Axonius Authentication

generated: '2026-09-18'
method: searched
source: https://docs.axonius.com/docs/manage-service-accounts
docs: https://docs.axonius.com/docs/axonius-rest-api
description: >-
  Authentication profile for the Axonius REST API, read from the public docs (no OpenAPI is
  published outside the login-gated developer.axonius.com reference). The API is reachable only
  through a dedicated SERVICE ACCOUNT (Axonius v6.1.74 and later; regular user accounts worked
  through v6.1.73) whose role grants API access and the permissions it needs. A service account
  authenticates one of two ways: an API key + API secret pair sent as request headers (the
  default, and the scheme the provider's own Postman collections and Python client use), or
  OAuth 2.1 client credentials exchanged at the instance's /api/oauth2/token endpoint for a
  one-hour bearer token. The instance host is customer-specific ({axonius-instance}).
summary:
  types:
  - apiKey
  - oauth2
  service_account_required: true
  key_secret_shown_once: true
  rotation: API key can be rotated at any time; resetting OAuth credentials invalidates all existing access tokens for that service account
schemes:
- name: apiKeyAndSecret
  type: apiKey
  in: header
  headers:
  - api-key
  - api-secret
  description: >-
    Default scheme. The system generates an API key and secret pair when the service account is
    saved; both are included in each API request as the api-key and api-secret headers. The
    secret is displayed once and cannot be recovered — reset the key to get a new secret.
  evidence:
  - https://docs.axonius.com/docs/manage-service-accounts
  - https://github.com/Axonius/postman-minis (api-key / api-secret headers on every request)
- name: oauth21ClientCredentials
  type: oauth2
  flows:
    clientCredentials:
      tokenUrl: https://{axonius-instance}/api/oauth2/token
      scopes: {}
  token_request:
    method: POST
    auth: HTTP Basic — base64(client_id:client_secret)
    body: application/x-www-form-urlencoded, grant_type=client_credentials
  token_lifetime: 1 hour
  usage: Authorization Bearer <access_token> on each API request
  reset_endpoint: POST /api/settings/service_accounts/<service_account_id>/reset_credentials
  scopes_documented: false
  description: >-
    OAuth 2.1 option on a service account. Client ID and Client Secret are exchanged for a
    short-lived access token (expires after one hour); permissions come from the service
    account's role and data scope, not from OAuth scopes — no scope list is published.
  evidence:
  - https://docs.axonius.com/docs/manage-service-accounts#using-oauth-21-authentication
notes:
- Advanced API settings toggle enables the /users/destroy and /devices/destroy endpoints and cross-domain calls from the developer.axonius.com reference (https://docs.axonius.com/docs/managing-api-settings).
- The deprecated axonius_api_client reads AX_URL, AX_KEY and AX_SECRET from the environment.