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Deploy a token server

To ensure the security of your business, best practice is to authenticate every client that joins a channel. Agora uses digital tokens to authenticate users and their privileges. When a user attempts to connect to Agora, they provide a token obtained from a token server. The Agora SD-RTN™ validates the user's identity and permissions based on the information in the token.

To generate authentication tokens, deploy a token server within your security infrastructure. This guide explains how to set up a token server using Agora's open source code repository.

Understand the tech

An authentication token is a dynamic key that is valid for a maximum of 24 hours. On request, your token server returns an authentication token that is valid to join a specific channel or a set of wildcard channels.

The following figure shows the call flow you implement to create step-up-authentication with Agora Video Calling:

Token authentication flow

token authentication flow

Your app retrieves a token from the token server when a user attempts to connect to an Agora channel. The app then sends this token to Agora SD-RTN™ for authentication. Agora SD-RTN™ reads the information stored in the token to validate the request.

Agora enables you to implement permissions with the following strategies. Select the one that best suits your use-case:

  • Uniform permissions

    Uniformly set permissions for joining channels and concurrent streams. This is applicable to most use-cases. For details, see Basic authentication.

  • Finely control permissions for publishing different streams

    Manage permissions to publish different types of streams, such as audio, video, and data. If you have higher requirements for business security, use these permissions to finely control the validity period of permissions to publish different streams. For details, see Co-host token authentication.

Information

The information on this page only applies to AccessToken2. If you are still using AccessToken, refer to the AccessToken upgrade guide to upgrade from AccessToken to AccessToken2.

Prerequisites

Before starting, ensure that you have:

  • Implemented the SDK quickstart in your project.

  • The following information from Agora Console:

    • App ID: A unique string generated by Agora that identifies your project.
    • App Certificate: A string generated by Agora Console to enable token authentication. To obtain the App Certificate for your project, enable primary certificate.

Token generation code

Agora provides an open source token generator code repository on GitHub. The repository provides code in the following languages ​​to generate tokens on your own server using the HMAC-SHA256 algorithm:

LanguageCore MethodSample Code
GolangBuildTokenWithUidsample.go
Node.jsbuildTokenWithUidRtcTokenBuilder2Sample.js
PHPbuildTokenWithUidRtcTokenBuilder2Sample.php
Pythonbuild_token_with_uidRtcTokenBuilder2Sample.py
Python3build_token_with_uidRtcTokenBuilder2Sample.py
JavabuildTokenWithUidRtcTokenBuilder2Sample.java
C++buildTokenWithUidRtcTokenBuilder2Sample.cpp

Basic authentication

Refer to the following code samples to generate a token with basic permissions:

package mainimport (    "fmt"    "os"    rtctokenbuilder "github.com/AgoraIO/Tools/DynamicKey/AgoraDynamicKey/go/src/rtctokenbuilder2")func main() {    // Get the value of the environment variable AGORA_APP_ID. Make sure you set this variable to the App ID you obtained from Agora console.    appId := os.Getenv("AGORA_APP_ID")    // Get the value of the environment variable AGORA_APP_CERTIFICATE. Make sure you set this variable to the App certificate you obtained from Agora console    appCertificate := os.Getenv("AGORA_APP_CERTIFICATE")    // Replace channelName with the name of the channel you want to join    channelName := "channelName"    // Fill in your actual user ID    uid := uint32(2882341273)    // Token validity time in seconds    tokenExpirationInSeconds := uint32(3600)    // The validity time of all permissions in seconds    privilegeExpirationInSeconds := uint32(3600)    fmt.Println("App Id:", appId)    fmt.Println("App Certificate:", appCertificate)    if appId == "" || appCertificate == "" {        fmt.Println("Need to set environment variable AGORA_APP_ID and AGORA_APP_CERTIFICATE")        return    }    // Generate Token        result, err := rtctokenbuilder.BuildTokenWithUid(appId, appCertificate, channelName, uid, rtctokenbuilder.RoleSubscriber, tokenExpirationInSeconds, privilegeExpirationInSeconds)    if err != nil {        fmt.Println(err)    } else {        fmt.Printf("Token with int uid: %s\n", result)    }}
info

The code samples presented on this page use an integer user ID to generate a token. To use a string user ID, refer to the Token Generator code repository to view the corresponding code sample in the desired language.

Advanced authentication features

This section presents advanced functions related to token authentication.

  • Wildcard token​s: Allow users to join multiple channels or switch channels without frequently requesting new tokens.

  • Co-host token authentication: Enable fine-grained control to ensure only authorized users can publish streams.

Generate wildcard token​s

In use-cases where users need to join multiple channels, or frequently switch between channels, they need to request a new token from the token server, each time they join a channel. To solve the problem of frequently requesting tokens when switching channels, Agora enables you to generate wildcard tokens that set the user ID or channel name as a wildcard. Users reuse the same wildcard token to join different channels, which speeds up the process of switching and joining channels. It also helps reduce the pressure on your token server.

Information

To generate wildcard tokens, deploy an AccessToken2 server. If you are still using AccessToken, see the AccessToken upgrade guide to upgrade to AccessToken2.

The AccessToken2 code provides two BuildTokenWithUid methods. Choose the method according to your needs. When generating a wildcard token, fill in the following parameters according to your requirements:

Token typeuidchannelName
Token for wildcard user IDSet the user ID to 0 or a wildcard * to match any length of characters for user IDs of int and string types. Agora also supports extended matching, that is, matching multiple combinations of * and strings. For example, 1*a*2 means match user IDs starting with 1, containing the letter a, and ending with 2, such as 1abc2.A string of up to 64 bytes.
Token for wildcard channel nameThe user ID of the user to be authenticated. User IDs of type int and string are supported.Set the channel name as a wildcard * or leave it blank. To employ expanded matching, use multiple combinations of * and strings. For example, 1*a*2 matches channel names starting with 1, containing the letter a, and ending with 2, such as 1abc2.

Precautions

  • If you have generated a token for uid=0, consider the following when you use the token:

    • If you only need to join a single channel, set the uid to 0 when calling joinChannel.

    • If you need to join multiple channels, set uid to a specific user ID instead of 0 when calling joinChannelEx.

  • In order to prevent unauthorized users from disrupting the order of the channel if the token is leaked, best practice is that users who use wildcard tokens set their client role as audience, and their token privilege role to kRoleSubscriber.

If viewers using wildcard tokens need to publish streams, Agora recommends the following steps to update the token. The following API uses C++ as an example:

  1. Call setClientRole to set the user role as Broadcaster.

  2. When generating a token using BuildTokenWithUid, specify the channel name and user ID in the method, and set the token privilege role to kRolePublisher, thereby generating a token with the permission to send streams.

  3. Call renewToken to update the token.

A wildcard token is valid for 24 hours. If the token is about to expire, regenerate a new wildcard token on the server and then call renewToken to pass in the new wildcard token.

Co-host token authentication

In addition to basic authentication, Agora also provides fine-grained control over the permissions of users in a channel to publish different types of streams. Co-host token authentication helps you ensure that only the streaming users in a channel are authorized to publish streams, thus preventing hackers from stealing tokens or exploiting vulnerabilities to blow up a live broadcast channel.

Note
  • Before using advanced authentication features, ensure that you have enabled Co-host token authentication in Agora Console.

  • To send a stream to a channel, ensure that the client role is set to Broadcaster either at the time of joining the channel, or after joining a channel by calling setClientRole.

Agora provides BuildTokenWithUidAndPrivilege methods to set the expiration time of the following privileges:

  • Join a channel
  • Publish audio stream in a channel
  • Publish video stream in a channel
  • Publish data stream in a channel

See the API reference for detailed parameter descriptions.

Generate a token with advanced permissions

Use the following methods from the token generation Github repository ​​to generate tokens with advanced permissions:

LanguageCore MethodSample Code
GolangBuildTokenWithUidAndPrivilegesample.go
Node.jsBuildTokenWithUidAndPrivilegeRtcTokenBuilder2Sample.js
PHPBuildTokenWithUidAndPrivilegeRtcTokenBuilder2Sample.php
Pythonbuild_token_with_uid_and_privilegeRtcTokenBuilder2Sample.py
Python3build_token_with_uid_and_privilegeRtcTokenBuilder2Sample.py
JavabuildTokenWithUidRtcTokenBuilder2Sample.java
C++buildTokenWithUidRtcTokenBuilder2Sample.cpp

Refer to the following code samples to generate a token with advanced permissions

package mainimport (    "fmt"    "os"    rtctokenbuilder "github.com/AgoraIO/Tools/DynamicKey/AgoraDynamicKey/go/src/rtctokenbuilder2")func main() {    // Get the value of the environment variable AGORA_APP_ID. Make sure you set this variable to the value you obtained from Agora console    appId := os.Getenv("AGORA_APP_ID")    // Get the value of the environment variable AGORA_APP_CERTIFICATE. Make sure you set this variable to the App certificate you obtained from Agora console    appCertificate := os.Getenv("AGORA_APP_CERTIFICATE")    // Replace channelName with the name of the channel you want to join    channelName := "channelName"    // Fill in your actual user ID    uid := uint32(2882341273)    // Token validity time in seconds    tokenExpirationInSeconds := uint32(3600)    // Validity time for permission to join a channel (seconds)    joinChannelPrivilegeExpireInSeconds := uint32(3600)    // Validity in seconds for the permission to publish audio streams in the channel    pubAudioPrivilegeExpireInSeconds := uint32(3600)    // Validity in seconds for the permission to publish video streams in the channel    pubVideoPrivilegeExpireInSeconds := uint32(3600)    // Validity in seconds for the permission to publish data streams in the channel    pubDataStreamPrivilegeExpireInSeconds := uint32(3600)    fmt.Println("App Id:", appId)    fmt.Println("App Certificate:", appCertificate)    if appId == "" || appCertificate == "" {        fmt.Println("Need to set environment variable AGORA_APP_ID and AGORA_APP_CERTIFICATE")        return    }    // Generate Token    result, err := rtctokenbuilder.BuildTokenWithUidAndPrivilege(        appId,        appCertificate,        channelName,        uid,        tokenExpirationInSeconds,        joinChannelPrivilegeExpireInSeconds,        pubAudioPrivilegeExpireInSeconds,        pubVideoPrivilegeExpireInSeconds,        pubDataStreamPrivilegeExpireInSeconds,    )    if err != nil {        fmt.Println(err)    } else {        fmt.Printf("Token with int uid and privilege: %s\n", result)    }}

Deploy a token server

This section presents multiple methods of deploying a token generator locally. After successful deployment, you can use the generated tokens to test and debug your Video Calling project.

Use the NPM package

The agora-token NPM package provides a library for generating tokens and includes code for a demo server that handles token generation requests. Follow these steps to install the package and run the demo server:

  1. Install the NPM package


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    npm install agora-token

  2. Add your App ID and App certificate

    Open the file node_modules/agora-token/server/DemoServer.js and update the following variables:


    _3
    // Replace with your Agora credentials
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    var appID = "<YOUR APP ID>";
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    var appCertificate = "<YOUR APP CERTIFICATE>";

  3. Install the dependencies and run the server

    Navigate to the server directory and run the following commands:


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    npm i
    _2
    node DemoServer.js

  4. Test your server

    Use a curl request to generate a sample token:


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    curl http://localhost:8080/rtcToken?channelName=test

    You receive a response like the following:


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    {
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    "key": "YOUR_GENERATED_TOKEN"
    _3
    }

Deploy with Docker​

Refer to the following steps to deploy a Docker-based token generator locally:

  1. Install Docker.

  2. Open a terminal and run the following command to start the token generator. Replace [YOUR_APP_ID] and [YOUR_APP_CERTIFICATE] with the App ID and App certificate you obtained from Agora Console.


    _1
    docker run -d -it -p 8080:8080 -e APP_ID=[YOUR_APP_ID] -e APP_CERTIFICATE=[YOUR_APP_CERTIFICATE] --name agora-token-service agoracn/token:0.1.2023053011

  3. Run the following command to request a token from the token generator you just deployed:


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    curl --location 'http://localhost:8080/token/generate' \
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    --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
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    --data '{
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    "channelName": "channel_name_test",
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    "uid": "12345678",
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    "tokenExpireTs": 3600,
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    "privilegeExpireTs": 3600,
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    "serviceRtc": {
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    "enable": true,
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    "role": 1
    _12
    }
    _12
    }'

    After the request is successful, your terminal displays the generated token.

Manual local deployment

This section demonstrates how to deploy a token server locally using Golang as an example. Before you begin, ensure that you have Golang version 1.14 or later installed.

Refer to the following steps to build and run a token generator:

  1. Create a new token-server folder. Add a server.go file inside the folder and paste the following Golang sample code into the file. Replace the values for appID and appCertificate with your App ID and App certificate.

    Sample code for a token server
    package main import (     rtctokenbuilder "github.com/AgoraIO/Tools/DynamicKey/AgoraDynamicKey/go/src/rtctokenbuilder2"     "fmt"     "log"     "net/http"     "encoding/json"     "errors"     "strconv" ) type rtc_int_token_struct struct{     Uid_rtc_int uint32 `json:"uid"`     Channel_name string `json:"ChannelName"`     Role uint32 `json:"role"` } var rtc_token string var int_uid uint32 var channel_name string var role_num uint32 var role rtctokenbuilder.Role // Use RtcTokenBuilder to generate RTC Token func generateRtcToken(int_uid uint32, channelName string, role rtctokenbuilder.Role){     appID := "<Your App ID>"     appCertificate := "<Your App Certificate>"     // Ensure that the expiration time of the token is later than the permission expiration time. Permission expiration time, unit is seconds     tokenExpireTimeInSeconds := uint32(40)     // The token-privilege-will-expire callback is triggered 30 seconds before the permission expires.     // For demonstration purposes, set the expiration time to 40 seconds. You can see the process of the client automatically updating the Token     privilegeExpireTimeInSeconds := uint32(40)     result, err := rtctokenbuilder.BuildTokenWithUid(appID, appCertificate, channelName, int_uid, role, tokenExpireTimeInSeconds, privilegeExpireTimeInSeconds)     if err != nil {         fmt.Println(err)     } else {         fmt.Printf("Token with uid: %s\n", result)         fmt.Printf("uid is %d\n", int_uid )         fmt.Printf("ChannelName is %s\n", channelName)         fmt.Printf("Role is %d\n", role)     }     rtc_token = result } func rtcTokenHandler(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request){     w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "application/json; charset=UTF-8")     w.Header().Set("Access-Control-Allow-Origin", "*")     w.Header().Set("Access-Control-Allow-Methods", "POST, OPTIONS");     w.Header().Set("Access-Control-Allow-Headers", "*");     if r.Method == "OPTIONS" {         w.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)         return     }     if r.Method != "POST" && r.Method != "OPTIONS" {         http.Error(w, "Unsupported method. Please check.", http.StatusNotFound)         return     }     var t_int rtc_int_token_struct     var unmarshalErr *json.UnmarshalTypeError     int_decoder := json.NewDecoder(r.Body)     int_err := int_decoder.Decode(&t_int)     if (int_err == nil) {                 int_uid = t_int.Uid_rtc_int                 channel_name = t_int.Channel_name                 role_num = t_int.Role                 switch role_num {                     case 1:                         role = rtctokenbuilder.RolePublisher                     case 2:                         role = rtctokenbuilder.RoleSubscriber                 }     }     if (int_err != nil) {         if errors.As(int_err, &unmarshalErr){                 errorResponse(w, "Bad request. Wrong type provided for field " + unmarshalErr.Value  + unmarshalErr.Field + unmarshalErr.Struct, http.StatusBadRequest)                 } else {                 errorResponse(w, "Bad request.", http.StatusBadRequest)             }         return     }     generateRtcToken(int_uid, channel_name, role)     errorResponse(w, rtc_token, http.StatusOK)     log.Println(w, r) } func errorResponse(w http.ResponseWriter, message string, httpStatusCode int){     w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "application/json")     w.Header().Set("Access-Control-Allow-Origin", "*")     w.WriteHeader(httpStatusCode)     resp := make(map[string]string)     resp["token"] = message     resp["code"] = strconv.Itoa(httpStatusCode)     jsonResp, _ := json.Marshal(resp)     w.Write(jsonResp) } func main(){     // Use int type uid to generate RTC Token     http.HandleFunc("/fetch_rtc_token", rtcTokenHandler)     fmt.Printf("Starting server at port 8082")     if err := http.ListenAndServe(":8082", nil); err != nil {         log.Fatal(err)     } }
  2. Open the terminal, go to the token-server folder path, and run the following command line to create a go.mod file for your token generator. This file defines the import path and dependencies:


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    go mod init sampleServer

  3. Run the following command to install dependencies.


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    go get github.com/AgoraIO/Tools/DynamicKey/AgoraDynamicKey/go/src/rtctokenbuilder2

  4. Run the following command to start the token generator:


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    go run server.go

After the token generator is deployed successfully, your terminal returns the token generated based on the App ID and App certificate you filled in.

Reference

This section contains content that completes the information on this page, or points you to documentation that explains other aspects to this product.

API Reference​

This section documents the core methods you use to generate tokens, using the Golang code as an example.

BuildTokenWithUid

Generate a token, set the expiration time, and define all permissions.


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func BuildTokenWithUid(
_6
appId string, appCertificate string,
_6
channelName string, uid uint32,
_6
role Role,
_6
tokenExpire uint32, privilegeExpire uint32,
_6
)

Parameters

  • appId: The App ID generated when you create a project in Agora Console.
  • appCertificate: The App certificate of your project.
  • channelName: Channel name, length should be less than 64 bytes.
  • uid: The unique user ID of the user to be authenticated. It is a 32-bit signed integer with a value range from -231 to 231 - 1.
  • role: User permissions, which determine whether the user can send streams in the channel.
    • kRolePublisher (1): (Default) The user has the permission to send streams in the channel.
    • kRoleSubscriber (2): The user has receiving permission only. The user can receive streams in the channel, but cannot send streams. This parameter only takes effect after Co-host authentication is enabled.
  • tokenExpire: The token validity period (seconds). The maximum validity period is 24 hours.
  • privilegeExpire: Validity time of all permissions (seconds). If set to 0 (default value), it means that the permission will never expire.
Note

If the token expires but the permissions have not expired, the user remains in the channel and can continue to send streams. Any callbacks related to the token in the SDK are not triggered. Once disconnected from the channel, the user is not able to use the expired token to join the same channel. Best practice is to use consistent settings for the token expiration time and the permission expiration time.

BuildTokenWithUidAndPrivilege

Generate a token with fine control over streaming permissions. Set the validity period of the token and the expiration time of permissions to join channels, publish audio, video, and data streams.


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func BuildTokenWithUidAndPrivilege(
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appId string, appCertificate string,
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channelName string, uid uint32,
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tokenExpire uint32, joinChannelPrivilegeExpire uint32,
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pubAudioPrivilegeExpire uint32, pubVideoPrivilegeExpire uint32, pubDataStreamPrivilegeExpire uint32
_6
)

Parameters

  • appId: The App ID generated when you create a project in Agora Console.
  • appCertificate: The App certificate of your project.
  • channelName: Channel name, length should be less than 64 bytes.
  • uid: The unique user ID of the user to be authenticated. It is a 32-bit signed integer with a value range from -231 to 231 - 1.
  • tokenExpire: The token validity period (seconds). The maximum validity period is 24 hours.
  • joinChannelPrivilegeExpire: Validity in seconds for the permission to join the channel (seconds).
  • pubAudioPrivilegeExpire: Validity in seconds for the permission to publish audio streams in the channel.
  • pubVideoPrivilegeExpire: Validity in seconds for the permission to publish video streams in the channel.
  • pubDataStreamPrivilegeExpire: Validity in seconds for the permission to publish data streams in the channel.
Note
  • The expiration time of the different permissions is calculated from the time the token is generated.
  • Agora recommends that the token expiration time be consistent with the expiration time of other permissions.
  • The permission to publish audio, video and data streams in the channel only takes effect after Co-host token authentication service is enabled. If the permission to join the channel expires earlier than the permission to publish an audio stream, the user is kicked out of the channel after the permission to join the channel expires.

Compatibility

AccessToken2 is supported on the following versions of Agora SDK (excluding client side bypass push function):

For RTC 4.x SDK:

  • Android, iOS, macOS, Windows, Electron, Unity, React Native, or Unreal SDK version must be greater than or equal to v4.0.0
  • Flutter SDK version must be greater than or equal to v6.0.0
  • Web SDK version must be greater than or equal to v4.8.0
Information

SDKs using AccessToken2 can interoperate with SDKs using AccessToken. The SDK versions that supports AccessToken2 also supports AccessToken.

Frequently asked questions

Video Calling