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Authentication for the V2 API

Jodi Croft
Jodi Croft
  • Updated

Getting Started

In order to authenticate to the Whiplash V2 API, you will need the following:
  •   application_id, provided to you from Whiplash.
  •   client_secret, provided to you from Whiplash.
  •   user_scope, which will be user_read or user_manage. This will be provided to you from Whiplash.
  •   callback_url, which you can provide to us during V2 signup, or we can assign a temporary one to you.
  • A Whiplash web app login and password for the appropriate API environment (Sandbox for testing, production for real data).
The Whiplash V2 API uses Oauth2 as our authentication scheme. This allows API requests to act on behalf of whoever authenticates with it. When you authenticate as a user of a company, it allows you access to all of that customer's resources such as orders and items.
Note: You will be required to manually create your initial Oauth token via Whiplash App authentication. Once the relationship has been established, you can skip the manual login flow and just request refresh tokens.

Authenticating 

Sandbox URL: https://sandbox.getwhiplash.com/

Production URL: https://www.getwhiplash.com/

 

Step 1
  •  In a browser, issue a GET request to /oauth/authorize
  •  Include the following parameters:
    •    scope=YOUR USER SCOPE (usually user_read and/or user_manage) 
    •    response_type=code
    •    redirect_uri=YOUR CALLBACK_URL FROM ABOVE
    •    client_id=YOUR APPLICATION ID FROM ABOVE
   An example request would be: 

If not already logged in, you will be prompted to authenticate in the Whiplash web app. Do so with your login credentials.

Once you log in, you will be redirected to your redirect_uri with the parameter code appended to it. 
 
For example:
 
Screen_Shot_2022-02-10_at_9.05.55_AM.jpg
 

Note: We use hookbin.com simply as an example. You can just as easily have this call an endpoint in your application

Retain this code value, referred to as RETURNED_CODE.

Step 2

Make a POST to /oauth/token and include the following key/values in your post body:
  •    redirect_uri=YOUR CALLBACK_URL
  •    code=RETURNED_CODE
  •    client_id=YOUR APPLICATION ID 
  •    client_secret=YOUR CLIENT SECRET
  •    scope=YOUR USER SCOPE
  •    grant_type=authorization_code

    Screenshot_2_9_22__4_04_PM.png
  This will respond with a JSON object like:

  {
    "access_token": "ddb8c266333a19...",
    "token_type": "bearer",
    "expires_in": 7200,
    "scope": "user_manage",
    "created_at": 1510698627
    "refresh_token":"8c488ab5f75d61..."
}

This token will remain active for 2 hours. After, you will need to get a refresh token.  Hang on to the value of "refresh_token" so you will be able to get new tokens when this one expires.

TIP: If you get an "Invalid_grant" error, please reach out to the Tech Support Team. This is likely due to an expired or invalid callback URL.


Step 3

You can now make an API request to Whiplash on behalf of the user you authenticated as in Step 1. 
Simply add the Header Authorization:"Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN"  (using the above example - Authorization: "Bearer ddb8c266333a19..." )

With that Header set, you can now call V2 API endpoints such as:  https://sandbox.getwhiplash.com/api/v2/items

Expiration & Refresh Tokens

The access token has a “time-to-live” (ttl), which is the maximum time that the access token will be valid for use within the application. By default, all tokens have a system-defined ttl of 2 hours (7200 seconds). When a token is created, the API response will return the ttl in seconds.

You will use your refresh token that gets regenerated every time you use the previous token to re-authenticate periodically every 2 hours. We recommend storing refresh tokens in a secure location, such as a password-protected file system or an encrypted database to share amongst your team members who require them to make API calls.

 

You can programmatically get refresh tokens by sending a POST Request to /oauth/token with the following params:
  • grant_type="refresh_token"
  • refresh_token=YOUR REFRESH TOKEN
  • client_id=YOUR APPLICATION ID 
  • client_secret=YOUR CLIENT SECRET

This will return a new token response like:

  {
    "access_token": "ddb8c266333a19...",
    "token_type": "bearer",
    "expires_in": 7200,
    "scope": "user_manage",
    "created_at": 1510698627
    "refresh_token":"8c488ab5f75d61..."
}

You can now use the newly returned access_token as the value for your Authorization Header and retain the new refresh_token for future refresh calls.

Troubleshooting API Issues
When you are having issues with the API (for example, if your access token is revoked) refresh the token by following the directions above, under "Expiration and Refresh Tokens". 
 
If refreshing the token does not work, try obtaining a new token from scratch by following the directions in this article under "Authenticating".
 
If the issues persist, please contact Support at support@whiplash.com for further assistance. 
 

Related Questions:

How do I authenticate to the Whiplash V2 API?

How do I obtain a refresh token?

How do I troubleshoot an issue with the API?