api-auth - SKILL.md Agent Skill

name: api-auth description: >- API authentication for the F5 Distributed Cloud platform. Supports API token header authentication and P12 certificate authentication. Includes token validation procedure. Use when the user says "check token", "validate token", "API authentication", or when any API workflow requires verified credentials. user-invocable: false

API Authentication

Manages authentication for F5 XC REST API operations.

Authentication Methods

Method 1: API Token (Recommended)

Uses the Authorization: APIToken <token> header.

Environment variable: F5XC_API_TOKEN

curl -s -H "Authorization: APIToken ${F5XC_API_TOKEN}" \
  "${F5XC_API_URL}/api/web/namespaces" | jq .

Method 2: P12 Certificate

Uses a PKCS#12 certificate file for mutual TLS.

Environment variables: F5XC_P12_FILE, F5XC_P12_PASSWORD

curl -s --cert-type P12 \
  --cert "${F5XC_P12_FILE}:${F5XC_P12_PASSWORD}" \
  "${F5XC_API_URL}/api/web/namespaces" | jq .

Token Validation Procedure

To verify a token is valid and has appropriate permissions:

Check env vars are set:

test -n "${F5XC_API_TOKEN}" && test -n "${F5XC_API_URL}"

Call the namespaces endpoint (lightweight, always available):

HTTP_CODE=$(curl -s -o /tmp/f5xc-auth-check.json \
  -w '%{http_code}' \
  -H "Authorization: APIToken ${F5XC_API_TOKEN}" \
  "${F5XC_API_URL}/api/web/namespaces")

Interpret the result:
- 200 — Token is valid, list namespaces in response
- 401 — Token expired or invalid
- 403 — Token valid but insufficient permissions
- Network error — Check F5XC_API_URL connectivity

Report token status:

jq -r '.items[] | .name' /tmp/f5xc-auth-check.json

Environment Variables

Variable	Purpose	Required
`F5XC_API_URL`	Tenant base URL	Yes
`F5XC_API_TOKEN`	API token string	Yes (unless P12)
`F5XC_P12_FILE`	Path to P12 certificate	No
`F5XC_P12_PASSWORD`	P12 certificate password	No

Security Rules

Tokens must come from environment variables only
Never echo or log token values in output
When displaying cURL commands, use $F5XC_API_TOKEN placeholder, never the actual value
Clean up temporary files after validation

Cross-Reference

API tokens are managed in the F5 XC console at: System → Tenant Management → API Credentials (URL path: /web/system/tenant_management/api_credentials)

See console-navigator/references/url-patterns.md for the full console URL catalog.