# Introduction Digital Commons Data API lets you find and manage research data, you can find out more about Digital Commons Data on [our FAQs page](https://staging-data.mendeley.com/faq) > **NOTE from 1st October 2024 the Digital Commons Data APIs will no longer accept traffic via api.mendeley.com**, > use https://api.staging-data.mendeley.com instead. Additionally, authorization via Mendeley Oauth will no longer be supported > on this date any existing clients will need to migrate to the Authentication documented below. If you just want to harvest our entire repository of public dataset records, there's no need to reach out to register a client. Instead, please go to the [OAI-PMH](#tag/oai-pmh) section for additional information and instructions. # Authentication Our APIs use OpenID Connect (OIDC) which extends the [OAuth 2.0](https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc6749) authorization protocol for use as an additional authentication protocol, refer to the [OpenID Connect specifications](https://openid.net/specs/openid-connect-core-1_0.html) for more details. Using the standard OIDC/OAuth 2.0 `authorization_code` flow, your client application can authenticate a user the result provided three tokens, which can be used to make API calls on behalf of the user: - `Access token`: A token that can be sent in API requests (as part of the `Authorization` header), this token has a short expiry. - `Refresh token`: A token that can be used to create a new access token without requiring the user to login again. - `Identity token`: A token containing claims (information) about the logged in user like name, email and roles. Digital Commons Data partially supports `client_credentials` flow, however since the result of this flow does not contain a authenticated user (resource owner) some endpoints do not support access tokens from this flow. It is highly recommended to use a [OAuth2 or OIDC client library](https://oauth.net/code/) to implement the authorization flows and obtain tokens. ## Register a Client To use our APIs you will need to register a client, currently you will need to [get in touch](mailto:data-queries@mendeley.com?subject=Digital%20Commons%20Data%20API%20client%20request) providing: - A contact email address - Company or personal name - Brief description of the use case for using the API If you just want to harvest our entire repository of public dataset records, there's no need to reach out to register a client. Instead, please go to the [OAI-PMH](#tag/oai-pmh) section for additional information and instructions. ## Obtain a Token Using Authorization Code flow Steps: 1. Authorize user 2. Exchange authorization code for tokens 3. Use access token in an API request ### Authorize user ``` GET https://auth.staging-data.mendeley.com/oauth2/authorize?response_type=code&client_id=&redirect_uri=&scope=openid%20profile%20email%20dcd:profile&state= ``` The above URL will redirect the user to sign in to the Digital Commons Data application. Once signed in, the response triggers an HTTP 302 status, redirecting back to with a code query parameter. This is the authorization code required for the next stage. ### Exchange authorization code for tokens ``` curl -X POST \ -H "Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded" \ -u ":" \ -d "grant_type=authorization_code&code=&redirect_uri= https://auth.staging-data.mendeley.com/oauth2/token ``` Example response: ``` { "access_token":"aaa.bbb.ccc", "refresh_token":"def", "scope":"openid profile email dcd:profile", "id_token":"iii.ttt", "token_type":"Bearer", "expires_in":299 } ``` ### Use access token in an API request Using the `access_token` value from the previous response, set the `Authorization` Bearer token, for example: ``` curl -X GET \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer aaa.bbb.ccc" \ https://api.staging-data.mendeley.com/datasets ``` ## Obtain a Token Using Client Credentials flow Steps: 1. Create an access token 3. Use access token in an API request ### Create an access token ``` curl -X POST \ -H "Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded" \ -u ":" \ -d "grant_type=client_credentials&scope= https://auth.staging-data.mendeley.com/oauth2/token ``` Example response: ``` { "access_token":"aaa.bbb.ccc", "token_type":"Bearer", "expires_in":299 } ``` ### Use access token in an API request Using the `access_token` value from the previous response, set the `Authorization` Bearer token, for example: ``` curl -X GET \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer aaa.bbb.ccc" \ https://api.staging-data.mendeley.com/datasets ``` ## OAuth2 Server Details