Access Management

User Access Management in Ethereal Nexus

Ethereal Nexus provides two primary methods for granting access to project APIs:

1. User-based access using API Keys
2. OAuth authentication using Client ID, Client Secret, Subject, and Issuer

Both methods ensure secure communication between clients and the Ethereal Nexus platform.

Choosing the Right Authentication Method

Method	Best For	Authentication Header
API Keys	User-based authentication, CLI, and CMS connectors	Authorization: apikey <your-api-key>
OAuth (Client Credentials)	Secure system-to-system authentication	Authorization: Bearer <access-token>

1. User-Based Access with API Keys

API Keys provide a simple and effective way to authenticate users for interacting with the Ethereal Nexus API. These keys are linked to a specific user account and allow fine-grained access control.

Generating an API Key

Follow these steps to generate an API key for a user:

1. Log in to the Ethereal Nexus Dashboard.
2. Navigate to User Settings by clicking on your profile.
3. Select the API Keys tab.
4. Click on Create New API Key.
5. Enter an alias for the API Key and define the required permissions.
6. Select the projects the API Key should have access to.
7. Click Generate Key and securely store it, as it will only be shown once.

Manually using an API Key

To authenticate API requests using an API Key, include it in the request header:

Authorization: apikey <your-api-key>

Example request using curl:

curl -H "Authorization: apikey your-api-key" \
     -X GET https://api.ethereal-nexus.com/projects

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2. OAuth Authentication

OAuth provides a secure way to authenticate and authorize requests using a Client ID, Client Secret, Subject, and Issuer. This method is recommended for system-to-system authentication and external applications.

OAuth Configuration

To use OAuth authentication, you need the following details:

• Issuer – The Issuer URL of the OAuth server.
• Client ID – The identifier for the application requesting access.
• Client Secret – A secure secret used to authenticate the client.
• Issuer – The URL of the OAuth server (e.g., Keycloak).
• Subject – The identity that is being authenticated.

Setting Up OAuth Access

1. Obtain the Client ID and Client Secret from your OAuth provider.
2. Configure the OAuth Service in Ethereal Nexus:
   • Create a new user, under Users > Invite User.
   • Select Service User.
   • Fill the details and click Create user.

Assign the service user to the project

1. Navigate to the project settings.
2. Under the Users tab, click on Add User.
3. Click Add User and select the service user you created.
4. Assign the Can Read permissions to the service user.

Manually using OAuth for API Requests

To authenticate API requests using OAuth, obtain an access token and include it in the request header:

Authorization: Bearer <access-token>

Example request using curl:

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer your-access-token" \
     -X GET https://api.ethereal-nexus.com/projects

Security Considerations

⚠️ Warning: Never expose API Keys or Client Secrets in public repositories or frontend applications.

• Use short-lived access tokens whenever possible for OAuth authentication.
• Restrict API Key permissions to the minimum necessary for the user’s role.

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By following these guidelines, you can securely manage user access to Ethereal Nexus projects. 🚀