Authenticate with an API key

Learn how to authenticate a request to view users in the portal with an API key.

Prerequisites

Steps

Create a new app

1. Open a terminal and create a new folder for your project.

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   mkdir authenticate-with-an-api-key
   cd authenticate-with-an-api-key

2. Initialize a new Node.js project. This creates a package.json file.

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   npm init

3. Install the required packages.

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   npm install @esri/arcgis-rest-request  --save

4. Create a new JavaScript file named index.js.

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   touch index.js

Get an access token

Create a new API key credential with the correct privileges to get an access token.

1. Go to the Create an API key tutorial and create an API key with the following privilege(s):
   
   • Privileges:
     • General privileges > Members > View
2. Copy the API key access token to your clipboard when prompted.

Make a request

1. Open your index.js file and import the library.

   index.js

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   import { ApiKeyManager, request } from "@esri/arcgis-rest-request";
   
   

2. Paste in your access token.

   index.js

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   import { ApiKeyManager, request } from "@esri/arcgis-rest-request";
   
   const accessToken = "YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN";
   const authentication = ApiKeyManager.fromKey(accessToken);
   
   

3. Search for users with the name john within the portal and print the results to the console.

   index.js

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   import { ApiKeyManager, request } from "@esri/arcgis-rest-request";
   
   const accessToken = "YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN";
   const authentication = ApiKeyManager.fromKey(accessToken);
   
   const url = "https://www.arcgis.com/sharing/rest/community/users";
   
   request(url, {
     authentication,
     params: {
       q: "john" // The query string to search the users against
     }
   }).then((response) => {
     console.log(JSON.stringify(response, null, 2));
   });

4. Save the file, then run it from the terminal.

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   node index.js

You should now see the results printed in your console.

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{
  "total": 10000,
  "start": 1,
  "num": 10,
  "nextStart": 11,
  "results": [
    {
      "username": "JohnDoe",
      "fullName": "John Doe",
      "id": "123",
      "firstName": "John",
      "lastName": "Doe",
      "provider": null,
      "created": 1540585165000,
      "modified": 1761576562000,

What's next?

Learn how to use additional location services in these tutorials: