Generating long-lived API token for CI/CD pipeline

NICE CXone API & Integrations
1

Trying to understand the best practice for generating a persistent API token for our CI/CD pipeline. The current OAuth2 flow requires manual refresh every hour.

  • Environment: AWS CodeBuild
  • Goal: Automated schedule generation
  • Issue: Token expiration breaks the build

Is there an endpoint like /oauth/token that supports a longer expires_in value for service accounts? Or should I be using a static API key instead?

2

The root cause here is the standard OAuth2 access token design, which prioritizes security over persistence. For CI/CD pipelines, you should use Client Credentials Grant with a JWT Bearer Token flow or a long-lived API Key if the scope allows it. My gRPC event processing services use the following pattern to avoid manual refreshes in AWS CodeBuild.

  • Use Client Credentials Flow: This is the standard for machine-to-machine communication. It does not require a user context.
  • Implement Token Caching: Instead of fetching a new token every hour, cache it and refresh only when expiration is near. This reduces API load.
  • Validate Scopes: Ensure your service account has admin:api or specific platform scopes.

Here is the Python implementation using the official SDK to get a long-lived token via client credentials. This fits into your CodeBuild script as a pre-build step.

from purecloudplatformclientv2 import ApiClient, Configuration

def get_long_lived_token(client_id, client_secret, scope="admin:api"):
 config = Configuration(
 host="https://api.mypurecloud.com",
 client_id=client_id,
 client_secret=client_secret
 )
 api_client = ApiClient(configuration=config)
 
 # Get OAuth token using client credentials
 oauth_token = api_client.get_oauth_token(
 grant_type="client_credentials",
 scope=scope
 )
 
 # Return the access token and expiry timestamp
 return oauth_token.access_token, oauth_token.expires_in

# Usage in CI/CD
TOKEN, EXPIRY = get_long_lived_token("YOUR_CLIENT_ID", "YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET")
print(f"Token valid for {EXPIRY} seconds")

Store the client_id and client_secret in AWS Secrets Manager. Rotate them every 90 days. This approach eliminates the 1-hour expiry issue while maintaining security. Avoid static API keys for high-throughput systems as they cannot be rotated easily without downtime.

3

I normally fix this by using the Client Credentials Grant with a JWT Bearer flow. It handles token rotation automatically within the service account context, avoiding manual refreshes in AWS CodeBuild.

// Ensure async token refresh runs in the background
let mut interval = tokio::time::interval(Duration::from_secs(5400));

Warning: Rotate secrets immediately if the service account scope is compromised.

4

This issue stems from the fixed 3600-second expiration policy for standard OAuth tokens. You cannot extend expires_in via API. Implement a background thread to call /api/v2/oauth/token with grant_type=client_credentials using your machine user’s secrets. Cache the result and refresh 5 minutes before expiry to maintain pipeline continuity.

5

To fix this easily, this is to stop fighting the token expiry and just automate the refresh inside your build step. You don’t need a long-lived token since the platform won’t give you one. Just use the client credentials flow with your machine user secrets. It’s simple, secure, and fits perfectly into CodeBuild. I usually wrap this in a small shell script or Lambda to handle the HTTP call.

# Refresh token using client credentials
curl -X POST "https://api.mypurecloud.com/api/v2/oauth/token" \
 -H "Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded" \
 -d "grant_type=client_credentials&client_id=${GC_CLIENT_ID}&client_secret=${GC_CLIENT_SECRET}"

Cache the response and use that Bearer token for your subsequent API calls. It expires in an hour, so just run this script at the start of your pipeline. It’s reliable and avoids the headache of managing static keys.