---
title: "Authentication"
description: "Browser session, API key, OAuth bearer, and Clerk session modes — plus how server-side enforcement works."
---

WorldMonitor has four authentication modes. Which one applies depends on how you're calling.

## Auth matrix

| Mode | Header | Used by | Trusted on which endpoints? |
|------|--------|---------|------------------------------|
| **Browser session** | `wm-session` HttpOnly cookie | Dashboard browser reads | Public endpoints that do not set `forceKey: true`. |
| **API key** | `X-WorldMonitor-Key: wm_0123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef01234567` | Server-to-server, scripts, SDKs | User API keys cover entitled API access; operator-issued enterprise keys cover internal/partner access. |
| **OAuth bearer** | `Authorization: Bearer <oauth-token>` | MCP clients (Claude, Cursor, Inspector) | `/api/mcp`. The handler also accepts a direct `X-WorldMonitor-Key` in lieu of an OAuth token — see [MCP](/mcp-overview#authentication). |
| **Clerk session JWT** | `Authorization: Bearer <clerk-jwt>` | Authenticated browser users | User-specific routes: `/api/latest-brief`, `/api/user-prefs`, `/api/notification-channels`, `/api/brief/share-url`, etc. |

## `forceKey: true` — which endpoints ignore browser session cookies?

Some endpoints explicitly reject anonymous browser session cookies and require a user API key, enterprise API key, or Pro Clerk bearer even from inside the dashboard:

- `/api/v2/shipping/route-intelligence`
- `/api/v2/shipping/webhooks`
- `/api/widget-agent`
- Vendor / partner endpoints

For these, you **must** send an API key; `X-WorldMonitor-Key` is the canonical header.

## Browser session mode

CORS decides whether a browser is allowed to read the response, but `Origin` is not authentication. Browser public reads authenticate with a short-lived `wms_` session token minted by `/api/wm-session` and carried in the `wm-session` HttpOnly cookie.

- Allowed origins get `Access-Control-Allow-Origin: <echoed>` and can use credentialed browser cookies.
- Disallowed origins are rejected by the edge function guard before the route body runs.
- Requests with no `Origin` header, such as `curl` or server-to-server calls, are not blocked by CORS; they still need the route's normal credentials.

See [CORS](/cors) for the origin patterns.

<Warning>
**A Cloudflare Worker** (`api-cors-preflight`) is the authoritative CORS handler for `api.worldmonitor.app` — it overrides `_cors.js` and `vercel.json`. If you're changing origin rules, change them in the Cloudflare dashboard.
</Warning>

## API key mode

### Generate a key

API-tier subscribers get a key automatically on subscription. To rotate, contact support.

### Use it

```
X-WorldMonitor-Key: wm_0123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef01234567
```

User-issued keys are exactly `wm_` followed by 40 lowercase hex characters. Enterprise keys are opaque operator-issued strings and are only distributed out of band. Keep keys out of client-side code — use a server-side proxy if you need to call from the browser to a `forceKey` endpoint.

`X-WorldMonitor-Key` is the canonical header. API-key-authenticated endpoints also accept `X-Api-Key` as an alias for compatibility with generic API clients, including standalone edge functions that use `validateApiKey()` and gateway-backed routes. Do not send user API keys as bearer tokens or query-string parameters unless an endpoint explicitly documents that form.

For `/api/bootstrap`, server-side callers should use `https://api.worldmonitor.app/api/bootstrap` with one of these API-key headers. There is no separate gateway host, token-exchange step, activation step, or IP allow-list requirement for standard server-to-server access. The endpoint's anonymous weather path (`?keys=weatherAlerts`) is public **only when no key header is sent** — once you attach `X-WorldMonitor-Key`/`X-Api-Key`, the request is validated even for weather, so a key without current API access returns `403` rather than falling back to anonymous data.

### Server-side validation

The edge function calls `validateApiKey(req, { forceKey?: boolean })`:

1. Desktop origins must send an enterprise key in `X-WorldMonitor-Key`.
2. If `forceKey` is false, a valid `wms_` browser session cookie satisfies the anonymous/public gate.
3. Enterprise keys are checked against `WORLDMONITOR_VALID_KEYS`.
4. User keys with the `wm_` + 40-hex shape are validated against the user-key table and current `apiAccess` entitlement. Gateway-backed routes use the gateway fallback; `/api/bootstrap` performs the same user-key lookup in its Edge-safe platform helper.
5. If none passes → 401.

## OAuth bearer (MCP only)

Full flow documented at [OAuth 2.1 Server](/api-oauth). For client setup, see [MCP](/mcp-overview).

## Clerk session (authenticated dashboard)

The dashboard exchanges Clerk's `__session` cookie for a JWT and sends it on user-specific API calls:

```
Authorization: Bearer eyJhbGc...
```

Server-side verification uses `jose` with a cached JWKS — no round-trip to Clerk per request. Implemented in `server/auth-session.ts`. See [Authentication overview](/authentication) for full details.

## Entitlement / tier gating

**Valid key ≠ PRO.** Authentication and entitlement are orthogonal. Every PRO-gated endpoint runs a separate `isCallerPremium(req)` check (`server/_shared/premium-check.ts`) that **does not** accept `Origin` or an anonymous browser session as proof of PRO.

`isCallerPremium` returns true only when one of these is present:

- A valid `X-WorldMonitor-Key` (env-allowlisted from `WORLDMONITOR_VALID_KEYS`, or a user-owned `wm_`-prefixed key whose Convex record has the `apiAccess` entitlement), **or**
- A Clerk `Authorization: Bearer …` token whose user has role `pro` or Dodo entitlement tier ≥ 1.

From the browser, `premiumFetch()` (`src/services/premium-fetch.ts`) handles this by injecting one of those credentials on every request. Desktop app uses `WORLDMONITOR_API_KEY` from the runtime config. Server-to-server callers must send the header explicitly.

| Tier | Access |
|------|--------|
| Anonymous | Public reads only (conflicts, natural disasters, markets basics) |
| Signed-in free | Same as anonymous + user preferences |
| PRO | All endpoints, MCP, AI Brief, Shipping v2, Scenarios |

Tier is resolved from Convex on each call, so a subscription change takes effect on the next request (after cache invalidation).
