directus/docs/reference/authentication.md

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API documentation on authentication in Directus.	5 min read	page-reference

Authentication

All data within the platform is private by default. The public role can be configured to expose data without authentication, or you can pass an access token to the API to access private data.

Access Tokens

There are two types of tokens that can be used to authenticate within Directus.

Temporary Token (JWT) are returned by the login endpoint/mutation. These tokens have a relatively short expiration time, and are thus the most secure option to use. The tokens are returned with a refresh_token that can be used to retrieve a new access token via the refresh endpoint/mutation.

Static Tokens can be set for each platform user, and never expire. They are less secure, but quite useful for server-to-server communication. They are saved as plain-text within directus_users.token.

Once you have your access token, there are two ways to pass it to the API, via the access_token query parameter, or in the request's Authorization Header.

Query Parameter

?access_token=<token>

Authorization Header

Authorization: Bearer <token>

Login

Retrieve a temporary access token and refresh token.

Request

POST /auth/login

POST /auth/login/:provider

{
	"email": "user_email",
	"password": "user_password"
}

POST /graphql/system

mutation {
	auth_login(email: "user_email", password: "user_password") {
		access_token
		refresh_token
	}
}

import { createDirectus } from '@directus/sdk';
import { authentication } from '@directus/sdk/authentication';
import { rest, login } from '@directus/sdk/rest';

const client = createDirectus('https://directus.example.com').with(authentication()).with(rest())

// login using the authentication composable
const result = await client.login('email', 'password');

// login http request
const result = await client.request(login('email', 'password'));

Request Body

email Required
Email address of the user you're retrieving the access token for.

password Required
Password of the user.

otp
The user's one-time-password (if MFA is enabled).

mode
Whether to retrieve the refresh token in the JSON response, or in a httpOnly secure cookie. One of json, cookie. Defaults to json.

Response

access_token string
Temporary access token to be used in follow-up requests.

expires integer
How long before the access token will expire. Value is in milliseconds.

refresh_token string
The token that can be used to retrieve a new access token through /auth/refresh. Note: if you used cookie as the mode in the request, the refresh token won't be returned in the JSON.

::: tip Expiry time

The token's expiration time can be configured through the ACCESS_TOKEN_TTL environment variable.

:::

Example

POST /auth/login

POST /auth/login/:provider

{
	"email": "admin@example.com",
	"password": "d1r3ctu5"
}

POST /graphql/system

mutation {
	auth_login(email: "admin@example.com", password: "d1r3ctu5") {
		access_token
		refresh_token
	}
}

import { createDirectus } from '@directus/sdk';
import { authentication } from '@directus/sdk/authentication';
import { rest, login } from '@directus/sdk/rest';

const client = createDirectus('https://directus.example.com').with(authentication()).with(rest())

// login using the authentication composable
const result = await client.login('admin@example.com', 'd1r3ctu5');

// login http request
const result = await client.request(login('admin@example.com', 'd1r3ctu5'));

Refresh

Retrieve a new access token using a refresh token.

Request

POST /auth/refresh

{
	"refresh_token": "gmPd...8wuB",
	"mode": "json"
}

POST /graphql/system

mutation {
	auth_refresh(refresh_token: "abc...def", mode: json) {
		access_token
		refresh_token
	}
}

import { createDirectus } from '@directus/sdk';
import { authentication } from '@directus/sdk/authentication';
import { rest, refresh } from '@directus/sdk/rest';

const client = createDirectus('https://directus.example.com').with(authentication()).with(rest())

// refresh using the authentication composable
const result = await client.refresh();

// refresh http request
const result = await client.request(refresh('refresh_token'));

Request Body

refresh_token
The refresh token to use. If you have the refresh token in a cookie through /auth/login, you don't have to submit it here.

mode
Whether to retrieve the refresh token in the JSON response, or in a httpOnly secure cookie. One of json, cookie.

Response

access_token string
Temporary access token to be used in follow-up requests.

expires integer
How long before the access token will expire. Value is in milliseconds.

refresh_token string
The token that can be used to retrieve a new access token through /auth/refresh. Note: if you used cookie as the mode in the request, the refresh token won't be returned in the JSON.

Example

POST /auth/refresh

{
	"refresh_token": "gmPd...8wuB",
	"mode": "json"
}

POST /graphql/system

mutation {
	auth_refresh(refresh_token: "abc...def", mode: json) {
		access_token
		refresh_token
	}
}

import { createDirectus } from '@directus/sdk';
import { authentication } from '@directus/sdk/authentication';
import { rest, refresh } from '@directus/sdk/rest';

const client = createDirectus('https://directus.example.com').with(authentication()).with(rest())

// refresh using the authentication composable
const result = await client.refresh();

// refresh http request
const result = await client.request(refresh('gmPd...8wuB'));

Logout

Invalidate the refresh token thus destroying the user's session.

Request

POST /auth/logout

{
	"refresh_token": "refresh_token"
}

POST /graphql/system

mutation {
	auth_logout(refresh_token: "refresh_token")
}

import { createDirectus } from '@directus/sdk';
import { authentication } from '@directus/sdk/authentication';
import { rest, logout } from '@directus/sdk/rest';

const client = createDirectus('https://directus.example.com').with(authentication()).with(rest())

// logout using the authentication composable
const result = await client.logout();

// logout http request
const result = await client.request(logout('refresh_token'));

Request Body

refresh_token
The refresh token to invalidate. If you have the refresh token in a cookie through /auth/login, you don't have to submit it here.

Example

POST /auth/logout

{
	"refresh_token": "gmPd...8wuB"
}

POST /graphql/system

mutation {
	auth_logout(refresh_token: "gmPd...8wuB")
}

import { createDirectus } from '@directus/sdk';
import { authentication } from '@directus/sdk/authentication';
import { rest, logout } from '@directus/sdk/rest';

const client = createDirectus('https://directus.example.com').with(authentication()).with(rest())

// logout using the authentication composable
const result = await client.logout();

// logout http request
const result = await client.request(logout('gmPd...8wuB'));

Request Password Reset

Request a password reset email to be sent to the given user.

Request

POST /auth/password/request

{
	"email": "user_email"
}

POST /graphql/system

mutation {
	auth_password_request(email: "user_email")
}

import { createDirectus } from '@directus/sdk';
import { rest, passwordRequest } from '@directus/sdk/rest';

const client = createDirectus('https://directus.example.com').with(rest());

const result = await client.request(passwordRequest('user_email'));

Request Body

email Required
Email address of the user you're requesting a password reset for.

reset_url
Provide a custom reset url which the link in the email will lead to. The reset token will be passed as a parameter.
Note: You need to configure the PASSWORD_RESET_URL_ALLOW_LIST environment variable to enable this feature.

Example

POST /auth/password/request

{
	"email": "admin@example.com"
}

POST /graphql/system

mutation {
	auth_password_request(email: "admin@example.com")
}

import { createDirectus } from '@directus/sdk';
import { rest, passwordRequest } from '@directus/sdk/rest';

const client = createDirectus('https://directus.example.com').with(rest());

const result = await client.request(passwordRequest('admin@example.com'));

Reset a Password

The request a password reset endpoint sends an email with a link to the admin app (or a custom route) which in turn uses this endpoint to allow the user to reset their password.

Request

POST /auth/password/reset

{
	"token": "password_reset_token",
	"password": "password"
}

POST /graphql/system

mutation {
	auth_password_reset(token: "password_reset_token", password: "password")
}

import { createDirectus } from '@directus/sdk';
import { rest, passwordReset } from '@directus/sdk/rest';

const client = createDirectus('https://directus.example.com').with(rest());

const result = await client.request(passwordReset('reset_token', 'new_password'));

Request Body

token Required
Password reset token, as provided in the email sent by the request endpoint.

password Required
New password for the user.

Example

POST /auth/password/reset

{
	"token": "eyJh...KmUk",
	"password": "d1r3ctu5"
}

POST /graphql/system

mutation {
	auth_password_reset(token: "eyJh...KmUk", password: "d1r3ctu5")
}

import { createDirectus } from '@directus/sdk';
import { rest, passwordReset } from '@directus/sdk/rest';

const client = createDirectus('https://directus.example.com').with(rest());

const result = await client.request(passwordReset('reset_token', 'new_password'));

List Auth Providers

List all the configured auth providers.

::: tip Configuring auth providers

To learn more about setting up auth providers, see Configuring auth providers.

:::

Request

GET /auth

{
	"data": [
		{
			"name": "GitHub",
			"driver": "oauth2",
			"icon": "github"
		},
		{
			"name": "Google",
			"driver": "openid",
			"icon": "google"
		},
		{
			"name": "Okta",
			"driver": "openid"
		}
	],
	"disableDefault": false
}

import { createDirectus } from '@directus/sdk';
import { rest, readProviders } from '@directus/sdk/rest';

const client = createDirectus('https://directus.example.com').with(rest());

const result = await client.request(readProviders());

Response

data Array
Array of configured auth providers.

disableDefault boolean
Whether or not the default authentication provider is disabled.

Example

GET /auth

{
	"data": [
		{
			"name": "GitHub",
			"driver": "oauth2",
			"icon": "github"
		},
		{
			"name": "Google",
			"driver": "openid",
			"icon": "google"
		},
		{
			"name": "Okta",
			"driver": "openid"
		}
	],
	"disableDefault": false
}

import { createDirectus } from '@directus/sdk';
import { rest, readProviders } from '@directus/sdk/rest';

const client = createDirectus('https://directus.example.com').with(rest());

const result = await client.request(readProviders());

Login Using SSO Providers

Will redirect to the configured SSO provider for the user to login.

Request

GET /auth/login/:provider