--- title: Authentication tokens summary: null url: https://www.fastly.com/documentation/reference/api/auth-tokens --- API tokens are unique authentication identifiers that you can create for the users or automated systems and services that are authorized to interact with your Fastly account. We offer separate token types for human users, which are associated with the lifetime of their account, and automation systems, which are not. You can limit the capabilities of either token type using a scope. For example, the `purge_select` scope will limit a token to only be able to purge (and only by URL and surrogate keys). The default `global` scope will grant the token access to all of the same service- and account-level capabilities of the user that created the token. - [Automation Tokens](https://www.fastly.com/documentation/reference/api/auth-tokens/automation/) - Automation tokens differ from other token types because they are not tied to a specific person and therefore are not subject to the lifecycle of such accounts. Automation tokens are sometimes also called "service accounts". They are designed for API automation use-cases such as continuous integration, deployment pipelines, or automation scripts. For more information about authentication tokens, review the Authentication token documentation. - [User tokens](https://www.fastly.com/documentation/reference/api/auth-tokens/user/) - An API Token is used to identify who is making the API call. Users can create multiple tokens to suit their needs.