Authentication
In Getting Started we showed you just how easy it is to send messages using your own access token. But what if your app needs to send messages on behalf of someone else? That's where Integrations and OAuth come in.
Keep in mind that you don't need to register an integration to explore the APIs. The best way to learn the APIs is to use your own personal access token to create rooms, play with messages, etc. If you're sure that your integrations require authenticating on behalf of another Webex user, read on.
anchorWhat are Integrations?
anchorIntegrations are how you request permission to invoke Webex APIs on behalf of another user. To do this in a secure way Webex supports the OAuth 2 standard which allows 3rd party integrations to get a temporary access token for authenticating API calls instead of asking users for their password.
We'll get you there in a few easy steps:
- Register your integration with Webex
- Request permission using an OAuth Grant Flow
- Exchange the resulting Authorization Code for an Access Token
- Use the Access Token to make your API calls
anchorRegistering your Integration
anchorRegistering an integration with Webex is super easy. If you're logged in, select My Webex Apps from the menu under your avatar at the top of this page, click "Create a New App" then "Create an Integration" to start the wizard. You'll need to provide some basic information like your integration's name, description, and logo. This information should be user-facing since that's what they'll see in the permission dialog.
After successful registration you'll be taken to a different screen containing your integration's newly created Client ID and Client Secret. The Client Secret will only be shown once so please copy and keep it safe!
anchorRequesting Permission
anchorThis step requires that your integration have a user interface capable of temporarily sending users to a Webex login page. For web apps this is typically done as a popup or redirect. For mobile apps consider using a "WebView" or equivalent on your mobile platform of choice.
To kick off the flow send your user to the following URL along with a standard set of OAuth query parameters:
https://webexapis.com/v1/authorize
The required query parameters are:
response_type | Must be set to "code" |
client_id | Issued when creating your app |
redirect_uri | Must match one of the URIs provided during integration registration |
scope | A space-separated list of scopes being requested by your integration (see below) |
state | A unique string that will be passed back to your integration upon completion (see below) |
After logging in users will see a grant dialog like this one:
Scopes
Scopes define the level of access that your integration requires. The following is a complete list of scopes and their user-facing descriptions as shown in the permission dialog.
meeting:schedules_read
meeting:schedules_write
meeting:recordings_read
meeting:recordings_write
meeting:preferences_read
meeting:preferences_write
meeting:controls_read
meeting:controls_write
meeting:participants_read
meeting:participants_write
meeting:admin_participants_read
spark-admin:telephony_config_read
spark-admin:telephony_config_write
meeting:admin_schedule_read
meeting:admin_schedule_write
meeting:admin_recordings_read
meeting:admin_recordings_write
meeting:admin_transcripts_read
meeting:admin_preferences_write
meeting:admin_preferences_read
spark-compliance:meetings_read
meeting:transcripts_read
spark-compliance:meetings_write
spark-admin:workspace_locations_read
spark-admin:workspace_locations_write
spark-admin:workspace_metrics_read
identity:contacts_rw
identity:contacts_read
spark:all
spark:webrtc_calling
spark:calls_read
spark:devices_read
spark:devices_write
spark:memberships_read
spark:memberships_write
spark:messages_read
spark:messages_write
spark:organizations_read
spark:people_read
spark:places_read
spark:places_write
spark:rooms_read
spark:rooms_write
spark:team_memberships_read
spark:team_memberships_write
spark:teams_read
spark:teams_write
spark-compliance:recordings_read
spark-compliance:recordings_write
spark:xapi_statuses
spark:xapi_commands
spark:xsi
spark-admin:devices_read
spark-admin:devices_write
spark-admin:licenses_read
spark-admin:organizations_read
spark-admin:people_read
spark-admin:people_write
spark-admin:places_read
spark-admin:places_write
spark-admin:resource_group_memberships_read
spark-admin:resource_group_memberships_write
spark-admin:resource_groups_read
spark-admin:roles_read
spark-admin:call_qualities_read
spark-admin:workspaces_read
spark-admin:wholesale_sub_partners_read
spark-admin:wholesale_sub_partners_write
spark-compliance:events_read
spark-compliance:memberships_read
spark-compliance:memberships_write
spark-compliance:messages_read
spark-compliance:messages_write
spark-compliance:rooms_read
spark-compliance:rooms_write
spark-compliance:team_memberships_read
spark-compliance:team_memberships_write
spark-compliance:teams_read
spark-admin:broadworks_enterprises_read
identity:placeonetimepassword_create
Identity:one_time_password
spark-compliance:webhooks_write
spark-compliance:webhooks_read
spark:calls_write
spark-admin:hybrid_clusters_read
spark-admin:hybrid_connectors_read
spark-admin:broadworks_subscribers_read
spark-admin:broadworks_subscribers_write
audit:events_read
spark-admin:wholesale_customers_write
spark-admin:wholesale_customers_read
spark-admin:wholesale_subscribers_write
spark-admin:wholesale_subscribers_read
cjp:user
cjp:config_read
cjp:config_write
cjp:config
identity:groups_rw
identity:groups_read
guest-issuer:read
guest-issuer:write
spark:telephony_config_read
spark:telephony_config_write
spark-admin:locations_write
identity:tokens_read
identity:tokens_write
meeting:admin_config_read
meeting:admin_config_write
spark-admin:locations_read
spark-admin:datasource_write
spark-admin:datasource_read
spark:applications_token
application:webhooks_write
application:webhooks_read
spark-admin:metrics_read
guest-meeting:rw
webexsquare:get_conversation
dedicated-instance-uc:admin_perfmon_read
spark-admin:recordings_read
spark-admin:recordings_write
spark:recordings_read
spark:recordings_write
identity:organizations_read
identity:organizations_rw
spark-admin:telephony_pstn_write
spark-admin:telephony_pstn_read
spark-admin:broadworks_enterprises_write
anchorGetting an Access Token
anchorIf the user granted permission to your integration, Webex will
redirect the user's web browser to the redirect_uri
you specified when
entering the grant flow. The request to the Redirect URL will contain a
code
parameter in the query string like
so:
http://your-server.com/auth?code=YjAzYzgyNDYtZTE3YS00OWZkLTg2YTgtNDc3Zjg4YzFiZDlkNTRlN2FhMjMtYzUz
Your integration will then need to exchange this Authorization Code for
an Access Token that can be used to invoke the APIs. To do this your app
will need to perform an HTTP POST to the following URL with a standard
set of OAuth parameters. This endpoint will only accept an
x-www-form-urlencoded
body.
https://webexapis.com/v1/access_token
The required parameters are:
grant_type | This should be set to "authorization_code" |
client_id | Issued when creating your integration |
client_secret | Remember this guy? You kept it safe somewhere when creating your integration |
code | The Authorization Code from the previous step |
redirect_uri | Must match the one used in the previous step |
Webex will then respond with JSON containing an Access Token that's good for 14 days and a Refresh Token that expires in 90 days, as shown in the example below:
{
"access_token":"ZDI3MGEyYzQtNmFlNS00NDNhLWFlNzAtZGVjNjE0MGU1OGZmZWNmZDEwN2ItYTU3",
"expires_in":1209600, //seconds
"refresh_token":"MDEyMzQ1Njc4OTAxMjM0NTY3ODkwMTIzNDU2Nzg5MDEyMzQ1Njc4OTEyMzQ1Njc4",
"refresh_token_expires_in":7776000 //seconds
}
After the access token expires, using it to make a request from the API will result in an “Invalid Token Error.” At this point, you should use the refresh token to generate a new access token from the authorization server.
Using the Refresh Token
Using access tokens that are short-lived and requiring that they periodically be refreshed helps to keep data secure. If the access token is ever compromised, the attacker will have a limited time in which to use it. If a refresh token is compromised, it is useless to the attacker because the client ID and secret are also required to obtain a new access token.
To refresh the access token, issue a POST tohttps://webexapis.com/v1/access_token
with the following fields:
grant_type | This should be set to "refresh_token" |
client_id | Issued when creating your integration |
client_secret | Remember this guy? You kept it safe somewhere when creating your integration |
refresh_token | The Refresh Token you received from the previous step |
Webex will then respond with JSON containing a new Access Token. Generating a new Access Token automatically renews the lifetime of your Refresh Token.
Note: Refreshing an access token before its expiration date will not cause the original access token to expire.
anchorInvoking the Webex APIs
anchorAuthenticating with another user's Access Token works just like your
developer token; supply the token in an Authorization
header like so:
GET /rooms
Authorization: Bearer THE_ACCESS_TOKEN
Accept: application/json
or in cURL it would be
curl https://webexapis.com/v1/rooms \
-H "Authorization: Bearer THE_ACCESS_TOKEN" \
-H "Accept: application/json"
The Bearer
part is important as it instructs Webex that this is an OAuth token instead of HTTP Basic Auth.