Pricefinder Authentication

generated: '2026-07-26'
method: searched
source: |
  POST /oauth2/token operation description (HTML prose) in
  openapi/pricefinder-api-swagger.json, plus live probes of
  https://api.pricefinder.com.au/v1/auth/authorize.html (200) and
  https://api.pricefinder.com.au/.well-known/openid-configuration (404), 2026-07-26.
docs: https://api.pricefinder.com.au/v1/swagger/index.html

summary:
  types: [oauth2]
  api_key_in: []
  oauth2_flows: [clientCredentials, authorizationCode, refreshToken]
  http_schemes: [basic, bearer]
  self_serve: false
  gate: application-approval — credentials are issued only under a negotiated
    commercial subscription; there is no developer signup, free tier or sandbox key.

spec_gap: |
  THE CONTRACT DECLARES NO securityDefinitions AND NO security BLOCK. This profile
  could not be derived mechanically (0-working/derive-authentication.py returned zero
  schemes for this provider) because the Swagger 2.0 document carries no security
  metadata at all — despite every one of its 116 operations requiring a bearer token.
  The entire OAuth 2.0 model is described in HTML prose inside a single operation
  description. A machine reading this contract cannot determine how to authenticate;
  a human has to read the rendered description field. This profile is the
  human-readable model transcribed into machine-readable form by API Evangelist, and
  is the correct target shape for a securityDefinitions block Pricefinder should
  publish.

schemes:
- name: pricefinder_oauth2
  type: oauth2
  declared_in_spec: false
  derived_from: POST /oauth2/token operation description (operationId getToken)
  token_endpoint: https://api.pricefinder.com.au/v1/oauth2/token
  token_endpoint_method: POST
  token_request_content_type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded
  flows:
  - flow: clientCredentials
    grant_type: client_credentials
    required_parameters: [client_id, client_secret]
    credential_model: |
      client_id is the API user's Pricefinder username; client_secret is that user's
      Pricefinder password. HTTP Basic auth is documented as an accepted alternative
      to passing username and password as form parameters.
  - flow: authorizationCode
    grant_type: authorization_code
    authorization_url: https://api.pricefinder.com.au/v1/auth/authorize.html
    authorization_url_status: 200
    required_parameters: [client_id, client_secret, redirect_uri, code]
    request_parameters: [client_id, state, redirect_uri]
    https_required: true
    callback_success: "{redirect_uri}?state=<state>&code=<authorization_code>"
    callback_denied: "{redirect_uri}?error=access_denied"
    note: |
      Three-legged delegated authorization — used to act on another Pricefinder
      user's behalf. The hosted authorize page renders a "PriceFinder Login" screen
      and is reachable anonymously (probed 200, 2026-07-26).
  - flow: refreshToken
    grant_type: refresh_token
    required_parameters: [client_id, client_secret, refresh_token]
    note: Consumes the refresh token and returns BOTH a new access token and a new
      refresh token (rotating refresh tokens).
  scopes: []
  scopes_note: |
    NO SCOPES. The contract defines no scope vocabulary, the token request accepts no
    `scope` parameter, and no scopes/permissions reference page exists on any
    Pricefinder surface. Authorization is all-or-nothing per credentialed user, with
    entitlement enforced server-side by commercial subscription (see GET /features,
    operationId getFeatures, which returns the calling user's UserFeatures
    entitlement set). This is why no scopes/ artifact is emitted for Pricefinder.

token_presentation:
- style: header
  example: 'Authorization: Bearer <access_token>'
  preferred: true
- style: query
  example: '?access_token=<access_token>'
  note: |
    Documented as a first-class alternative. Bearer tokens in query strings are
    logged by proxies and appear in browser history and referrer headers — RFC 6750
    section 5.3 and RFC 6819 both discourage it. Recorded as observed, not endorsed.

token_response:
  schema: openapi/pricefinder-api-swagger.json#/definitions/ClientAccessToken
  fields:
  - {name: access_token, type: string}
  - {name: token_type, type: string}
  - {name: expires_in, type: string, note: typed as string, not integer, in the
      contract}
  - {name: refresh_token, type: string}

token_endpoint_errors:
- {status: 401, description: Invalid username/password}
- {status: 400, description: Bad Request}

openid_connect:
  supported: false
  discovery_probe:
    url: https://api.pricefinder.com.au/.well-known/openid-configuration
    status: 404
    date: '2026-07-26'
  authorization_server_metadata_probe:
    url: https://api.pricefinder.com.au/.well-known/oauth-authorization-server
    status: 404
    date: '2026-07-26'

mutual_tls: false
api_keys: false

enforcement_evidence:
- {probe: 'GET https://api.pricefinder.com.au/v1/features', status: 401,
   note: Anonymous call to a data path rejected.}
- {probe: 'GET https://api.pricefinder.com.au/v1/stubs/java', status: 401,
   note: Even the client-library generator requires a token.}
- {probe: 'POST https://api.pricefinder.com.au/v1/oauth2/token (no credentials)',
   status: 401, note: The token endpoint itself rejects anonymous callers.}
- {probe: 'GET https://api.pricefinder.com.au/v1/swagger.json', status: 200,
   note: The CONTRACT is anonymous. The gate is on data, not on discovery.}

related:
  conventions: conventions/pricefinder-conventions.yml
  conformance: conformance/pricefinder-conformance.yml
  well_known: well-known/pricefinder-well-known.yml