Getting started overview

Integrating with Okta Identity Cloud involves setting up an Okta organization (often referred to as a "tenant"), configuring applications within that organization, and then using the provided API keys or OAuth 2.0 flows to interact with Okta's services. Okta offers two primary platforms: the Workforce Identity Cloud for employee identity management and the Customer Identity Cloud (Auth0) for customer-facing applications. While the core concepts are similar, the initial setup and specific API endpoints may vary slightly depending on the chosen product. This guide focuses on the general developer workflow applicable to both, emphasizing common steps to make your first authenticated API call.

The typical path to making your first request includes:

  1. Account Creation: Registering for an Okta developer account or an Auth0 developer tenant.
  2. Application Setup: Creating an application within your Okta organization or Auth0 tenant. This application represents your service or client that will interact with Okta.
  3. Credential Retrieval: Obtaining the necessary API keys, client IDs, and client secrets.
  4. API Call: Making an authenticated request to an Okta API endpoint, such as retrieving user information or listing applications.

Okta provides comprehensive documentation and SDKs across multiple languages, including JavaScript SDK documentation and Python SDK documentation, to streamline the integration process. This guide provides a high-level overview and directs you to specific resources for detailed implementation.

Create an account and get keys

To begin, you will need an Okta developer account or an Auth0 developer tenant. Okta offers a free developer account for Okta Workforce Identity Cloud and a free developer edition for Auth0 (Customer Identity Cloud), which supports up to 7,500 monthly active users. The choice depends on whether you are managing employee identities or customer identities.

Step 1: Sign Up for a Developer Account

  • For Workforce Identity Cloud: Navigate to the Okta Developer Signup page and complete the registration process. You will receive an email to activate your account and set up your Okta organization URL (e.g., dev-12345678.okta.com).
  • For Customer Identity Cloud (Auth0): Go to the Auth0 Signup page and create your tenant. Auth0 will guide you through the initial setup, including choosing your region.

Once signed up, log into your respective Okta or Auth0 dashboard.

Step 2: Create an Application

An application in Okta or Auth0 represents the client (e.g., web app, mobile app, API service) that will interact with the identity platform. The type of application you create will determine the available settings and the appropriate authentication flow.

  • In Okta (Workforce Identity Cloud):

    1. From your Okta Admin Console, navigate to Applications > Applications.
    2. Click Create App Integration.
    3. Select OIDC - OpenID Connect as the Sign-on method and then choose an Application Type (e.g., Web Application for server-side apps, Single-Page Application for client-side apps, or Native App for mobile).
    4. Configure the application details, including Redirect URIs (where Okta will send the authentication response) and Grant Types. Make note of the Client ID and Client Secret (if applicable) shown on the application's General tab after creation. These are critical credentials.

  • In Auth0 (Customer Identity Cloud):

    1. From your Auth0 Dashboard, navigate to Applications > Applications.
    2. Click Create Application.
    3. Provide a name for your application and select an application type (e.g., Regular Web Application, Single Page Web Application, Native, Machine to Machine).
    4. After creation, navigate to the Settings tab of your new application. Here, you will find your Domain (your Auth0 tenant URL), Client ID, and Client Secret (if applicable). Configure Callback URLs, Logout URLs, and Web Origins as needed for your application.

Step 3: Retrieve API Keys/Credentials

The specific credentials you need will depend on the API you're calling and the authentication flow. For many common API calls, you'll use OAuth 2.0 with a client ID and client secret, or an access token obtained through an authentication flow.

  • Client ID and Client Secret: These are typically found on the settings page of the application you created.

  • API Tokens (Workforce Identity Cloud Specific): For direct API access to manage Okta resources (e.g., users, groups) without an end-user context, you might create an API Token. These are long-lived tokens that grant broad permissions. They can be found under Security > API > Tokens in your Okta Admin Console. Be aware that API tokens are powerful and should be handled with extreme care, ideally used only in secure server-side environments. For more information on securing your API tokens, refer to the Okta API Token guide.

Your first request

Making your first request typically involves obtaining an access token and then using it to authorize a call to an Okta API endpoint. For simplicity, we'll demonstrate a common scenario: using an API token (Okta Workforce Identity Cloud) or a Client Credentials Flow (Auth0 Customer Identity Cloud) to access a protected resource.

Quick Reference Table: First Request Steps

Step What to Do Where to Find Info
1: Get Credentials Obtain Client ID, Client Secret, or API Token Okta Admin Console > Applications > Your App (Settings) / Security > API > Tokens
Auth0 Dashboard > Applications > Your App (Settings)
2: Choose API Endpoint Identify the API you want to call (e.g., User API, Apps API) Okta API Reference / Auth0 Management API v2 Reference
3: Obtain Access Token (if needed) Use Client Credentials Flow for M2M apps to get an access_token Okta: Implement OAuth for Okta Service / Auth0: Client Credentials Flow
4: Make API Call Send HTTP request with Authorization: Bearer <token> header cURL example below

Example: Okta Workforce Identity Cloud - Using an API Token

This example demonstrates listing all applications in your Okta organization using an Okta API Token. Ensure you have created an API Token with appropriate permissions (e.g., okta.apps.read).

export OKTA_ORG_URL="https://<your-okta-org>.okta.com"
export OKTA_API_TOKEN="<your-api-token>"

curl -v -X GET \
  "$OKTA_ORG_URL/api/v1/apps" \
  -H "Accept: application/json" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: SSWS $OKTA_API_TOKEN"

Replace <your-okta-org> with your Okta organization URL and <your-api-token> with the token you generated.

Example: Auth0 Customer Identity Cloud - Using Client Credentials Flow

This example demonstrates listing users using the Auth0 Management API. First, you need to obtain an access token using the Client Credentials Flow (suitable for machine-to-machine communication). Ensure your application has the necessary permissions (scopes) configured for the Management API (e.g., read:users).

  1. Get an Access Token:

    export AUTH0_DOMAIN="<your-auth0-domain>.auth0.com"
export AUTH0_CLIENT_ID="<your-auth0-client-id>"
export AUTH0_CLIENT_SECRET="<your-auth0-client-secret>"

AUTH0_ACCESS_TOKEN=$(curl -s -X POST \
  "https://$AUTH0_DOMAIN/oauth/token" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d "{\"client_id\":\"$AUTH0_CLIENT_ID\",\"client_secret\":\"$AUTH0_CLIENT_SECRET\",\"audience\":\"https://$AUTH0_DOMAIN/api/v2/\",\"grant_type\":\"client_credentials\"}" | jq -r .access_token)

echo "Access Token: $AUTH0_ACCESS_TOKEN"

    Replace <your-auth0-domain>, <your-auth0-client-id>, and <your-auth0-client-secret> with your Auth0 application's credentials. The jq utility is used here to parse the JSON response and extract the access_token.

  2. Make an API Call with the Access Token:

    curl -v -X GET \
  "https://$AUTH0_DOMAIN/api/v2/users" \
  -H "Accept: application/json" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $AUTH0_ACCESS_TOKEN"

    This command lists the users in your Auth0 tenant. Your application must have the read:users scope granted for the Management API.

Common next steps

After successfully making your first API call, consider these next steps to deepen your integration with Okta Identity Cloud:

  • Explore SDKs: Okta provides SDKs for various programming languages (JavaScript, Python, Java, Go, PHP, Ruby, .NET). Using an SDK can simplify interaction with the Okta API by handling authentication, request signing, and response parsing.

  • Implement Authentication Flows: Depending on your application type, implement appropriate OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect flows. For web applications, the Authorization Code Flow is common. For single-page applications, the Authorization Code Flow with PKCE (Proof Key for Code Exchange) is recommended for enhanced security, as described in the OAuth 2.0 RFC 7636.

  • User Management: Learn how to create, update, and manage users programmatically. This often involves using the Okta Users API or the Auth0 Management API Users endpoint.

  • Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Integrate MFA into your authentication flows to enhance security. Okta offers various MFA factors, including Okta Verify, SMS, and email. Details are available in the Okta MFA developer guide.

  • Webhooks: Set up webhooks to receive notifications from Okta about events such as user creation, password changes, or application assignments. This allows your application to react to identity-related events in real-time. Consult the Okta Webhooks documentation.

  • Customizing Login Experience: For Auth0, explore Universal Login to customize the appearance and behavior of your login, signup, and password reset pages. Refer to the Auth0 Universal Login documentation.

Troubleshooting the first call

Encountering issues during your first API call is common. Here are some troubleshooting tips:

  • Check Credentials: Double-check your Client ID, Client Secret, API Token, and Okta/Auth0 domain. Common errors include typos, using the wrong token type (e.g., an IdP access token instead of an Okta API token), or expired tokens.

  • Authorization Header: Ensure the Authorization header is correctly formatted. For Okta API Tokens, it should be SSWS <token>. For OAuth 2.0 access tokens, it should be Bearer <token>.

  • Permissions/Scopes: Verify that the application or API token has the necessary permissions (scopes) to access the requested resource. For Auth0, review the granted scopes for your Machine to Machine application under its API permissions tab. For Okta, ensure your API token has the correct grants.

  • CORS Issues: If you are making requests from a browser-based application, Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) policies can block requests. Ensure your Okta/Auth0 application's settings include the correct origin URLs for your application.

  • Rate Limiting: Okta APIs have rate limits. If you are making many requests in a short period, you might encounter HTTP 429 "Too Many Requests" errors. Wait and retry, or review your application's request frequency.

  • API Endpoint: Confirm you are using the correct API endpoint for your Okta organization or Auth0 tenant. These endpoints vary between the two platforms and even between different API versions.

  • Detailed Error Messages: Pay close attention to the HTTP status codes and the error messages returned in the API response. They often provide specific clues about what went wrong.

  • Consult Documentation: Refer to the specific Okta API Reference or Auth0 Management API documentation for the endpoint you are calling for detailed information on expected parameters and potential error codes.