWORD_REQUIRED.) The example below includes a TOTP value of 424242.
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```
curl -u "username" -H "totp-auth: 424242" https://<request_url>/api/v3/auth/jwt?useBody=true 
```
From the reply, copy the value of the v3_user_token. In the example below, it is eyJjdHki...txd546Eg
```
{"data":{"v3_user_token":"eyJjdHki...txd546Eg"},"error":null,"warnings":null}
```

Step 2: Use the token in API requests

Include that token in API requests. For example:

tkn="eyJjdHki...txd546Eg"
curl --header 'Authorization: Bearer '$tkn <request_url>/api/v1/User
curl --header 'Authorization: Bearer '$tkn <request_url>/api/v3/org/<organizationID>/user
curl -H 'Authorization: Bearer '$tkn <request_url>/api/v4/role/view