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Authentication enables secure access control for agents, managing user identities, permissions, OAuth flows, and multi-tenant isolation to ensure agents operate within proper security boundaries.

Overview

The Authentication primitive provides comprehensive identity and access management for agent operations. Whether you’re building user-facing applications, multi-tenant platforms, or enterprise integrations, authentication ensures agents respect security boundaries and access controls. Authentication is essential for:
  • User Identity: Link agent executions to specific users
  • Access Control: Enforce permissions and role-based access
  • OAuth Integration: Handle OAuth flows for third-party services
  • Multi-Tenancy: Isolate data and operations by organization
  • Session Management: Maintain secure user sessions
  • API Security: Authenticate API requests and webhooks

OAuth 2.0

Complete OAuth 2.0 flow support for external integrations

JWT Tokens

Secure token-based authentication and authorization

RBAC

Role-based access control for fine-grained permissions

SSO Support

Single sign-on with SAML, OAuth, and OpenID Connect

How Authentication Works

When you implement authentication:
  1. Identity Establishment: User authenticates via credentials, OAuth, or SSO
  2. Token Generation: System issues secure JWT or session token
  3. Context Injection: User identity and permissions attached to agent context
  4. Authorization Check: Agent verifies permissions before operations
  5. Scope Enforcement: Operations restricted to user’s authorized scope
  6. Audit Logging: All authenticated actions logged for compliance
Security First: All authentication tokens are encrypted, have expiration times, and support automatic rotation.

Authentication Methods

API Key Authentication

JWT Token Authentication

OAuth 2.0

SSO (SAML/OpenID)

Code Examples

Basic API Key Authentication

JWT Token Authentication

OAuth Integration

Role-Based Access Control

Multi-Tenant Isolation

Session Management

API Key Management

Webhook Signature Verification

Use Cases

1. Multi-Tenant SaaS Application

Isolate data by organization:

2. OAuth-Powered Integrations

Access user’s third-party services:

3. Enterprise SSO Integration

Support enterprise single sign-on:

4. Permission-Based Operations

Enforce fine-grained permissions:

5. API Rate Limiting by User

Implement user-based rate limits:

6. Audit Logging

Track all authenticated actions:

Best Practices

Security

Never Expose Secrets: API keys, JWT secrets, and OAuth client secrets must never be exposed in client-side code.

Access Control

Principle of Least Privilege: Grant minimum permissions necessary for each operation.

OAuth Best Practices

Integration with Other Primitives

With Memory

User-scoped memory:
Learn more: Memory Primitive

With Data Connectors

Tenant-isolated database access:
Learn more: Data Connectors Primitive

With Integrations

OAuth-authenticated integrations:
Learn more: Integrations Primitive

Performance Considerations

Token Validation

  • JWT Validation: < 10ms per request
  • API Key Lookup: < 5ms (cached)
  • OAuth Token Refresh: 100-500ms

Session Management

  • Session Creation: < 50ms
  • Session Lookup: < 5ms (cached)
  • Concurrent Sessions: Thousands per user

Scalability

Troubleshooting

Problem: User cannot authenticateSolutions:
  • Verify API key is valid and not expired
  • Check JWT token signature
  • Ensure OAuth tokens not revoked
  • Verify user account is active
  • Check for clock skew issues
Problem: User lacks permissions for operationSolutions:
  • Review user’s assigned permissions
  • Check role configuration
  • Verify tenant isolation is correct
  • Audit permission requirements
  • Update user permissions if appropriate
Problem: OAuth access token expiredSolutions:
  • Implement automatic token refresh
  • Handle refresh token expiration
  • Re-authenticate user if needed
  • Check token expiration before use

Advanced Patterns

Custom Authentication Provider

Implement custom auth:

Context-Based Access Control

Dynamic permissions based on context:

Federated Identity

Support multiple identity providers:

Integrations

OAuth-powered third-party integrations

Data Connectors

Tenant-isolated database access

Memory

User-scoped memory storage

Hooks

Authentication in webhook handlers

Additional Resources

API Reference

Complete authentication API

Security Guide

Security best practices

OAuth Guide

OAuth 2.0 implementation guide
Pro Tip: Implement authentication early in development. Retrofitting auth into an existing system is much harder than building with it from the start.