# Configuring Authentication

The GeoNode plugin can authenticate remote GeoNode instances by using HTTP Basic Auth (OAuth2 is also an option, if 
necessary). It is important to configure Authentication with your platform credentials if you wish to use the QGIS GeoNode Plugin to upload styles and data to your GeoNode instance. 

You can configure the Authentication either during the creation of a new connection or by editing an existing connection. 

In order to configure Basic Auth for the Test Connection 1:

- In the GeoNode tab of the Data Source Manager make sure that Test Connection 1 is selected from the connection dropdown
- Click on the edit button to open the GeoNode connection configuration dialogue
- In the dialogue click on the green plus next to  the No Authentication field to open the Authentication dialogue

![image](images/green_plus.png)

- Enter the Name `Test 1` in the Name field
- Select Basic Authentication
- Input your user credentials that allow you access to the GeoNode instance

![image](images/basic_auth.png)

- The remaining fields can be left at their default values and click save
- Ensure that the new Test 1 (Basic) Authentication is chosen in the dropdown

![image](images/test1_auth.png)

## Using OAuth2 for authorization

This option is not recommended in most cases, since it involves a more advanced setup and also requires requesting additional information from the remote GeoNode administrators. It may be viable when connecting to GeoNode using shared computing resources, where you do not want to store your GeoNode user credentials locally. 

To be able to gain authenticated access to a GeoNode connection via OAuth2 you will need to request that one of the GeoNode administrators create an **OAuth2** application and provide you with the following relevant details:

- _Client ID_
- _Client Secret_

Most OAuth2 grant types implemented in QGIS are supported. We recommend using the `Authorization Code` grant type. To configure such an authentication:
    
1. Open the main QGIS authentication settings dialogue by going to 
        `Settings -> Options...` in the main QGIS menu bar and then access the 
        `Authentication` section
    
2. Press the `Add new authentication configuration button`. A new dialogue is
        shown. In this dialogue, fill in the following details:
        
 | Parameter | Description |
 | --------- | ----------- |
 | Name | The name used by QGIS to refer to the authentication configuration |
 | Authentication type | Select the `OAuth2 authentication` option from the dropdown |
 | Request URL | This is derived from the GeoNode base URL and takes the form `<geonode-base-url>/o/authorize/`, _e.g._ <https://stable.demo.geonode.org/o/authorize/> |
 | Token URL | This is derived from the GeoNode base URL and takes the form `<geonode-base-url>/o/token/`, _e.g._ <https://stable.demo.geonode.org/o/token/> |
 | Client ID | The client ID you got from your GeoNode administrator |
 | Client Secret | The client secret you got from your GeoNode administrator |
        
The remaining fields can be left at their default values
    
3. Now when configuring a new GeoNode connection select this newly created authentication configuration in order to have the
       GeoNode connection use it. 
       
#### [Next Section: Searching GeoNode Datasets](SEARCHING_GEONODE_DATASETS.md)