Authentication

Authentication is the process of verifying the identity of a user, service, or system attempting to access a resource. It answers the fundamental question: "Are you who you claim to be?" Authentication is distinct from authorization, which determines what an authenticated entity is allowed to do.

Why It Matters

AI assistant deployments handle sensitive operations: executing code, accessing APIs with paid quotas, and processing private conversations. Without robust authentication, anyone who discovers your gateway URL could consume your model provider credits, read conversation histories, or misuse the assistant. Multi-layered authentication ensures that only authorized users and services can interact with each component of the stack.

How It Works

Modern AI assistant deployments typically employ multiple authentication layers. A setup wizard may use HTTP Basic authentication, where the server challenges the browser for a username and password. The gateway API uses bearer token authentication, where a secret token is included in every request header. Model providers like Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google authenticate requests using API keys included as headers or query parameters.

The authentication flow in a reverse proxy architecture works as follows: the user authenticates with the proxy layer (or is granted implicit access through the proxy's token injection), the proxy authenticates with the gateway using a bearer token, and the gateway authenticates with model providers using their respective API keys. Each layer verifies credentials independently.

In Practice

Implement authentication at every trust boundary in your deployment. Use strong, randomly generated tokens of at least 32 characters. Store credentials in environment variables, never in source code or client-side assets. Enable HTTPS to protect credentials in transit. Consider implementing device pairing or additional verification for administrative endpoints, and always log authentication failures to detect potential intrusion attempts.