We have seen how an Alert task can be set up in Kore.ai virtual assistant platform here. In this section, we will see how the authorization can be set up using API Key.
Setting Up
An API key can act as both a unique identifier and a secret token for identification as well as authentication to provide a set of access rights on the associated API. Instead of prompting the end-user for both a username and password for access, the user is prompted only for an API key when configuring the task. To use the API Key Authorization Type, you must first register an account with the web application and then generate an API Key for that application to configure the settings for the Kore.ai authorization mechanism.The following illustration shows the fields to define for the API Key Authorization Type.
To define an API key authorization,
- Select API Key in the Authorization Type field. Then specify a Name for the authorization to be displayed in the Bot builder user interface.
Tenancy
If required, in the Subdomain section, select Yes if the base URL for a web application or user interface the uses a tenant name in the URL. For example, kore is the tenant organization for a web service using tenants as www.kore.someCompany.com.
In the following example configuration, the tenancy URL contains the {tenant} organization placeholder.
Form Fields
If the default username and password fields do not meet your needs, you can add new fields displayed to the end-user by adding authorization form fields. To add fields on the authorization form,
The following illustration is an example of a definition to add a password field to the authorization dialog.
The following table describes the fields used to define an authorization IDP form field.
| FIELD NAME |
DESCRIPTION |
| Title of Field |
Specify the name of the field displayed to the end-user in the authentication dialog. |
| Field Key |
The value represents the end-user input value to the authenticating service. |
| Help Hint |
The help text displayed in the field to describe what should be entered into the field. |
| Field Type |
When Advanced Options is selected, specify the type of field displayed in the end-user interface to collect the user input assigned as the value for the Field Key, one of:
|
| Mandatory |
When Advanced Options is selected, select if the end-user must define this field to complete authentication. |
| Data Type |
When Advanced Options is selected, specify the type of data expected as input from the end-user, for example, String. |
| Visibility |
When Advanced Options is selected, specify if the authentication field should be visible, hidden, or displayed as read-only. |
Authorization Fields
By default, authorization fields are configured as part of the header of the task request message. If your task request requires additional authorization fields or the expected authorization is not part of the header, for example, social security number or PIN,
- Click + Add Authorization Field and then define the fields as shown in the following illustration.
- In the Field Type field, you can select one of the following depending on where in the task request message and the type of authorization fields that are required.
Header – The Bot expects the authorization fields as part of the header of the request.Payload – The Bot expects the authorization fields as part of the content of the body of the request.Query String – The Bot expects the authorization fields as a query in the body of the request.Path Param – The Bot expects the authorization fields as part of the URL path for the request.
- In the Field Key field, enter the name of the field for the selected Field Type.
- In the Field Value field, enter the value for the Field Key specified.
- Click Add. The new authorization field is added in the Authorization Fields section.
- To add additional authorization fields, click Add in the Authorization Fields section.
Testing
After you save the authentication, if you defined an Authorization Check URL for your new authorization type, you can test your authorization definition on the Authentication tab when you click Test Authorization before continuing to develop the remaining steps of your task.
After you click Test Authorization, the Test Authorization window is displayed and populated with the URL you specified in the Authorization Check URL section, as shown in the following illustration.
To configure the Test Authorization – API Key
- In the Auth Check URL field, verify or enter the URL to test the authentication configuration.
- If your bot uses subdomains, the Tenancy field is displayed and you must specify the tenant.
- Enter the API key for the application in the API Key field.
- Select the content type expected for the URL in the Content-Type field.
- For testing the URL, the Method field is read-only and set to GET.
- Click Test to begin the authorization test.
When the validation of authentication is complete, the Test Authorization dialog is closed and the results of the validation, either success or failure, are displayed to the immediate right of the Test Authorization button. If the authorization fails, the Auth Test Failed message is displayed along with the Headers and Response tabs as shown in the following illustration.
