> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://developer.box.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Authentication

Authentication with the Box API uses an Access Token to identify a user. The
way in which an Access Token is acquired depends on the method used to authorize
a user. The type of authorization available to an application depends on the
use-case as well as the type of application that has been created in the developer
console.

<Frame border width="600" center>
    <img src="https://mintcdn.com/box/_IAqcLWo8orUxXr1/images/guides/applications/app-types/authentication-methods.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=_IAqcLWo8orUxXr1&q=85&s=d984d4bcfecbcc0ece84dc19dc489532" alt="Authentication methods" width="503" height="333" data-path="images/guides/applications/app-types/authentication-methods.png" />
</Frame>

<Card href="/guides/authentication/select" arrow title="Learn how to select an authorization type" />

## Access Tokens for Authentication

Every API endpoint requires a valid and active **Access Token** to make API
calls. An Access Token is a unique string that identifies an authenticated Box
user to the API endpoints.

```sh  theme={null}
curl https://api.box.com/2.0/users/me \
    -H "authorization: Bearer EGmDmRVfhfHsqesn5yVYHAqUkD0dyDfk"
```

<Card href="/guides/authentication/tokens" arrow title="Learn more about Access Tokens" />

[oauth2]: /guides/authentication/oauth2

[jwt]: /guides/authentication/jwt

[apptoken]: /guides/authentication/app-token

[devtoken]: /guides/authentication/tokens/developer-tokens

[custom-app]: /guides/applications/app-types/platform-apps

[custom-skill]: /guides/applications/app-types/custom-skills

[la]: /guides/applications/app-types/select/#limited-access-app

[ccg]: /guides/authentication/client-credentials