Authorization tokens can be generated by users and admins to provide others with access to private/authenticated channels or with a specific set of permissions when using the Package Security Manager CLI or API.
This token can be used in place of username-based authentication, and is particularly useful (and sometimes necessary) for third-party applications or automation tools.
Token Types
There are two types of tokens within Package Security Manager:
Resource tokens
Resource tokens provide the token holder with read, write, or manage permissions for a specific set of channels.
Scope tokens
Scope tokens provide the token holder with a fine-grained set of custom user permissions, limiting the available actions that they are able to perform. A scope combines permission categories with specific actions users can perform into a concatenated string, like this:
category:action or category.subcategory:action
Tokens cannot contain both resources and scopes.
Some actions are also tied to permission levels. For example, if you provide the scope channel:edit, you are also providing manage level permissions over channels.
Available scopes
Available scopes
| Permission Categories | Available Scopes (category:action) | Associated permissions |
|---|---|---|
| Artifacts | artifact:create | Write permissions to parent resource (channel or subchannel) |
| artifact:delete | Manage permissions to parent resource (channel or subchannel) | |
| artifact:download | Read | |
| artifact:edit | Manage permissions to parent resource (channel or subchannel) | |
| artifact:view | Read | |
| Channels | channel:create | Write |
| channel:delete | Manage | |
| channel:edit | Manage | |
| channel:history | Manage | |
| channel:view | Read | |
| channel:view-artifacts | Read | |
| Default Channel | channel.default-channel:edit | Manage |
| Channel groups | channel.group:edit | Manage |
| channel.group:view | Read | |
| Channel mirrors | channel.mirror:edit | Manage |
| channel.mirror:view | Manage | |
| Subchannels | subchannel:create | Manage permissions to parent channel |
| subchannel:delete | Manage | |
| subchannel:edit | Manage | |
| subchannel:history | Manage | |
| subchannel:view | Read | |
| subchannel:view-artifacts | Read | |
| Subchannel groups | subchannel.group:edit | Manage |
| subchannel.group:view | Read | |
| Subchannel mirrors | subchannel.mirror:edit | Manage permissions to parent channel |
| subchannel.mirror:view | Manage | |
| Mirrors | mirror:view | Manage |
| Licenses | system.license:edit | Manage |
| system.license:view | Manage | |
| CVEs | cve:edit | Manage |
| cve:view | Read | |
| Roles | role:edit | Manage |
| role:view | Read | |
| System blobs | system.settings:edit | Manage |
| system:delete-blobs | Manage | |
| Tokens | user.token:edit | Manage |
| user.token:view | Manage |
Generating tokens
To provide token holders with access to a channel:
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Log in to Package Security Manager.
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Select Tokens from the left-hand navigation.
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Click Generate Token.
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Enter a name for your token.
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Set an expiration date for your token.
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Open the Type dropdown menu and select Resources.
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Open the Channel dropdown menu and select an available channel to associate with this token.
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Select the level of permissions to associate with this token.
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If necessary, click the Add Resource button to include an additional channel with this token, repeat as needed.
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Provide a brief description of the token’s use.
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Click Create.
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Save your token string in a secure location.
Generated tokens appear in the upper right corner, and will remain visible until you close the notification, or navigate away from the page.
Save your token in a secure location! If you lose your token, there is no way to recover the token string. You must issue a new token if you lose your current token.
To provide token holders with access to a channel:
-
Log in to Package Security Manager.
-
Select Tokens from the left-hand navigation.
-
Click Generate Token.
-
Enter a name for your token.
-
Set an expiration date for your token.
-
Open the Type dropdown menu and select Resources.
-
Open the Channel dropdown menu and select an available channel to associate with this token.
-
Select the level of permissions to associate with this token.
-
If necessary, click the Add Resource button to include an additional channel with this token, repeat as needed.
-
Provide a brief description of the token’s use.
-
Click Create.
-
Save your token string in a secure location.
Generated tokens appear in the upper right corner, and will remain visible until you close the notification, or navigate away from the page.
Save your token in a secure location! If you lose your token, there is no way to recover the token string. You must issue a new token if you lose your current token.
To provide token holders with a custom set of permissions:
-
Log in to Package Security Manager.
-
Select Tokens from the left-hand navigation.
-
Click Generate Token.
-
Enter a name for your token.
-
Set an expiration date for your token.
-
Open the Type dropdown menu and select Scopes.
-
Open the Select a scope dropdown menu and select a scope to add to the token. Repeat as necessary to build a custom set of permissions for your token holders.
-
Click Create.
-
Save your token string in a secure location.
Generated tokens appear at the bottom of the page and will remain visible until you close the notification or navigate away from the page.
Save your token in a secure location! If you lose your token, there is no way to recover the token string. You must issue a new token if you lose your current token.
Editing a token
You can edit a token to change its name or to update its expiration date. You can choose to issue a new token while editing as well, which will invalidate the previous string associated with the token.
To edit a token:
- Log in to Package Security Manager.
- Select Tokens from the left-hand navigation.
- Select the token’s Edit icon.
- Make any necessary changes to the token.
- If necessary, select the Issue a new token checkbox. A warning appears at the top of the window to inform you that you will receive a new token.
- Click Edit.
Deleting a token
To delete a token:
- Log in to Package Security Manager.
- Select Tokens from the left-hand navigation.
- Select Delete Token beside the token you want to delete.
- Click Delete.
Setting/using a token
Once you have generated a token, you can share it with other users by any method you wish.
If you have received a resource token string from another user and you would like to use it to access packages on a channel, add the channel to your .condarc file by running the following command:
Managing tokens via the CLI
For more information on working with tokens using the CLI, see Package Security Manager CLI.

