We use API keys and tokens for authentication and authorization.
But they serve different purposes and have distinct characteristics.
Tokens (like JWT - JSON Web Tokens):
Carries user context and permissions for authentication and authorization.
Encoded with a user ID, permissions, and expiration time, often in JWT format.
Critical for user-specific access, like accessing a user's profile data in an e-commerce platform.
It is issued by an authentication server after user login and contains user-specific information.
API Key:
Primarily for identifying the application or the consumer making the API call.
They are long strings we pass in the header or as a query parameter in the API request.
You use API keys when access does not involve user context. For example, accessing a public API or service-to-service communication.
They are long-lived and created through the API provider's platform or admin console.