Documentation Experience Platform Source Connectors Guide

Configure authentication specs for Self-Serve Sources (Batch SDK)

April 2, 2025

Topics:
Sources

CREATED FOR:

Developer

Authentication specs define how Adobe Experience Platform users can connect to your source.

The authSpec array contains information on the authentication parameters required to connect a source to Experience Platform. Any given source can support multiple different types of authentication.

Authentication specs

Self-Serve Sources (Batch SDK) supports OAuth 2 refresh codes and basic authentication. See the tables below for guidance on using an OAuth 2 refresh code and basic authentication

OAuth 2 refresh code

An OAuth 2 refresh code allows for secure access to an application by generating a temporary access token and a refresh token. The access token allows you to securely access your resources without having to provide other credentials, while the refresh token allows you to generate a new access token, once the access token expires.

View example of an OAuth 2 refresh code

{
  "name": "OAuth2 Refresh Code",
  "type": "OAuth2RefreshCode",
  "spec": {
    "$schema": "http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#",
    "type": "object",
    "description": "Define auth params required for connecting to generic rest using oauth2 authorization code.",
    "properties": {
      "authorizationTestUrl": {
        "description": "Authorization test url to validate accessToken.",
        "type": "string"
      },
      "clientId": {
        "description": "Client id of user account.",
        "type": "string"
      },
      "clientSecret": {
        "description": "Client secret of user account.",
        "type": "string",
        "format": "password"
      },
      "accessToken": {
        "description": "Access Token",
        "type": "string",
        "format": "password"
      },
      "refreshToken": {
        "description": "Refresh Token",
        "type": "string",
        "format": "password"
      },
      "expirationDate": {
        "description": "Date of token expiry.",
        "type": "string",
        "format": "date",
        "uiAttributes": {
          "hidden": true
        }
      },
      "accessTokenUrl": {
        "description": "Access token url to fetch access token.",
        "type": "string"
      },
      "requestParameterOverride": {
        "type": "object",
        "description": "Specify parameter to override.",
        "properties": {
          "accessTokenField": {
            "description": "Access token field name to override.",
            "type": "string"
          },
          "refreshTokenField": {
            "description": "Refresh token field name to override.",
            "type": "string"
          },
          "expireInField": {
            "description": "ExpireIn field name to override.",
            "type": "string"
          },
          "authenticationMethod": {
            "description": "Authentication method override.",
            "type": "string",
            "enum": [
              "GET",
              "POST"
            ]
          },
          "clientId": {
            "description": "ClientId field name override.",
            "type": "string"
          },
          "clientSecret": {
            "description": "ClientSecret field name override.",
            "type": "string"
          }
        }
      }
    },
    "required": [
      "accessToken"
    ]
  }
}

Property	Description	Example
`authSpec.name`	Displays the name of the supported authentication type.	`oAuth2-refresh-code`
`authSpec.type`	Defines the type of authentication supported by the source.	`oAuth2-refresh-code`
`authSpec.spec`	Contains information on the authentication’s schema, data type, and properties.
`authSpec.spec.$schema`	Defines the schema used for the authentication.	`http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#`
`authSpec.spec.type`	Defines the data type of the schema.	`object`
`authSpec.spec.properties`	Contains information on the credentials used for the authentication.
`authSpec.spec.properties.description`	Displays a brief description on the credential.
`authSpec.spec.properties.type`	Defines the data type of the credential.	`string`
`authSpec.spec.properties.clientId`	The client ID associated with your application. The client ID is used in conjunction with your client secret to retrieve your access token.
`authSpec.spec.properties.clientSecret`	The client secret associated with your application. The client secret is used in conjunction with your client ID to retrieve your access token.
`authSpec.spec.properties.accessToken`	The access token authorizes your secure access to your application.
`authSpec.spec.properties.refreshToken`	The refresh token is used to generate a new access token, when the access token expires.
`authSpec.spec.properties.expirationDate`	Defines the expiration date of the access token.
`authSpec.spec.properties.refreshTokenUrl`	The URL used to retrieve your refresh token.
`authSpec.spec.properties.accessTokenUrl`	The URL used to retrieve your refresh token.
`authSpec.spec.properties.requestParameterOverride`	Allows you to specify credential parameters to override when authenticating.
`authSpec.spec.required`	Displays the credentials required in order to authenticate.	`accessToken`

Basic authentication

Basic authentication is an authentication type that allows you to access your application by using a combination of your account username and your account password.

View example of basic authentication

{
  "name": "Basic Authentication",
  "type": "BasicAuthentication",
  "spec": {
    "$schema": "http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#",
    "type": "object",
    "description": "defines auth params required for connecting to rest service.",
    "properties": {
      "username": {
        "description": "Username to connect rest endpoint.",
        "type": "string"
      },
      "password": {
        "description": "Password to connect rest endpoint.",
        "type": "string",
        "format": "password"
      }
    },
    "required": [
      "username",
      "password"
    ]
  }
}

Property

Description

Example

authSpec.name

Displays the name of the supported authentication type.

Basic Authentication

authSpec.type

Defines the type of authentication supported by the source.

BasicAuthentication

authSpec.spec

Contains information on the authentication’s schema, data type, and properties.

authSpec.spec.$schema

Defines the schema used for the authentication.

http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#

authSpec.spec.type

Defines the data type of the schema.

object

authSpec.spec.description

Displays further information specific to your authentication type.

authSpec.spec.properties

Contains information on the credentials used for the authentication.

authSpec.spec.properties.username

The account username associated with your application.

authSpec.spec.properties.password

The account password associated with your application.

authSpec.spec.required

Specifies the fields required as mandatory values to be inputted in Experience Platform.

username

API key authentication

API key authentication is a secure method for accessing APIs by providing an API key and other relevant authentication parameters in requests. Depending on your specific API information, you can send the API key as part of the request header, query parameters, or body.

The following parameters are typically required when using API key authentication:

Parameter

Type

Required

Description

host

string

No

The resource URL.

authKey1

string

Yes

The first authentication key required for API access. It is usually sent in the request header or query parameters.

authKey2

string

Optional

A second authentication key. If required, this key os often used to further validate requests.

authKeyN

string

Optional

An additional authentication variable that can be used as needed, but the API.

View API key authentication

{
  "name": "API Key Authentication",
  "type": "KeyBased",
  "spec": {
    "$schema": "http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#",
    "type": "object",
    "description": "Define authentication parameters required for API access",
    "properties": {
      "host": {
        "type": "string",
        "description": "Enter resource URL host path"
      },
      "authKey1": {
        "type": "string",
        "format": "password",
        "title": "Authentication Key 1",
        "description": "Primary authentication key for accessing the API",
        "restAttributes": {
          "headerParamName": "X-Auth-Key1"
        }
      },
      "authKey2": {
        "type": "string",
        "format": "password",
        "title": "Authentication Key 2",
        "description": "Secondary authentication key, if required",
        "restAttributes": {
          "headerParamName": "X-Auth-Key2"
        }
      },
      ..
      ..
      "authKeyN": {
        "type": "string",
        "format": "password",
        "title": "Additional Authentication Key",
        "description": "Additional authentication keys as needed by the API",
        "restAttributes": {
          "headerParamName": "X-Auth-KeyN"
        }
      }
    },
    "required": [
      "authKey1"
    ]
  }
}

Authentication behavior

You can use the restAttributes parameter to define how the API key should be included in the request. For instance, in the example below, the headerParamName attribute indicates that the X-Auth-Key1 should be sent as a header.

  "restAttributes": {
      "headerParamName": "X-Auth-Key1"
  }

Each authentication key (such as authKey1, authKey2, etc.) can be associated with restAttributes, to dictate how they are sent as requests.

If authKey1 has "headerParamName": "X-Auth-Key1". This means that the request header should include X-Auth-Key:{YOUR_AUTH_KEY1}. Additionally, key name and the headerParamName don’t necessarily have to be the same. For example:

The authKey1 can have headerParamName: X-Custom-Auth-Key. This means that the request header will use X-Custom-Auth-Key instead of authKey1.
Conversely, authKey1 can have headerParamName: authKey1. This means that the request header name remains unchanged.

Example API format

GET /data?X-Auth-Key1={YOUR_AUTH_KEY1}&X-Auth-Key2={YOUR_AUTH_KEY2}

Example authentication spec

The following is an example of a completed authentication spec using a MailChimp Members source.

View example authentication spec

  "authSpec": [
    {
      "name": "OAuth2 Refresh Code",
      "type": "OAuth2RefreshCode",
      "spec": {
        "$schema": "http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#",
        "type": "object",
        "description": "Define auth params required for connecting to generic rest using oauth2 authorization code.",
        "properties": {
          "authorizationTestUrl": {
            "description": "Authorization test url to validate accessToken.",
            "type": "string"
          },
          "accessToken": {
            "description": "Access Token of mailChimp endpoint.",
            "type": "string",
            "format": "password"
          }
        },
        "required": [
          "accessToken"
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Basic Authentication",
      "type": "BasicAuthentication",
      "spec": {
        "$schema": "http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#",
        "type": "object",
        "description": "defines auth params required for connecting to rest service.",
        "properties": {
          "username": {
            "description": "Username to connect mailChimp endpoint.",
            "type": "string"
          },
          "password": {
            "description": "Password to connect mailChimp endpoint.",
            "type": "string",
            "format": "password"
          }
        },
        "required": [
          "username",
          "password"
        ]
      }
    }
  ],

Next steps

With your authentication specifications populated, you can proceed to configure the source specifications for the source that you want to integrate to Experience Platform. See the document on configuring source specifications for more information.

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