> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://api.clarityflow.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://api.clarityflow.com/authentication.md).

# Authentication

## Get your API token

Your API requests are authenticated an API token generated in your Clarityflow account (formerly known as *ZipMessage*). Any request that doesn't include an API token will return an error.

You can generate an API token in your Clarityflow account in **Settings** > **Integrations** > **API tokens**

Clarityflow expects your API token to be included in all API requests in a header that looks like the following:

```
Authorization: clarityflow_api_token
```

Replace `clarityflow_api_token` with the API token found in your account.

## Account Authorization

The Clarityflow API endpoints are made available to accounts that have an active subscription to a plan that allows for API access.  Refer to the Clarityflow [pricing tiers](https://clarityflow.com/pricing) to confirm the plan level required to access.

If a request is made with a valid API token but the associated account is unauthorized for API access, it will return a `403` error:

```
{
    "error": "This account needs to upgrade in order to access the API."
}
```