---
title: "How to connect to REST API using tokens"
slug: "how-to-connect-to-rest-api-using-tokens"
description: "Learn how to set up your Data Activation REST API key, refresh token, and access tokens for seamless programmatic access and troubleshooting tips."
updated: 2026-05-13T05:13:51Z
published: 2026-05-13T05:13:51Z
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.supermetrics.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# How to connect to REST API using tokens

For programmatic access to the Data Activation REST API, you can use a combination of an API key, refresh token, and access tokens. The API key is linked to your account, and with the API key, you can create a new refresh token. With the refresh token, you can create the actual access tokens.

This article describes how to set up the API key and the tokens.

## Before you begin

You need a Data activation account with API permissions.

## Instructions

### Create API key

1. On the Data Activation platform, click your username and go to **User settings**.
2. Select the **API Authentication** tab.
3. Click **New API Key**.
4. Give the key a unique name, and press enter to save.

Click the eye icon to view the API Key. Copy the key to generate the tokens.

> [!NOTE]
> Note
> 
> For each platform and use case, create a unique API key with a name that describes the API key's purpose. For example, you can create separate keys for mobile, call center, or CRM.

### Generate tokens

1. To generate the refresh token, use the following API request, which you can configure in any general-purpose programming language. Replace the `$apiKey` with your API key.

```python
curl --location --request POST 'https://api.relay42.com/users/authenticate' \--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \--data-raw '{"apiKey" : "$apikey"}'
```

The HTTP request returns a refresh token, such as the following example:

```python
{"refreshToken": "$refreshToken","expiresInSeconds": 172800}
```
2. Use the token received to generate the access token with the following HTTP call. Replace the `$refreshToken` with your own refresh token generated in the previous step.

```python
curl --location --request POST 'https://api.relay42.com/users/token' \--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \--data-raw '{"refreshToken" : "$refreshToken"}'
```

The HTTP call returns the access token, such as the following example:

```python
{"token": "$accessToken","tokenType": "Bearer","expiresInSeconds": 86400}
```
3. Use the access token to access the REST APIs. For example, to access profile facts for a given `partnerType`, pass the access token as a bearer token to the REST API:

```python
curl --location --request GET 'https://api.relay42.com/v1/site-1496/profiles/42/facts?partnerId=2f47e027-f186-4014-b7f0-1fc6eb744746' \--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \--header 'Authorization: Bearer $token'
```

## Delete API key

1. On the Data Activation platform, click your username and go to **User settings**.
2. Select the **API Authentication** tab
3. Click the delete icon to delete the API key.

## Troubleshooting

**It says my account is administratively blocked. What does this mean?**

Contact our support team at support@relay42.com to reactivate your account.

**When generating an access token, I see a 401 message. What do I need to do?**

There are two options here:

1. The API key is incorrect. Go back to the API authentication menu and try copying it again.
2. If you pass other authentication methods, such as a bearer token in the header, you will also receive this error.

**How do I set API access for a specific token?**

The API access is linked to the account. This means that all API keys created from one account will have the same access.

## More resources

- [Data activation API documentation](/v1/docs/data-activation-api-documentation)