Authenticate API

The Authenticate API enables you to submit a request with a basic auth header to authenticate a user and retrieve information about the authenticated user.

Request

GET _xpack/security/_authenticate

Description

A successful call returns a JSON structure that shows what roles are assigned to the user as well as any assigned metadata.

If the user cannot be authenticated, this API returns a 401 status code.

Examples

To authenticate a user, submit a GET request to the _xpack/security/_authenticate endpoint:

GET _xpack/security/_authenticate

The following example output provides information about the "rdeniro" user:

{
  "username": "rdeniro",
  "roles": [
    "admin",
    "kibana4"
  ],
  "metadata" : {
    "employee_id": "8675309"
  }
}