OAuth 2.0 Authorization in Postman

What is OAuth 2.0?

OAuth 2.0 is an authorization framework that allows an application to access resources on a user's behalf without exposing the user's password. It works by exchanging credentials for a short-lived access token.

Setting Up OAuth 2.0 in Postman

Selecting OAuth 2.0 in the Authorization tab reveals fields for the auth URL, access token URL, client ID, client secret, and scope. Postman uses these to request a token directly from the authorization server.

Common Grant Types

Grant TypeTypical Use
Authorization CodeStandard web/server-side apps
Client CredentialsServer-to-server / machine access
Password CredentialsLegacy/trusted first-party apps
ImplicitOlder browser-based flows

Managing Tokens

Once a token is generated, Postman stores it and lets you reuse it across requests, refresh it when it expires, or manage multiple tokens from the Token Manager.

OAuth 2.0 isn't the only way to secure a request - next, let's look at two less common but still important schemes: Digest and Hawk authentication.

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