Sense Street Authentication

generated: '2026-08-14'
method: derived
source: >-
  src/sensestreet/auth_header_builder.py in the first-party PyPI package
  `sensestreet` 1.0.16 (published 2025-10-07), plus the published description of
  https://docs.sensestreet.com/authentication
docs: https://docs.sensestreet.com/authentication
docs_gated: true
summary:
  types: [http]
  scheme: bearer
  bearer_format: JWT
  signing_algorithm: RS256
  key_model: client-held RSA key pair, public key registered with Sense Street
  api_key_in: [header]
  oauth2_flows: []
  note: >-
    Sense Street does NOT run OAuth 2.0 or OIDC. There is no authorization
    server, no /.well-known/openid-configuration, and no scope surface — so this
    repo carries no scopes/ artifact. Authentication is a client-signed JWT
    bearer assertion: the customer generates an RSA key pair, registers the
    public key with Sense Street, and the SDK mints a short-lived RS256 JWT
    locally for every request. That is a self-issued assertion model, not a
    token-grant model.
schemes:
- name: BearerJWT
  type: http
  scheme: bearer
  bearerFormat: JWT
  algorithm: RS256
  in: header
  header: Authorization
  value_format: 'Bearer <RS256 JWT signed with the client private key>'
  token_lifetime_seconds: 900
  not_before_skew_seconds: -300
  claims:
  - {claim: exp, meaning: expiry, value: now + 15 minutes}
  - {claim: nbf, meaning: not before, value: now - 5 minutes}
  - {claim: aud, meaning: audience, value: api.sensestreet.com}
  - {claim: application_id, meaning: the customer app id issued by Sense Street}
  - {claim: public_key_id, meaning: identifies which registered public key signed this, default 'default.pub'}
  - {claim: server_id, meaning: target server identifier, default 'default'}
  - {claim: server_role, meaning: target server role, default 'default'}
  source: packages/sense-street-packages.yml
- name: XKeyPublicKey
  type: apiKey
  in: header
  header: X-key
  value_format: PEM-encoded RSA public key
  required: false
  description: >-
    The client's RSA PUBLIC key is sent verbatim in the X-key header alongside
    the signed bearer token, so the server can verify the assertion without a
    prior key exchange for that request. Sending a public key is not a secret
    disclosure.
  source: packages/sense-street-packages.yml
network_controls:
- control: vpn
  description: >-
    "Enterprise API access is secured with VPN connectivity" — published on the
    Sense Street authentication docs page description.
  source: https://docs.sensestreet.com/authentication
- control: ip-allowlisting
  description: >-
    Static source IPs are allowlisted per customer; the implementation page
    states integration requires "secure API integration with static IPs and
    authentication".
  source: https://docs.sensestreet.com/implementation-data-requirements
- control: edge-auth-gate
  description: >-
    Observed live: every path under /api/ on portal.sensestreet.com returns
    HTTP 401 with the plain-text body "Invalid or missing token", including
    /api/v1/openapi.json, /api/v1/docs and /api/v1/redoc. The gate is applied at
    the nginx edge ahead of the application, so unauthenticated callers cannot
    enumerate the surface.
  source: probed 2026-08-14
always_sent_headers:
- {header: Authorization, note: only when a private key is configured}
- {header: X-key, note: PEM public key, only when a public key path is configured}
- {header: X-client-version, note: SDK version string, e.g. 1.0.16}
- {header: Date, note: 'client local timestamp, format MM/DD/YYYY, HH:MM:SS'}
- {header: Content-Type, note: application/json except on multipart file uploads}
dashboard_authentication:
  method: sso
  description: >-
    The Sense Street dashboard (portal.sensestreet.com) is separate from the API
    and uses Single Sign-On with role-based access control and MFA. Google
    Identity Services is loaded on the portal login page.
  source: https://docs.sensestreet.com/dashboard-authentication
x-evidence:
- url: https://pypi.org/pypi/sensestreet/json
  status: 200
- url: https://docs.sensestreet.com/authentication
  status: 200
  note: page renders, body content requires sign-in; the published meta description is the readable part
- url: https://portal.sensestreet.com/api/v1/ping
  status: 401
  note: 'body "Invalid or missing token"'