To access the SmartFile API, you must authenticate yourself. SmartFile supports two methods of authentication, both are useful for different scenarios.

In either case, it is important to use SSL when calling the SmartFile API. This ensures that communication with our servers is secure.

Basic Authentication

Basic authentication is a simple method that allows you to generate an API key and password. Basic authentication allows you to access your own account via the SmartFile API.

This is useful when...

• you need to automate some repetitive task using a script.
• you need to integrate with some other system or software that you use.
• you are building a service, but your users don't need to know you use SmartFile.

To get started with Basic Authentication, generate an API key.

Authentication

OAuth authentication is useful when you are writing a service that you want to make available to other SmartFile users. OAuth allows you to register your application with SmartFile. Once you register, you obtain a client access token that can be used to ask a SmartFile user for access to their account. Once access is granted, you can call the SmartFile API on behalf of that user, to read and write their files or to perform any action that user can perform. OAuth allows you to interact with someone else's account.

This is useful when...

• you want to extend SmartFile in some way.
• you are building a service, and want your users to "bring their own storage" with them.
• you want to give your users many storage platforms to choose between when importing or exporting data.

To get started with , register your application.