Authentication without Browser is possible for APIs?

Trying to pull Campaigns and gifts data through API endpoint

https://api.sky.blackbaud.com/nxt-data-integration/v1/re/campaigns

https://api.sky.blackbaud.com/gift/v1/gifts

Gifts end point is working through browser authentication. If we have to automate these extracts through scripts for ETL, how can we achieve without the need to use the browser authentication?

Answers

  • Alex Wong
    Alex Wong Community All-Star
    Ninth Anniversary Kudos 5 Facilitator 3 Raiser's Edge NXT Fall 2025 Product Update Briefing Badge

    I use Power Automate which allows authentication layer to be handled by the connection initially made at creation time and will refresh itself without user interaction or browser authentication again.

    Another method is to authenticate once via browser (or postman or similar tool), save the auth token and refresh token in a secure location that is accessible only by your web application. then you can either use refresh token to get new auth token when needed, OR auto-refresh the auth token every 59 minutes.

  • We are using Postman to generate auth token and refresh token and then use them to authenticate the access. I believe they still have to be re-created once a year using this method, even when you use the refresh token to obtain a new auth token (or at least this is how it used to work in the past)

  • Alex Wong
    Alex Wong Community All-Star
    Ninth Anniversary Kudos 5 Facilitator 3 Raiser's Edge NXT Fall 2025 Product Update Briefing Badge

    refresh token can be "refreshed" every time you do a refresh, meaning you get new refresh token that is good for another 365 days. This makes the token "rolling" forward and never expire.