Skills Development Setting Up Glean API Authentication

Setting Up Glean API Authentication

v20260423
glean-install-auth
This comprehensive guide details how to authenticate and configure connections to the Glean enterprise search platform. It covers the distinct setup for the Indexing API (used for pushing data into the search index) and the Client API (used for searching and retrieving results). Essential for developers integrating custom data sources or building advanced search features.
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Overview

Glean Install & Auth

Overview

Configure Glean API authentication for enterprise search and knowledge management. Glean has two APIs: the Indexing API (push content into search) and the Client API (search and retrieve). Each uses separate tokens. Base URL: https://<domain>-be.glean.com/api.

Prerequisites

  • Glean enterprise account with admin access
  • API token from Glean Admin > API Tokens
  • Your Glean deployment domain (e.g., company-be.glean.com)

Instructions

Step 1: Obtain API Tokens

Navigate to Glean Admin Console > Settings > API:

Token TypePurposeRequired Header
Indexing API tokenPush documents into search indexAuthorization: Bearer <token>
Client API tokenSearch, chat, user-scoped queriesAuthorization: Bearer <token> + X-Glean-Auth-Type: BEARER

Step 2: Configure Environment Variables

# .env (NEVER commit)
GLEAN_DOMAIN=company-be.glean.com
GLEAN_INDEXING_TOKEN=glean_idx_...
GLEAN_CLIENT_TOKEN=glean_cli_...
GLEAN_DATASOURCE=custom_app  # Your custom datasource name

Step 3: Install SDK and Verify

npm install @anthropic-ai/glean-indexing-api-client  # Or use fetch directly
const GLEAN_BASE = `https://${process.env.GLEAN_DOMAIN}/api`;

// Verify indexing API access
async function verifyIndexingAccess() {
  const res = await fetch(`${GLEAN_BASE}/index/v1/getdatasourceconfig`, {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: {
      'Authorization': `Bearer ${process.env.GLEAN_INDEXING_TOKEN}`,
      'Content-Type': 'application/json',
    },
    body: JSON.stringify({ datasource: process.env.GLEAN_DATASOURCE }),
  });
  const config = await res.json();
  console.log(`Connected. Datasource: ${config.name}`);
}

// Verify client API access
async function verifySearchAccess() {
  const res = await fetch(`${GLEAN_BASE}/client/v1/search`, {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: {
      'Authorization': `Bearer ${process.env.GLEAN_CLIENT_TOKEN}`,
      'X-Glean-Auth-Type': 'BEARER',
      'Content-Type': 'application/json',
    },
    body: JSON.stringify({ query: 'test', pageSize: 1 }),
  });
  const results = await res.json();
  console.log(`Search works. Found ${results.results?.length ?? 0} results.`);
}

Error Handling

ErrorCodeCauseSolution
Unauthorized401Invalid tokenRegenerate in Admin > API Tokens
Forbidden403Token lacks scopeUse correct token type (indexing vs client)
Not Found404Wrong domainVerify GLEAN_DOMAIN includes -be suffix

Resources

Next Steps

After auth, proceed to glean-hello-world for your first index and search.

Info
Category Development
Name glean-install-auth
Version v20260423
Size 3.46KB
Updated At 2026-04-28
Language