Authentication requests are attached to Authentications in the Integration Center. Authentications will be referred to as Auth Objects, and the point of them is to retrieve/update pieces of an Auth Object, which are used for extra secure communication.

Create / Edit Authentication request

Open the Authentication Requests list and click the + Create New Request button. When clicked, a new page will open where you can enter the following details:

Basic Information section

• Request Name – The name of the request.
• Request Description – The request description, if you'd like to include one.
• Request method – The type of request. Options include:
  • GET
  • POST
  • PUT
  • PATCH
  • DELETE
• Request endpoint – The endpoint you are wanting to push this information to outside of Paradox.
• Token Library – The <…> icon button will open the Token Library. This will open a drawer where you can view and search all attributes, Jinja/Python filters, and Global Values. You are then able to select one to insert it wherever your cursor currently is located.
  • Note: Quotation marks will need to be added around any value that needs to be passed as a string.

Authentication section

• Authentication Type – The type of authentication used. Options include:
  • Basic Auth – Requires a username and password, which are provided by the endpoint provider and are base64 encoded upon running.
• No Auth – No authentication is required.
• Custom Authentication Types – Any custom authentication types created in the Authentications list will display here and can be selected.
• Certificate – If any certificates were added to the Certificates list, they will display here and can be selected, if relevant.

Headers section

The Key and Value pairs added here are sent at the top of the payload and labeled as headers. Upon sending, some headers may be added to the request automatically based on other information in the request. 

You can add additional headers by clicking the + Add Header button and entering in the Key and Value fields that display.

Payload section

The payload is the body of the request, it can be formatted as JSON or XML, and contains the core information sent in the request. JSON uses Key and Value pairs and objects while XML does not. Google has more information on XML.

Authentication requests often contain a very small amount of information, such as grant_type. This makes sense for Auth Requests because the purpose is to retrieve Authentication to use for another endpoint.

• Note: The Token Library is also available here.

Response Map section

This section is for mapping the response our request receives when it is ran. When a response is received, the system will automatically normalize it into a JSON format so that it can be referenced as shown. Any amount of response mappings can be added. There are three parts to a response map:

• System Attribute – The attribute that should be populated with the value.
• Response Value – The location of the desired value in the JSON response.
• Modifications – A Mapped Values set which will use the Response Value as input and saves the output into the given system attribute. If no modification is required, there is an option for None.

Response Code Map section

This section is used to overwrite the response code given. This is useful in multiple situations:

• An API always sends back the same response code because it isn’t built well.
• An API sends back the same response code for very similar situations, but we want to note the differences in audit logs.

This section includes the following:

• Response Value – The location of the value to be interpreted in the response JSON. This value could represent a response code and directly be used to overwrite the response code (Modification = None). More commonly, this is an arbitrary value which is used in tandem with a response map (Modification).
• Modifications – A Response Map in which the inputs are values that may be found in the Response Value and the outputs are corresponding desired response codes.
• Error Alerts
  • Employees – A select set of users who will be notified via email if a request gets an error response code.
  • Alert Subject – The subject line of the alert email.
    • Note: These emails will include the following details:
      • Status – The response status.
      • Request Name – The name of the request in Paradox that failed.
      • Request Type – The type of integration request.
      • Account Name – Name of the Paradox Account.
      • Candidate ID – The ID of the candidate that failed.
      • Candidate Full Name – The candidate’s full name.
      • View Response – Clicking this button will take the user into the Audit Logs directly into the failed request.

Using Authentication Requests and OAuth

If you want to use Authentication requests that require OAuth, follow the process outlined here.