From bd8360c826b7a922eeb6226beb17853cfadb466c Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Tom Christie Date: Wed, 17 Oct 2012 14:02:30 +0100 Subject: Highlight use of permissions alnog with authentication --- docs/api-guide/authentication.md | 6 ++++++ 1 file changed, 6 insertions(+) (limited to 'docs/api-guide/authentication.md') diff --git a/docs/api-guide/authentication.md b/docs/api-guide/authentication.md index 71f48163..959feaa6 100644 --- a/docs/api-guide/authentication.md +++ b/docs/api-guide/authentication.md @@ -16,6 +16,12 @@ The `request.user` property will typically be set to an instance of the `contrib The `request.auth` property is used for any additional authentication information, for example, it may be used to represent an authentication token that the request was signed with. +--- + +**Note:** Don't forget that authentication by itself wont allow or disallow an incoming request, it simply identifies the credentials that the request was made with. For information on how to setup the permission polices for your API please see the [permissions documentation][permission]. + +--- + ## How authentication is determined The authentication policy is always defined as a list of classes. REST framework will attempt to authenticate with each class in the list, and will set `request.user` and `request.auth` using the return value of the first class that successfully authenticates. -- cgit v1.2.3 From 5ae49a4ec4ccfdab13bc848ecd175d44ecaf4ed1 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Tom Christie Date: Wed, 17 Oct 2012 14:59:53 +0100 Subject: Add docs for 401 vs 403 responses --- docs/api-guide/authentication.md | 72 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-------- 1 file changed, 58 insertions(+), 14 deletions(-) (limited to 'docs/api-guide/authentication.md') diff --git a/docs/api-guide/authentication.md b/docs/api-guide/authentication.md index 959feaa6..9c61c25f 100644 --- a/docs/api-guide/authentication.md +++ b/docs/api-guide/authentication.md @@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ Authentication is the mechanism of associating an incoming request with a set of identifying credentials, such as the user the request came from, or the token that it was signed with. The [permission] and [throttling] policies can then use those credentials to determine if the request should be permitted. -REST framework provides a number of authentication policies out of the box, and also allows you to implement custom policies. +REST framework provides a number of authentication schemes out of the box, and also allows you to implement custom schemes. Authentication will run the first time either the `request.user` or `request.auth` properties are accessed, and determines how those properties are initialized. @@ -18,21 +18,21 @@ The `request.auth` property is used for any additional authentication informatio --- -**Note:** Don't forget that authentication by itself wont allow or disallow an incoming request, it simply identifies the credentials that the request was made with. For information on how to setup the permission polices for your API please see the [permissions documentation][permission]. +**Note:** Don't forget that **authentication by itself won't allow or disallow an incoming request**, it simply identifies the credentials that the request was made with. For information on how to setup the permission polices for your API please see the [permissions documentation][permission]. --- ## How authentication is determined -The authentication policy is always defined as a list of classes. REST framework will attempt to authenticate with each class in the list, and will set `request.user` and `request.auth` using the return value of the first class that successfully authenticates. +The authentication schemes are always defined as a list of classes. REST framework will attempt to authenticate with each class in the list, and will set `request.user` and `request.auth` using the return value of the first class that successfully authenticates. If no class authenticates, `request.user` will be set to an instance of `django.contrib.auth.models.AnonymousUser`, and `request.auth` will be set to `None`. The value of `request.user` and `request.auth` for unauthenticated requests can be modified using the `UNAUTHENTICATED_USER` and `UNAUTHENTICATED_TOKEN` settings. -## Setting the authentication policy +## Setting the authentication scheme -The default authentication policy may be set globally, using the `DEFAULT_AUTHENTICATION` setting. For example. +The default authentication schemes may be set globally, using the `DEFAULT_AUTHENTICATION` setting. For example. REST_FRAMEWORK = { 'DEFAULT_AUTHENTICATION': ( @@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ The default authentication policy may be set globally, using the `DEFAULT_AUTHEN ) } -You can also set the authentication policy on a per-view basis, using the `APIView` class based views. +You can also set the authentication scheme on a per-view basis, using the `APIView` class based views. class ExampleView(APIView): authentication_classes = (SessionAuthentication, UserBasicAuthentication) @@ -66,24 +66,43 @@ Or, if you're using the `@api_view` decorator with function based views. } return Response(content) +## Unauthorized and Forbidden responses + +When an unauthenticated request is denied permission there are two different error codes that may be appropriate. + +* [HTTP 401 Unauthorized][http401] +* [HTTP 403 Permission Denied][http403] + +The kind of response that will be used depends on the type of authentication scheme in use, and the ordering of the authentication classes. + +Although multiple authentication schemes may be in use, only one scheme may be used to determine the type of response. **The first authentication class set on the view is given priority when determining the type of response**. + +Note that when a *successfully authenticated* request is denied permission, a `403 Permission Denied` response will always be used, regardless of the authentication scheme. + +--- + # API Reference ## BasicAuthentication -This policy uses [HTTP Basic Authentication][basicauth], signed against a user's username and password. Basic authentication is generally only appropriate for testing. +This authentication scheme uses [HTTP Basic Authentication][basicauth], signed against a user's username and password. Basic authentication is generally only appropriate for testing. If successfully authenticated, `BasicAuthentication` provides the following credentials. * `request.user` will be a `django.contrib.auth.models.User` instance. * `request.auth` will be `None`. +Unauthenticated responses that are denied permission will result in an `HTTP 401 Unauthenticated` response with an appropriate WWW-Authenticate header. For example: + + WWW-Authenticate: Basic realm="api" + **Note:** If you use `BasicAuthentication` in production you must ensure that your API is only available over `https` only. You should also ensure that your API clients will always re-request the username and password at login, and will never store those details to persistent storage. ## TokenAuthentication -This policy uses a simple token-based HTTP Authentication scheme. Token authentication is appropriate for client-server setups, such as native desktop and mobile clients. +This authentication scheme uses a simple token-based HTTP Authentication scheme. Token authentication is appropriate for client-server setups, such as native desktop and mobile clients. -To use the `TokenAuthentication` policy, include `rest_framework.authtoken` in your `INSTALLED_APPS` setting. +To use the `TokenAuthentication` scheme, include `rest_framework.authtoken` in your `INSTALLED_APPS` setting. You'll also need to create tokens for your users. @@ -101,31 +120,56 @@ If successfully authenticated, `TokenAuthentication` provides the following cred * `request.user` will be a `django.contrib.auth.models.User` instance. * `request.auth` will be a `rest_framework.tokenauth.models.BasicToken` instance. +Unauthenticated responses that are denied permission will result in an `HTTP 401 Unauthenticated` response with an appropriate WWW-Authenticate header. For example: + + WWW-Authenticate: Token + **Note:** If you use `TokenAuthentication` in production you must ensure that your API is only available over `https` only. -## OAuthAuthentication +## OAuth2Authentication -This policy uses the [OAuth 2.0][oauth] protocol to authenticate requests. OAuth is appropriate for server-server setups, such as when you want to allow a third-party service to access your API on a user's behalf. +This authentication scheme uses the [OAuth 2.0][oauth] protocol to authenticate requests. OAuth is appropriate for server-server setups, such as when you want to allow a third-party service to access your API on a user's behalf. -If successfully authenticated, `OAuthAuthentication` provides the following credentials. +If successfully authenticated, `OAuth2Authentication` provides the following credentials. * `request.user` will be a `django.contrib.auth.models.User` instance. * `request.auth` will be a `rest_framework.models.OAuthToken` instance. +**TODO**: Note type of response (401 vs 403) + +**TODO**: Implement OAuth2Authentication, using django-oauth2-provider. + ## SessionAuthentication -This policy uses Django's default session backend for authentication. Session authentication is appropriate for AJAX clients that are running in the same session context as your website. +This authentication scheme uses Django's default session backend for authentication. Session authentication is appropriate for AJAX clients that are running in the same session context as your website. If successfully authenticated, `SessionAuthentication` provides the following credentials. * `request.user` will be a `django.contrib.auth.models.User` instance. * `request.auth` will be `None`. +Unauthenticated responses that are denied permission will result in an `HTTP 403 Forbidden` response. + +--- + # Custom authentication -To implement a custom authentication policy, subclass `BaseAuthentication` and override the `.authenticate(self, request)` method. The method should return a two-tuple of `(user, auth)` if authentication succeeds, or `None` otherwise. +To implement a custom authentication scheme, subclass `BaseAuthentication` and override the `.authenticate(self, request)` method. The method should return a two-tuple of `(user, auth)` if authentication succeeds, or `None` otherwise. + +In some circumstances instead of returning `None`, you may want to raise an `Unauthenticated` exception from the `.authenticate()` method. + +Typically the approach you should take is: + +* If authentication is not attempted, return `None`. Any other authentication schemes also in use will still be checked. +* If authentication is attempted but fails, raise an `Unauthenticated` exception. An error response will be returned immediately, without checking any other authentication schemes. + +You *may* also override the `.authentication_header(self, request)` method. If implemented, it should return a string that will be used as the value of the `WWW-Authenticate` header in a `HTTP 401 Unauthenticated` response. + +If the `.authentication_header()` method is not overridden, the authentication scheme will return `HTTP 403 Forbidden` responses when an unauthenticated request is denied access. [cite]: http://jacobian.org/writing/rest-worst-practices/ +[http401]: http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec10.html#sec10.4.2 +[http403]: http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec10.html#sec10.4.4 [basicauth]: http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc2617 [oauth]: http://oauth.net/2/ [permission]: permissions.md -- cgit v1.2.3 From a4d500ba107466e8d44a82ed8ca632a3ea81a016 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Tom Christie Date: Wed, 17 Oct 2012 15:10:11 +0100 Subject: Use correct status code --- docs/api-guide/authentication.md | 6 +++--- 1 file changed, 3 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-) (limited to 'docs/api-guide/authentication.md') diff --git a/docs/api-guide/authentication.md b/docs/api-guide/authentication.md index 9c61c25f..06f428c0 100644 --- a/docs/api-guide/authentication.md +++ b/docs/api-guide/authentication.md @@ -92,7 +92,7 @@ If successfully authenticated, `BasicAuthentication` provides the following cred * `request.user` will be a `django.contrib.auth.models.User` instance. * `request.auth` will be `None`. -Unauthenticated responses that are denied permission will result in an `HTTP 401 Unauthenticated` response with an appropriate WWW-Authenticate header. For example: +Unauthenticated responses that are denied permission will result in an `HTTP 401 Unauthorized` response with an appropriate WWW-Authenticate header. For example: WWW-Authenticate: Basic realm="api" @@ -120,7 +120,7 @@ If successfully authenticated, `TokenAuthentication` provides the following cred * `request.user` will be a `django.contrib.auth.models.User` instance. * `request.auth` will be a `rest_framework.tokenauth.models.BasicToken` instance. -Unauthenticated responses that are denied permission will result in an `HTTP 401 Unauthenticated` response with an appropriate WWW-Authenticate header. For example: +Unauthenticated responses that are denied permission will result in an `HTTP 401 Unauthorized` response with an appropriate WWW-Authenticate header. For example: WWW-Authenticate: Token @@ -163,7 +163,7 @@ Typically the approach you should take is: * If authentication is not attempted, return `None`. Any other authentication schemes also in use will still be checked. * If authentication is attempted but fails, raise an `Unauthenticated` exception. An error response will be returned immediately, without checking any other authentication schemes. -You *may* also override the `.authentication_header(self, request)` method. If implemented, it should return a string that will be used as the value of the `WWW-Authenticate` header in a `HTTP 401 Unauthenticated` response. +You *may* also override the `.authentication_header(self, request)` method. If implemented, it should return a string that will be used as the value of the `WWW-Authenticate` header in a `HTTP 401 Unauthorized` response. If the `.authentication_header()` method is not overridden, the authentication scheme will return `HTTP 403 Forbidden` responses when an unauthenticated request is denied access. -- cgit v1.2.3 From b78872b7dbb55f1aa2d21f15fbb952f0c7156326 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Tom Christie Date: Wed, 17 Oct 2012 15:23:36 +0100 Subject: Use two seperate exceptions - `AuthenticationFailed`, and `NotAuthenticated` Cleaner seperation of exception and resulting HTTP response. Should result in more obvious error messages. --- docs/api-guide/authentication.md | 4 ++-- 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-) (limited to 'docs/api-guide/authentication.md') diff --git a/docs/api-guide/authentication.md b/docs/api-guide/authentication.md index 06f428c0..3ace6519 100644 --- a/docs/api-guide/authentication.md +++ b/docs/api-guide/authentication.md @@ -156,12 +156,12 @@ Unauthenticated responses that are denied permission will result in an `HTTP 403 To implement a custom authentication scheme, subclass `BaseAuthentication` and override the `.authenticate(self, request)` method. The method should return a two-tuple of `(user, auth)` if authentication succeeds, or `None` otherwise. -In some circumstances instead of returning `None`, you may want to raise an `Unauthenticated` exception from the `.authenticate()` method. +In some circumstances instead of returning `None`, you may want to raise an `AuthenticationFailed` exception from the `.authenticate()` method. Typically the approach you should take is: * If authentication is not attempted, return `None`. Any other authentication schemes also in use will still be checked. -* If authentication is attempted but fails, raise an `Unauthenticated` exception. An error response will be returned immediately, without checking any other authentication schemes. +* If authentication is attempted but fails, raise a `AuthenticationFailed` exception. An error response will be returned immediately, without checking any other authentication schemes. You *may* also override the `.authentication_header(self, request)` method. If implemented, it should return a string that will be used as the value of the `WWW-Authenticate` header in a `HTTP 401 Unauthorized` response. -- cgit v1.2.3 From 957700ecfb36322a8ea40ea473dc43ff1e92592f Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Tom Christie Date: Tue, 13 Nov 2012 11:26:45 +0000 Subject: Remove OAuth2 from docs --- docs/api-guide/authentication.md | 3 ++- 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-) (limited to 'docs/api-guide/authentication.md') diff --git a/docs/api-guide/authentication.md b/docs/api-guide/authentication.md index c87ba83e..b2323d62 100644 --- a/docs/api-guide/authentication.md +++ b/docs/api-guide/authentication.md @@ -126,7 +126,7 @@ Unauthenticated responses that are denied permission will result in an `HTTP 401 **Note:** If you use `TokenAuthentication` in production you must ensure that your API is only available over `https` only. -## OAuth2Authentication + ## SessionAuthentication -- cgit v1.2.3 From 65b62d64ec54b528b62a1500b8f6ffe216d45c09 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Tom Christie Date: Mon, 21 Jan 2013 21:29:49 +0000 Subject: WWW-Authenticate responses --- docs/api-guide/authentication.md | 12 ++++++------ 1 file changed, 6 insertions(+), 6 deletions(-) (limited to 'docs/api-guide/authentication.md') diff --git a/docs/api-guide/authentication.md b/docs/api-guide/authentication.md index 4dfcb0f1..59dc4a30 100644 --- a/docs/api-guide/authentication.md +++ b/docs/api-guide/authentication.md @@ -18,7 +18,9 @@ The `request.auth` property is used for any additional authentication informatio --- -**Note:** Don't forget that **authentication by itself won't allow or disallow an incoming request**, it simply identifies the credentials that the request was made with. For information on how to setup the permission polices for your API please see the [permissions documentation][permission]. +**Note:** Don't forget that **authentication by itself won't allow or disallow an incoming request**, it simply identifies the credentials that the request was made with. + +For information on how to setup the permission polices for your API please see the [permissions documentation][permission]. --- @@ -73,11 +75,11 @@ When an unauthenticated request is denied permission there are two different err * [HTTP 401 Unauthorized][http401] * [HTTP 403 Permission Denied][http403] -The kind of response that will be used depends on the type of authentication scheme in use, and the ordering of the authentication classes. +HTTP 401 responses must always include a `WWW-Authenticate` header, that instructs the client how to authenticate. HTTP 403 responses do not include the `WWW-Authenticate` header. -Although multiple authentication schemes may be in use, only one scheme may be used to determine the type of response. **The first authentication class set on the view is given priority when determining the type of response**. +The kind of response that will be used depends on the authentication scheme. Although multiple authentication schemes may be in use, only one scheme may be used to determine the type of response. **The first authentication class set on the view is used when determining the type of response**. -Note that when a *successfully authenticated* request is denied permission, a `403 Permission Denied` response will always be used, regardless of the authentication scheme. +Note that when a request may successfully authenticate, but still be denied permission to perform the request, in which case a `403 Permission Denied` response will always be used, regardless of the authentication scheme. --- @@ -126,8 +128,6 @@ Unauthenticated responses that are denied permission will result in an `HTTP 401 **Note:** If you use `TokenAuthentication` in production you must ensure that your API is only available over `https` only. -<<<<<<< HEAD -