Authentication - CollabKit

Sign up at the CollabKit dashboard to create your organization. Once logged in, go to Settings to find your Account ID and API Key. CollabKit uses two authentication mechanisms:

Mechanism	Used For	Format
Bearer Token	All REST API calls (rooms, users, storage, webhooks, workflows)	`Authorization: Bearer <base64(accountId:apiKey)>`
JWT Token	Client SDK WebSocket connections	Passed to the Client SDK manullay

Bearer Authentication

All REST API endpoints require Bearer authentication.

Constructing the Token

The Bearer token is a Base64-encoded string combining your accountId and apiKey:

Bash
Javascript

TOKEN=$(echo -n "${ACCOUNT_ID}:${API_KEY}" | base64)

const token = btoa(`${accountId}:${apiKey}`);

Using the Token

Include it in the Authorization header:

Bash
Javascript

  curl -X GET https://api.collab-kit.com/v1/accounts/${ACCOUNT_ID}/rooms \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer ${TOKEN}"

const res = await fetch(`https://api.collab-kit.com/v1/accounts/${accountId}/rooms`, {
  headers: { 'Authorization': `Bearer ${token}` },
});
const { data } = await res.json();

JWT Authentication (Client SDK)

The client SDK authenticates over WebSocket using a JWT token. You get this token when you create a user via the REST API.

Getting a JWT

Bash
Javascript

  curl -X POST https://api.collab-kit.com/v1/accounts/${ACCOUNT_ID}/users \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer ${TOKEN}" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -d '{
      "name": "Alice",
      "roomId": "room-id-here"
    }'

const res = await fetch(`https://api.collab-kit.com/v1/accounts/${accountId}/users`, {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'Authorization': `Bearer ${token}`,
    'Content-Type': 'application/json',
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    name: 'Alice',
    roomId: 'room-id-here',
  }),
});
const { data } = await res.json();

The response includes a token field containing the JWT:

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "user": { "id": "f47ac10b-58cc-4372-...", "name": "Alice", "status": "offline" },
    "token": "eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIs..."
  }
}

Using the JWT

Pass the JWT when constructing the client:

const client = new CollabKitClient({
  serverUrl: 'https://api.collab-kit.com',
  authToken: 'eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIs...',
});

await client.join(); // defaults to { role: 'editor' }
// await client.join({ role: 'viewer' });

The SDK sends the JWT with the JOIN_ROOM message, which performs both authentication and room join in a single step. If the token is invalid or expired, the authFailed socket event fires:

client.socket.on('authFailed', () => {
  console.error('Authentication failed - token may be expired');
  // Redirect to login or refresh the token
});

Token Lifecycle

Tokens are valid for 90 days from creation
Each call to POST /users generates a new token for that user
Each call to POST /users creates a new user with a server-generated UUID
There is no refresh endpoint — create a new user entry to get a new token

Error Responses

Authentication failures return a standard error response:

{
  "type": "response",
  "success": false,
  "description": "Unauthorized",
  "data": {},
  "error": {
    "module": "Auth",
    "code": "UNAUTHORIZED",
    "message": "Invalid or missing authentication credentials"
  }
}

HTTP Status	Cause
`401`	Missing, malformed, or invalid Bearer token / session cookie
`403`	Valid credentials but insufficient permissions

​Bearer Authentication

​Constructing the Token

​Using the Token

​JWT Authentication (Client SDK)

​Getting a JWT

​Using the JWT

​Token Lifecycle

​Error Responses