How to use the command 'doctl auth' (with examples)

This article provides examples of how to use the ‘doctl auth’ command, which is used to authenticate doctl with one or more API tokens. This command is used to manage authentication contexts and allows users to switch between different authentication tokens.

Use case 1: Open a prompt to enter an API token and label its context

Code:

doctl auth init --context token_label

Motivation: The ‘doctl auth init’ command is used to open a prompt where users can enter their API token and label its context. This is useful when you want to authenticate doctl with a new API token and associate it with a specific context.

Explanation:

• init: Initializes the authentication process.
• --context token_label: Specifies the label for the authentication token, allowing users to identify and switch between different contexts easily.

Example output:

Enter your DigitalOcean API token: ************

Use case 2: List authentication contexts (API tokens)

Code:

doctl auth list

Motivation: The ‘doctl auth list’ command is used to list all the authentication contexts (API tokens) that have been stored. This is useful when you want to view all the available authentication tokens and their associated labels.

Explanation:

• list: Lists all the stored authentication contexts.

Example output:

TOKEN_LABEL             API URL
----------------------  --------------------------------------------------------------
token_label_A           https://api.digitalocean.com/v2
token_label_B           https://api.digitalocean.com/v2

Use case 3: Switch contexts (API tokens)

Code:

doctl auth switch --context token_label

Motivation: The ‘doctl auth switch’ command is used to switch between different authentication contexts (API tokens). This is useful when you want to switch to a different API token and perform actions using the associated context.

Explanation:

• switch: Changes the active authentication context.
• --context token_label: Specifies the label of the authentication context that you want to switch to.

Example output:

Switched to authentication context: token_label

Use case 4: Remove a stored authentication context (API token)

Code:

doctl auth remove --context token_label

Motivation: The ‘doctl auth remove’ command is used to remove a stored authentication context (API token). This is useful when you no longer need a specific authentication token and want to clean up your stored contexts.

Explanation:

• remove: Removes the specified authentication context.
• --context token_label: Specifies the label of the authentication context that you want to remove.

Example output:

Authentication context removed: token_label

Use case 5: Show available commands

Code:

doctl auth --help

Motivation: The ‘doctl auth –help’ command is used to display information about the available commands and options of the ‘doctl auth’ command. This is useful when you want to learn more about the functionalities and usage of this command.

Explanation:

• --help: Displays the help information for the ‘doctl auth’ command.

Example output:

...
COMMANDS
  init      Initialize the authentication process
  list      List all stored authentication contexts
  switch    Switch between authentication contexts
  remove    Remove a stored authentication context
...

Conclusion:

The ‘doctl auth’ command provides functionalities to authenticate doctl with API tokens. By using this command, users can manage authentication contexts, switch between different tokens, and remove stored contexts. This article has provided examples for each of these use cases, demonstrating the usage and the expected outputs.