Authentication

All Mantis API endpoints require authentication. This guide covers the supported authentication methods and flows.

Authentication Methods

Mantis supports two authentication methods:

JWT Bearer Tokens (recommended for user sessions)
API Keys (recommended for automation and CI/CD)

JWT Bearer Token Authentication

Exchange your email and password for an access token:

POST /api/v1/auth/login
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "email": "user@example.com",
  "password": "your-password"
}

Response:

{
  "access_token": "eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCIsImtpZCI6ImN1cnJlbnQifQ...",
  "token_type": "Bearer",
  "expires_in": 3600,
  "user": {
    "id": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000",
    "email": "user@example.com",
    "username": "johndoe",
    "display_name": "John Doe",
    "status": "active",
    "roles": ["operator", "user"],
    "permissions": ["deployments:create", "deployments:read"],
    "created_at": "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z"
  }
}

Using the Access Token

Include the token in the Authorization header with the Bearer prefix:

curl https://your-mantis-server/api/v1/deployments \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCIsImtpZCI6ImN1cnJlbnQifQ..."

Token Refresh

Before your access token expires, refresh it to get a new one:

POST /api/v1/auth/refresh
Cookie: refresh_token=<automatic>

Response:

{
  "access_token": "eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCIsImtpZCI6ImN1cnJlbnQifQ...",
  "token_type": "Bearer",
  "expires_in": 3600,
  "user": { ... }
}

A new refresh token is also set as a cookie (refresh token rotation).

Logout

Revoke all tokens for the current user:

POST /api/v1/auth/logout
Authorization: Bearer <token>

Response:

{
  "message": "Successfully logged out"
}

Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)

If 2FA is enabled for your account, the login flow has an additional step.

POST /api/v1/auth/login
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "email": "user@example.com",
  "password": "your-password"
}

Response (2FA Required):

{
  "requires_2fa": true,
  "pending_token": "eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCIsImtpZCI6ImN1cnJlbnQifQ..."
}

Step 2: Verify TOTP Code

POST /api/v1/auth/2fa/verify
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "code": "123456",
  "pending_token": "<pending_token>"
}

Response (Success):

{
  "access_token": "eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCIsImtpZCI6ImN1cnJlbnQifQ...",
  "token_type": "Bearer",
  "expires_in": 3600,
  "user": { ... }
}

API Key Authentication

API keys provide long-lived authentication for automation and CI/CD pipelines.

Creating an API Key

POST /api/v1/auth/api-keys
Authorization: Bearer <jwt-token>
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "name": "CI/CD Pipeline",
  "description": "Automation token for GitHub Actions",
  "expires_in_days": 90,
  "scopes": ["deployments:create", "deployments:read"]
}

Response:

{
  "api_key": {
    "id": "a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890",
    "name": "CI/CD Pipeline",
    "description": "Automation token for GitHub Actions",
    "key_prefix": "mnt_a1b2c3d4...",
    "scopes": ["deployments:create", "deployments:read"],
    "last_used_at": null,
    "last_used_ip": null,
    "created_at": "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z",
    "expires_at": "2024-04-15T10:30:00Z"
  },
  "full_key": "mnt_a1b2c3d4e5f67890abcdef1234567890abcdef1234567890",
  "warning": "Store this key securely — it will not be shown again."
}

Using an API Key

Use the API key as a Bearer token (same as JWT):

curl https://your-mantis-server/api/v1/deployments \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer mnt_a1b2c3d4e5f67890abcdef1234567890abcdef1234567890"

API keys:

Start with the prefix mnt_
Don’t expire unless you set expires_in_days
Are scoped to the tenant of the user who created them
Automatically track last_used_at and last_used_ip

Listing Your API Keys

GET /api/v1/auth/api-keys
Authorization: Bearer <jwt-token>

Response:

{
  "api_keys": [
    {
      "id": "a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890",
      "name": "CI/CD Pipeline",
      "description": "Automation token for GitHub Actions",
      "key_prefix": "mnt_a1b2c3d4...",
      "scopes": ["deployments:create", "deployments:read"],
      "last_used_at": "2024-01-20T15:45:00Z",
      "last_used_ip": "203.0.113.42",
      "created_at": "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z",
      "expires_at": "2024-04-15T10:30:00Z"
    }
  ]
}

Revoking an API Key

DELETE /api/v1/auth/api-keys/{id}
Authorization: Bearer <jwt-token>

Response:

{
  "message": "API key revoked successfully"
}

SSE Tokens

Server-Sent Events (SSE) endpoints — such as GET /api/v1/sse/{resource_type} and GET /api/v1/deployments/{id}/logs — do not accept your regular JWT in an Authorization header. Because EventSource cannot set request headers, SSE connections authenticate with a short-lived, single-use token passed in the ?sse_token= query parameter.

Obtaining an SSE Token

Exchange a valid JWT (or API key) for an SSE token:

POST /api/v1/auth/sse-token
Authorization: Bearer <jwt-token>
Content-Type: application/json

{}

Response:

{
  "sse_token": "eyJhbGciOiJFUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCI...",
  "expires_in": 60,
  "session_id": "b3c1...",
  "refresh_token": "..."
}

Using an SSE Token

Pass the token in the ?sse_token= query parameter when opening the connection:

const { sse_token } = await fetch('/api/v1/auth/sse-token', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    Authorization: `Bearer ${accessToken}`,
    'Content-Type': 'application/json',
  },
  body: '{}',
}).then((r) => r.json());

const eventSource = new EventSource(
  `/api/v1/sse/deployments?sse_token=${sse_token}`
);

Refreshing an SSE Session

To renew an SSE session without a full re-login, use the session_id and refresh_token from the original response:

POST /api/v1/auth/sse-token/refresh
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "session_id": "b3c1...",
  "refresh_token": "..."
}

Current User Information

Get information about the currently authenticated user:

GET /api/v1/auth/me
Authorization: Bearer <token>

Response:

{
  "id": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000",
  "email": "user@example.com",
  "username": "johndoe",
  "display_name": "John Doe",
  "status": "active",
  "email_verified": true,
  "roles": ["operator", "user"],
  "permissions": ["deployments:create", "deployments:read", "targets:read"],
  "last_login_at": "2024-01-20T08:30:00Z",
  "created_at": "2023-06-01T12:00:00Z"
}

Security Best Practices

Token Storage

Web Applications:

Store access tokens in memory (JavaScript variable)
Never store tokens in localStorage or sessionStorage
Refresh tokens are handled automatically via HTTP-only cookies

Mobile/Desktop Apps:

Use secure platform-specific storage (Keychain on iOS, Keystore on Android)
Never log token values

CI/CD Pipelines:

Use API keys instead of JWT tokens
Store API keys in secret management systems (GitHub Secrets, HashiCorp Vault, etc.)
Rotate API keys regularly (set expires_in_days)

Token Security

API Key Scopes

When creating API keys, use the minimum required scopes:

{
  "name": "Read-Only Monitoring",
  "scopes": ["deployments:read", "targets:read"]
}

Available scopes match the permission system. See the Permissions guide for the full list.

Troubleshooting

401 Unauthorized

Error:

{
  "error": {
    "code": "UNAUTHORIZED",
    "message": "Authentication required"
  }
}

Causes:

Missing Authorization header
Token not prefixed with Bearer
Malformed token

TOKEN_EXPIRED

Error:

{
  "error": {
    "code": "TOKEN_EXPIRED",
    "message": "Token expired"
  }
}

Solution: Call /auth/refresh to get a new access token.

INVALID_CREDENTIALS

Error:

{
  "error": {
    "code": "INVALID_CREDENTIALS",
    "message": "Invalid credentials"
  }
}

Causes:

Wrong email or password
Account is suspended or inactive
API key is expired or revoked

TWO_FACTOR_REQUIRED

Error:

{
  "error": {
    "code": "TWO_FACTOR_REQUIRED",
    "message": "Two-factor authentication required"
  }
}

Cause: You’re using a pending_token on a regular endpoint. Complete the 2FA flow first by calling /auth/2fa/verify.

Code Examples

JavaScript/TypeScript

class MantisClient {
  private accessToken: string | null = null;
  private baseUrl: string;

  constructor(baseUrl: string) {
    this.baseUrl = baseUrl;
  }

  async login(email: string, password: string): Promise<void> {
    const response = await fetch(`${this.baseUrl}/api/v1/auth/login`, {
      method: 'POST',
      headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
      body: JSON.stringify({ email, password }),
      credentials: 'include', // Include cookies for refresh token
    });

    if (!response.ok) {
      throw new Error('Login failed');
    }

    const data = await response.json();
    this.accessToken = data.access_token;
  }

  async listDeployments(): Promise<any> {
    const response = await fetch(`${this.baseUrl}/api/v1/deployments`, {
      headers: {
        Authorization: `Bearer ${this.accessToken}`,
      },
    });

    return response.json();
  }
}

// Usage
const client = new MantisClient('https://mantis.example.com');
await client.login('user@example.com', 'password');
const deployments = await client.listDeployments();

Python

import requests
from typing import Optional

class MantisClient:
    def __init__(self, base_url: str):
        self.base_url = base_url
        self.access_token: Optional[str] = None
        self.session = requests.Session()

    def login(self, email: str, password: str) -> None:
        response = self.session.post(
            f"{self.base_url}/api/v1/auth/login",
            json={"email": email, "password": password}
        )
        response.raise_for_status()
        data = response.json()
        self.access_token = data["access_token"]

    def list_deployments(self) -> list:
        response = self.session.get(
            f"{self.base_url}/api/v1/deployments",
            headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {self.access_token}"}
        )
        response.raise_for_status()
        return response.json()

# Usage
client = MantisClient("https://mantis.example.com")
client.login("user@example.com", "password")
deployments = client.list_deployments()

cURL (API Key)

#!/bin/bash
set -e

MANTIS_URL="https://mantis.example.com"
API_KEY="mnt_your_api_key_here"

# Create deployment
curl -X POST "$MANTIS_URL/api/v1/deployments" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "solution_id": "a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890"
  }'

Next Steps

Error Handling - Understand API error responses
Pagination - Work with paginated results
Deployments API - Create and manage deployments

Authentication

Authentication Methods

JWT Bearer Token Authentication

Login Flow

Using the Access Token

Token Refresh

Logout

Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)

Step 1: Initial Login

Step 2: Verify TOTP Code

API Key Authentication

Creating an API Key

Using an API Key

Listing Your API Keys

Revoking an API Key

SSE Tokens

Obtaining an SSE Token

Using an SSE Token

Refreshing an SSE Session

Current User Information

Security Best Practices

Token Storage

Token Security

API Key Scopes

Troubleshooting

401 Unauthorized

TOKEN_EXPIRED

INVALID_CREDENTIALS

TWO_FACTOR_REQUIRED

Code Examples

JavaScript/TypeScript

Python

cURL (API Key)

Next Steps