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Overview

The following methods can be used to authenticate your requests to the Coinbase Developer Platform (CDP). Choose the method that best suits your needs:
MethodDifficultyDescription
Use an Axios request clientEasyUse an Axios client with a pre-configured interceptor that automatically handles authentication for all requests.
Generate your authorization headersIntermediateGenerate authentication headers and apply them to your preferred HTTP client.
Generate a JWTAdvancedGenerate a JWT token, manually create your authentication headers, and apply them to your preferred HTTP client.
Visit the CDP Authentication docs for more details.

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Generate a JWT

The following example shows how to generate a JWT token, which can then be injected manually into your Authorization header to authenticate REST API requests to the CDP APIs using the HTTP request library of your choice. Step 1: Install the required package: 
npm install @coinbase/cdp-sdk
Step 2: Generate a JWT: 
import { generateJwt } from "@coinbase/cdp-sdk/auth";

// For REST (HTTP) requests
const jwt = await generateJwt({
  apiKeyId: "YOUR_API_KEY_ID",
  apiKeySecret: "YOUR_API_KEY_SECRET",
  requestMethod: "GET",
  requestHost: "api.cdp.coinbase.com",
  requestPath: "/platform/v2/evm/accounts",
  expiresIn: 120, // optional (defaults to 120 seconds)
});

console.log(jwt);

// For websocket connections
const websocketJwt = await generateJwt({
  apiKeyId: "YOUR_API_KEY_ID",
  apiKeySecret: "YOUR_API_KEY_SECRET",
  requestMethod: null,
  requestHost: null,
  requestPath: null,
  expiresIn: 120, // optional (defaults to 120 seconds)
});

console.log(websocketJwt);
For information about the above parameters, please refer to the Authentication parameters section. Step 3: Use your JWT (Bearer token) in the Authorization header of your HTTP request: 
curl -L 'https://api.cdp.coinbase.com/platform/v2/evm/accounts' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -H 'Accept: application/json' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer $jwt'

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Generate your authorization headers

The following example shows how to generate the required authentication headers for authenticating a request to the CDP REST APIs, using the HTTP request library of your choice. Step 1: Install the required package: 
npm install @coinbase/cdp-sdk
Step 2: Generate authorization headers: 
import { getAuthHeaders } from "@coinbase/cdp-sdk/auth";

const headers = await getAuthHeaders({
  apiKeyId: "YOUR_API_KEY_ID",
  apiKeySecret: "YOUR_API_KEY_SECRET",
  walletSecret: "YOUR_WALLET_SECRET",
  requestMethod: "POST",
  requestHost: "api.cdp.coinbase.com",
  requestPath: "/platform/v2/evm/accounts",
  requestBody: {
    name: "MyAccount",
  },
  expiresIn: 120, // optional (defaults to 120 seconds)
});

console.log(headers);
For information about the above parameters, please refer to the Authentication parameters section.

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Use an Axios request interceptor

Step 1: Install the required packages: 
npm install @coinbase/cdp-sdk axios
Step 2: Create an authenticated Axios client: The following example shows how to use an Axios HTTP client with a pre-configured interceptor to authenticate your requests to the CDP REST APIs. This client will automatically add the appropriate authentication headers to each request. 
import axios from "axios";
import { axiosHooks } from "@coinbase/cdp-sdk/auth";

// Create an Axios instance
const axiosClient = axios.create({
  baseURL: "https://api.cdp.coinbase.com",
});

// Add authentication to the client
axiosHooks.withAuth(axiosClient, {
  apiKeyId: "YOUR_API_KEY_ID",
  apiKeySecret: "YOUR_API_KEY_SECRET",
  walletSecret: "YOUR_WALLET_SECRET",
});

// Make authenticated requests (example)
// The appropriate authentication headers will be automatically added to the request
try {
  const response = await axiosClient.post("/platform/v2/evm/accounts", {
    name: "MyAccount",
  });
  console.log(response.data);
} catch (error) {
  console.error("Request failed:", error);
}
The Axios interceptor will automatically:
  • Generate a JWT for each request
  • Add the JWT to the Authorization header
  • Set the appropriate Content-Type header
  • Add wallet authentication when required
For information about the above parameters, please refer to the Authentication parameters section.

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Authentication parameters

The following table provides more context of many of the authentication parameters used in the examples above:
ParameterRequiredDescription
apiKeyIdtrueThe unique identifier for your API key. Supported formats are:
- xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx
- organizations/{orgId}/apiKeys/{keyId}
apiKeySecrettrueYour API key secret. Supported formats are:
- Edwards key (Ed25519): xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx==
- Elliptic Curve key (ES256): -----BEGIN EC PRIVATE KEY-----\n...\n...\n...==\n-----END EC PRIVATE KEY-----\n
requestMethodtrue*The HTTP method for the API request you’re authenticating (ie, GET, POST, PUT, DELETE). Can be null for JWTs intended for websocket connections.
requestHosttrue*The API host you’re calling (ie, api.cdp.coinbase.com). Can be null for JWTs intended for websocket connections.
requestPathtrue*The path of the specific API endpoint you’re calling (ie, /platform/v1/wallets). Can be null for JWTs intended for websocket connections.
requestBodyfalseOptional request body data.
expiresInfalseThe JWT expiration time in seconds. After this time, the JWT will no longer be valid, and a new one must be generated. Defaults to 120 (ie, 2 minutes) if not specified.
* Either all three request parameters (requestMethod, requestHost, and requestPath) must be provided for REST API requests, or all three must be null for JWTs intended for websocket connections.

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Modules