# API

The Giraffe Cloud can be accessed via an API. The API is the same API that our web and mobile apps are built off.

## API authentication

There are two types of API token that you can use to authenticate a system

* personal authentication tokens
* system authentication tokens

### Personal authentication tokens

Personal authentication tokens allow you to interact with Giraffe Cloud as if you were logged in. All actions taken by the API will appear to have come from the user account that owns the personal authentication token.

A user an create multiple personal authentication tokens.

To manage your personal authentication tokens click on your name in the top right of the menu bar.

<figure><img src="https://2701567920-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FsZS3YRsoEs7DBwWBJpaD%2Fuploads%2FUijwH2s89tVq9tAiOqZh%2Fimage.png?alt=media&#x26;token=7bdb7ac6-cd91-4b52-9407-847d7547b823" alt="" width="563"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

To create a new token, click on **Add new token** on the right hand side. You will be asked to enter a name for the token.

<figure><img src="https://2701567920-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FsZS3YRsoEs7DBwWBJpaD%2Fuploads%2FQCAD2cRCv6sYZk6dAl8u%2Fimage.png?alt=media&#x26;token=3f68c9eb-58fc-405b-8d1e-2dc61ce45f6e" alt="" width="375"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

Please note that you only have one chance to copy the token after it is created. If you lose the token you will need to delete it and create it again.

### System authentication tokens

At present system authentication tokens can only be used to authenticate against the [RTSP proxy service](api/rtsp-service).&#x20;

System authentication tokens are scoped to a single system. We plan to extend the system authentication token to support other system specific endpoints in the future.

