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* conversion stage 1 * correct image paths * add sidebar title to frontmatter * docs/concepts and docs/internals * configuration docs and multi-level nav corrections * commands docs, index file corrections, small item nav correction * secrets converted * auth * add enterprise and agent docs * add extra dividers * secret section, wip * correct sidebar nav title in front matter for apu section, start working on api items * auth and backend, a couple directory structure fixes * remove old docs * intro side nav converted * reset sidebar styles, add hashi-global-styles * basic styling for nav sidebar * folder collapse functionality * patch up border length on last list item * wip restructure for content component * taking middleman hacking to the extreme, but its working * small css fix * add new mega nav * fix a small mistake from the rebase * fix a content resolution issue with middleman * title a couple missing docs pages * update deps, remove temporary markup * community page * footer to layout, community page css adjustments * wip downloads page * deps updated, downloads page ready * fix community page * homepage progress * add components, adjust spacing * docs and api landing pages * a bunch of fixes, add docs and api landing pages * update deps, add deploy scripts * add readme note * update deploy command * overview page, index title * Update doc fields Note this still requires the link fields to be populated -- this is solely related to copy on the description fields * Update api_basic_categories.yml Updated API category descriptions. Like the document descriptions you'll still need to update the link headers to the proper target pages. * Add bottom hero, adjust CSS, responsive friendly * Add mega nav title * homepage adjustments, asset boosts * small fixes * docs page styling fixes * meganav title * some category link corrections * Update API categories page updated to reflect the second level headings for api categories * Update docs_detailed_categories.yml Updated to represent the existing docs structure * Update docs_detailed_categories.yml * docs page data fix, extra operator page remove * api data fix * fix makefile * update deps, add product subnav to docs and api landing pages * Rearrange non-hands-on guides to _docs_ Since there is no place for these on learn.hashicorp, we'll put them under _docs_. * WIP Redirects for guides to docs * content and component updates * font weight hotfix, redirects * fix guides and intro sidenavs * fix some redirects * small style tweaks * Redirects to learn and internally to docs * Remove redirect to `/vault` * Remove `.html` from destination on redirects * fix incorrect index redirect * final touchups * address feedback from michell for makefile and product downloads
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| layout | page_title | sidebar_title | sidebar_current | description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| docs | Token Authentication | Token Authentication | docs-internals-token | Learn about the client token authentication in Vault. |
Token Authentication
The token auth method is built-in and is at the core of
client authentication. Other auth methods may be used to
authenticate a client, but they eventually result in the generation of a client
token managed by the token backend.
Every token has a number of properties:
- ID - The primary ID of a token is a randomly generated value
- Display Name - Optionally, a human readable display name
- Metadata - Metadata used for audit logging
- Number of Uses - Optionally, a restricted use count
- Parent ID - Optionally, a parent token which created this child token
- Policies - An associated list of ACL policies
- Source Path - The path at which the token was generated (e.g.
auth/github/login)
The properties of a token are immutable once created. The exception to this is the number of uses, which is decremented on each request. Each of these properties enable Vault to do a number of interesting things.
Each token maintains the source path, or the login path, that was used
to create the token. This is used to allow source based revocation. For example,
if we believe our GitHub organization was compromised, we may want to revoke
all tokens generated via auth/github/login. This would be done by using the
sys/revoke-prefix/ API with the auth/github/ prefix. Revoking the
prefix will revoke all client tokens generated at that path, as well as all
dynamic secrets generated by those tokens. This provides a powerful "break glass"
procedure during a potential compromise.
If a token is created by another auth method, they do not have
a parent token. However, any tokens created by the auth/token/create API
have a parent token, namely the token used to make that request. By maintaining
this parent-child relationship, Vault models token trees. Child tokens can
be created with a subset of the parent policies, allowing for dropping of
privileges. When a token is revoked, the entire sub-tree of tokens is revoked
with it. This allows clients to safely generate child tokens and then revoke
them all along with the root.
Child tokens are very useful, especially when combined with limited use tokens. When a token is created, its use count can be optionally specified. Providing a use count of one makes a one time token. This means the token can be used for a single request before being automatically revoked. This can be generalized to any number of uses. Limited use tokens cannot be used to create sub-tokens, but they can be a powerful way to allow extremely limited access to Vault.