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getAccessToken is a client-side function that retrieves an access token for the currently authenticated user. It fetches tokens from the /auth/access-token endpoint, which handles token refresh automatically if needed.
This is the client-side version. For server-side token retrieval, see getAccessToken (Server).

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Usage

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Basic Usage

import { getAccessToken } from '@auth0/nextjs-auth0';

async function callApi() {
  const token = await getAccessToken();
  
  const response = await fetch('https://api.example.com/data', {
    headers: {
      Authorization: `Bearer ${token}`
    }
  });
  
  return response.json();
}

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Multi-API Applications

When calling multiple APIs with different audiences, specify the audience parameter: 
import { getAccessToken } from '@auth0/nextjs-auth0';

async function fetchFromMultipleApis() {
  // Get token for profile API
  const profileToken = await getAccessToken({
    audience: 'https://profile-api.example.com'
  });
  
  // Get token for orders API
  const ordersToken = await getAccessToken({
    audience: 'https://orders-api.example.com'
  });
  
  // Use the correct token for each API
  const profile = await fetch('https://profile-api.example.com/me', {
    headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${profileToken}` }
  });
  
  const orders = await fetch('https://orders-api.example.com/orders', {
    headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${ordersToken}` }
  });
}

​
Request Additional Scopes

const token = await getAccessToken({
  scope: 'read:profile write:profile'
});

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Get Full Token Response

const tokenData = await getAccessToken({
  includeFullResponse: true
});

console.log(tokenData.token);       // Access token string
console.log(tokenData.expires_at);  // Expiration timestamp
console.log(tokenData.scope);       // Granted scopes
console.log(tokenData.token_type);  // Token type (e.g., "Bearer")

​
Signature

function getAccessToken(
  options?: AccessTokenOptions & { includeFullResponse?: false }
): Promise<string>

function getAccessToken(
  options: AccessTokenOptions & { includeFullResponse: true }
): Promise<AccessTokenResponse>

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Parameters

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options
AccessTokenOptions
Options for fetching the access token.

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Return Value

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When includeFullResponse is false (default)

Returns a Promise<string> containing the access token.

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When includeFullResponse is true

Returns a Promise<AccessTokenResponse> with the following properties:
​
token
string
required
The access token string.
​
scope
string
The scopes granted for this token.
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expires_at
number
Unix timestamp (in seconds) when the token expires.
​
expires_in
number
Number of seconds until the token expires.
​
token_type
string
The token type (e.g., "Bearer", "DPoP").

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Error Handling

import { getAccessToken } from '@auth0/nextjs-auth0';
import { AccessTokenError } from '@auth0/nextjs-auth0/errors';

try {
  const token = await getAccessToken();
} catch (error) {
  if (error instanceof AccessTokenError) {
    console.error('Token error:', error.code, error.message);
  } else {
    console.error('Unexpected error:', error);
  }
}

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Configuration

By default, the function fetches from /auth/access-token. You can customize this endpoint using the NEXT_PUBLIC_ACCESS_TOKEN_ROUTE environment variable: 
NEXT_PUBLIC_ACCESS_TOKEN_ROUTE=/api/custom-token

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Multi-Resource Refresh Tokens (MRRT)

When using audience or scope parameters, you must configure Multi-Resource Refresh Tokens in your Auth0 Application:
  1. Go to your Auth0 Application settings
  2. Navigate to Advanced Settings > Grant Types
  3. Enable Refresh Token
  4. Configure Refresh Token Policies with the audiences and scopes your application needs
See the Auth0 MRRT documentation for more details.

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Notes

  • This function only works on the client side (browser)
  • The user must be authenticated before calling this function
  • Tokens are automatically refreshed if expired
  • For server-side token retrieval, use the server-side getAccessToken method from Auth0Client

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