# 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)