Dust Identity Authentication

generated: '2026-08-12'
method: searched
source: https://docs.dustid.io/api/authentication/
derived_from: openapi/dust-identity-apid-openapi.yml
docs: https://docs.dustid.io/api/authentication/
note: >-
  The OpenAPI declares one security scheme — http/bearer/JWT applied globally to all
  177 operations — which understates the real model. The documentation and the AuthD
  OIDC discovery document add the credential-issuance side: a Service Account machine
  identity holding an API key and/or an OAuth2 client, exchanged for a short-lived JWT.
  Upgraded from the mechanical derivation with the documented model.
summary:
  types: [http, oauth2, openIdConnect, apiKey]
  api_key_in: [header]
  api_key_names: [x-api-key]
  oauth2_flows: [clientCredentials, authorizationCode, refreshToken]
  bearer_format: JWT
  applied: globally — every operation in the spec inherits the root security requirement
schemes:
- name: Bearer
  type: http
  scheme: bearer
  bearerFormat: JWT
  role: calling the DUST API
  applies_to: all 177 operations of /api/v1/* (and /api/auth/*)
  description: >-
    JWT issued by the DUST auth service. Obtain one by exchanging a Service Account API
    key (GET /api/auth/token with the key header) or via the OAuth2 client_credentials
    grant. Tokens are short-lived; re-exchange on expiry.
  sources: [openapi/dust-identity-apid-openapi.yml]
- name: ServiceAccountApiKey
  type: apiKey
  in: header
  parameter_name: x-api-key
  role: exchanging for a bearer token
  exchange_operation: GET /api/auth/token
  exchange_host: https://apid.dustid.io
  returns: {token, expiresIn, expiresAt}
  sources: [https://docs.dustid.io/api/authentication/]
  note: >-
    API keys are never sent to core endpoints directly — only to the token-exchange
    endpoint. APID proxies this to AuthD so one base URL covers both.
- name: ServiceAccountOAuth2
  type: oauth2
  flow: clientCredentials
  tokenUrl: https://authd.dustid.io/api/auth/dust/service-accounts/token
  client_auth: [client_secret_post, client_secret_basic]
  role: enterprise middleware integration (SAP Integration Suite, MuleSoft, Boomi)
  returns: standard OAuth2 token response {access_token, token_type, expires_in}
  sources: [https://docs.dustid.io/api/authentication/]
  note: The resulting token is identical in shape and rights to one from the API-key
    exchange.
- name: AuthDOpenIDConnect
  type: openIdConnect
  openIdConnectUrl: https://authd.dustid.io/.well-known/openid-configuration
  role: interactive user sign-in to DICE and OIDC relying parties
  flows: [authorizationCode, refreshToken]
  pkce: [S256]
  id_token_signing_alg: [EdDSA]
  sources: [well-known/dust-identity-openid-configuration.json]
identity_model:
  principal: Service Account
  description: >-
    A first-class machine identity that belongs to exactly one organization, can be
    granted team access like a member, and is recorded as itself in the audit ledger
    rather than as whichever employee configured it. Credentials can be rotated or
    revoked without touching any personal account. One Service Account can hold both an
    API key and an OAuth2 client.
  personal_api_keys: false
  personal_api_keys_note: >-
    Personal API keys do not exist and legacy user-owned keys no longer authenticate.
    This is a notably strong posture — most providers still allow user-bound keys.
  provisioning: organization admins, in the AuthD portal at https://authd.dustid.io
    (Service accounts tab)
  key_display: shown once at creation; DUST instructs storing it in a secrets manager
  gating: >-
    Service accounts must be enabled for the organization; when they are not, the tab
    reports so and the admin is directed to support@dustidentity.com.
token:
  format: JWT
  lifetime_seconds: 900
  lifetime_note: documented as currently 15 minutes; DUST explicitly tells clients to
    read expiresIn/expiresAt and not hardcode a lifetime
  transport: 'Authorization: Bearer <token>'
  verification_key_source: https://apid.dustid.io/api/auth/jwks
  verification_alternative: https://authd.dustid.io/api/auth/jwks
  refresh: re-run the exchange; no refresh-token flow for Service Accounts
  test_call: GET /api/v1/me
failure:
  status: 401
  body: '{"code":"UNAUTHORIZED","message":"...","status":401}'
  see: errors/dust-identity-problem-types.yml
authorization:
  model: team-membership, not scopes
  headers: [Dust-Ctx-Org-Id, Dust-Ctx-Team-Id]
  see: [scopes/dust-identity-scopes.yml, conventions/dust-identity-conventions.yml]
credential_handling:
  server_side_only: true
  guidance: >-
    DUST is explicit that credentials stay server-side — the browser-side scanning
    bridge deliberately returns raw captures and requires server-held credentials to
    identify, verify or bind them.