Credentials
Flinks uses three credentials. Each serves a different purpose in the authentication flow.
| Credential | What it is | How you get it | Lifetime |
|---|
| Secret key | A key that identifies your integration and grants access to Flinks APIs. | Provided by Flinks during integration setup. | Does not expire. |
| Authorize token | A one-time token that authenticates a single session. | Generated by calling /GenerateAuthorizeToken with your secret key. | Single-use. Expires after 30 minutes if unused. |
x-api-key | A security header required on data endpoints. | Provided by Flinks during integration setup. | Does not expire. |
flinks-auth-key header is used on two endpoints but carries a different value on each.
| Endpoint | Header | Value | Required |
|---|
/GenerateAuthorizeToken | flinks-auth-key | Your secret key | Yes |
/Authorize | flinks-auth-key | Your authorize token | Yes |
| Flinks Connect iframe | URL parameter | authorizeToken={token} | Yes |
/GetAccountsDetail | x-api-key | Your x-api-key | Yes |
/GetAccountsDetailAsync | x-api-key | Your x-api-key | Yes |
/GetAccountsSummary | x-api-key | Your x-api-key | Yes |
/GetAccountsDetail, /GetAccountsDetailAsync, /GetAccountsSummary, etc.) authenticate using the RequestId returned by /Authorize and the x-api-key header. They do not require the flinks-auth-key header.
Do not confuse the secret key with the authorize token. The secret key generates tokens. The authorize token authenticates sessions. Using the wrong value in the flinks-auth-key header causes 401 errors.
Authentication flow
Step 1: Generate an authorize token
Call /GenerateAuthorizeToken with your secret key in the flinks-auth-key header. The response contains a one-time authorize token.
Step 2: Authenticate with the authorize token
How you pass the authorize token depends on your integration type:
- Flinks Connect: Add
authorizeToken={token} as a URL parameter on the iframe URL.
- Direct API: Pass the authorize token in the
flinks-auth-key header when calling /Authorize.
/Authorize returns a RequestId that you use to call data endpoints.
Step 3: Call data endpoints
Pass the RequestId to data endpoints such as /GetAccountsDetail. No flinks-auth-key header is needed on data endpoints.
For the full data retrieval flow after authentication, see Retrieve Account Data.
Handle token expiry in Flinks Connect
The authorize token expires after 30 minutes. The /GenerateAuthorizeToken endpoint does not return a TTL, so your application must handle expiry reactively.
If the user does not complete the connection flow within 30 minutes, Flinks Connect emits a JavaScript event:
{ "step": "TOKEN_INVALID" }
authorizeToken parameter.
Implementation
Listen for TOKEN_INVALID alongside your other Flinks Connect events:
window.addEventListener("message", function (e) {
if (e.data && e.data.step === "TOKEN_INVALID") {
// 1. Call your backend to generate a new authorize token
// (your backend calls /GenerateAuthorizeToken with the secret key)
// 2. Reload the iframe with the new token
const iframe = document.getElementById("flinks-connect");
const newUrl = iframe.src.replace(/authorizeToken=[^&]+/, "authorizeToken=" + newToken);
iframe.src = newUrl;
}
});
Generate the authorize token from your backend. Do not expose your secret key in frontend code.
Common authentication errors
| Error | Flinks Code | Cause |
|---|
401 | ACCESS_DENIED | Invalid or missing credentials on /Authorize. |
401 | UNAUTHORIZED | /GetAccountsDetail called before completing authorization or MFA. |
401 | SESSION_EXPIRED | RequestId expired after 8 minutes of inactivity or 30 minutes of data processing. |
401 | INVALID_REQUEST | Malformed request body, missing headers, or URL formatting errors (e.g., double slash //v3). |
401 | INVALID_LOGIN | The LoginId passed to /Authorize does not exist or is invalid. |
