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Generate a test token

Use getstream token to sign a JWT with the linked app's secret. Useful for local SDK work and one-off API calls, but not for production token issuance. Run it from a directory linked with getstream init.

Generate a token

getstream token alice                # no expiration
getstream token alice --ttl 30s
getstream token alice --ttl 5m
getstream token alice --ttl 2h
getstream token alice --ttl 1d

--ttl units: s, m, h, d.

Call the API as a user

getstream token prints just the JWT on stdout, so you can capture it directly. The app's API key is in .stream/creds.yaml:

TOKEN=$(getstream token alice --ttl 1h)
API_KEY=$(grep '^key:' .stream/creds.yaml | awk '{ print $2 }')

curl -X POST "https://chat.stream-io-api.com/api/v2/chat/channels?api_key=$API_KEY" \
  -H "Stream-Auth-Type: jwt" \
  -H "Authorization: $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"filter_conditions":{"members":{"$in":["alice"]}},"limit":10}'

This queries alice's channels the way an SDK would, with the request authenticated as her. The members filter is required: a user token only reads channels its user can access, so the API rejects an unscoped query.

Test an SDK locally

Paste the printed JWT into your SDK's connect call. This skips the need to stand up a token endpoint for early integration work.

When not to use this

  • Production. Issue tokens from your own server endpoint with proper auth.
  • Users you don't own. The CLI signs tokens for any user id with no membership check. Only appropriate when you control both ends.

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