# First steps

To start using Shipium's APIs and services, you must first:

- set up your organization's account within the [Shipium Console](https://partner.shipium.com/login); and
- create an authentication method for your organization.

### Create your Shipium account

[Your Shipium Account](https://docs.shipium.com/docs/your-shipium-account) provides more information about setting up your organization's Shipium account.

# Authentication methods

There are two ways to request authentication to use our APIs:

1. **[OAuth 2.0](https://docs.shipium.com/docs/oauth-20-based-authentication)**. This method uses the authorization request header or authorization uniform resource locator (URL) parameter. This is the recommended authentication method for most use cases.
2. **[API key-based authentication](https://docs.shipium.com/docs/api-key-based-authentication)**. This method uses basic authentication and provides a simpler setup for testing and development purposes.

You may also be interested in Shipium's [single sign-on (SSO) service](https://docs.shipium.com/docs/sso-for-your-shipium-account) for authentication for your organization's account users.

# The primary difference between authentication methods

The data flow between the API key-based authentication and OAuth 2.0 methods differs in how you use them to make subsequent calls to the API, as explained in the following table.

| Type of authentication | Calling method |
| --- | --- |
| **OAuth 2.0** | Authentication using the authorization request header or authorization URL parameter. Your organization authorizes and then receives an access token with an expiry time. You use that token for your calls to the other APIs. Tokens must be refreshed periodically. |
| **API key-based** | Authentication using basic authentication. Your organization authorizes the request as part of each API call it makes, by passing your API key information in the Authorization field. API keys remain valid until deactivated. |

### For more information

Visit the following resources for more information about authentication:

- [Create API Credentials](https://docs.shipium.com/docs/creating-api-credentials)
- [API Key-Based Authentication](https://docs.shipium.com/docs/api-key-based-authentication)
- [OAuth 2.0-Based Authentication](https://docs.shipium.com/docs/oauth-20-based-authentication)

# Next steps

If you're ready to do some testing, start by reading [Create API Credentials](https://docs.shipium.com/docs/creating-api-credentials).

# Resources

Your Shipium team member is available to help along the way. However, you might find these resources helpful:

- [Terms and Definitions](https://docs.shipium.com/docs/common-terms)
- [Troubleshooting Guide](https://docs.shipium.com/docs/troubleshooting-guide)
- [Contact Shipium Support](https://docs.shipium.com/docs/contacting-shipium-support)