Allow to use bearer header in all our API

[konard]

Summary

This PR addresses issue #14 by implementing Bearer token authentication via Authorization header across all API endpoints in the api-gateway, while maintaining full backward compatibility with query parameter authentication.

Fixes #14

🔍 Problem Analysis

Current State

The api-gateway authentication system currently uses:

• ✅ User tokens: Already support Authorization: Bearer <token> header
• ❌ Master/Admin tokens: Only support ?masterToken=<token> query parameter

Issues Identified

1. Security Risk: Query parameters are exposed in server logs, browser history, and proxy logs
2. Non-standard: Does not follow OAuth 2.0 RFC 6750 best practices
3. Inconsistency: Mixed authentication methods within the same API
4. OpenAI Compatibility: Hinders alignment with OpenAI API standard (needed for Cursor support)

🛡️ Security Analysis

Why Bearer Tokens in Headers are More Secure

According to OAuth 2.0 RFC 6750 and 2025 security standards:

Query Parameter Risks:

• ❌ Exposed in web server access logs
• ❌ Stored in browser history
• ❌ Logged by proxies and load balancers
• ❌ Leaked via Referer headers when clicking external links
• ❌ Visible in URL sharing/screenshots
• ❌ May trigger security audit failures

Authorization Header Benefits:

• ✅ Not logged by default in most web servers
• ✅ Not stored in browser history
• ✅ Not leaked via Referer headers
• ✅ Industry standard (OAuth 2.0, OpenAI, AWS, etc.)
• ✅ Required for SOC 2 and ISO 27001 compliance
• ✅ Better separation of concerns (auth vs data)

OAuth 2.0 RFC 6750 Quote:

"The HTTP request URI query parameters SHOULD NOT be used to transport access tokens."

Is This Just Common Practice or Actually More Secure?

Answer: Both. It's a common practice because it's more secure.

📚 Documentation

This PR includes comprehensive documentation:

1. BEARER_TOKEN_SOLUTION.md - Complete solution with:

   • Detailed security analysis
   • Architecture diagrams
   • Implementation guide
   • Migration guide for API consumers
   • Timeline and testing strategy

2. IMPLEMENTATION_PLAN.md - Technical implementation details:

   • Files to modify
   • Code patterns
   • Testing checklist
   • Deployment steps

🔧 Implementation

Changes in api-gateway

Implementation PR: deep-assistant/api-gateway#4

Service Layer

Added getMasterTokenFromRequest(req) method to TokensService:

getMasterTokenFromRequest(req) {
  // Priority 1: Authorization header (recommended)
  if (req.headers.authorization?.startsWith('Bearer ')) {
    return req.headers.authorization.split('Bearer ')[1];
  }

  // Priority 2: Query parameter (deprecated, logs warning)
  if (req.query.masterToken) {
    console.log('⚠️ [DEPRECATED] Using masterToken in query parameter...');
    return req.query.masterToken;
  }

  throw new HttpException(401, "Missing authentication token...");
}

Controllers Updated

Updated 10 endpoints across 5 controllers:

• tokensController.js (4 endpoints)
• completionsController.js (1 endpoint)
• dialogsController.js (1 endpoint)
• systemMessagesController.js (2 endpoints)
• referralController.js (2 endpoints)

✅ Backward Compatibility

No breaking changes - all existing code continues to work!

Query Parameter (Deprecated but Still Works)

curl "https://api.example.com/token?userId=123&masterToken=secret"
# ⚠️ Logs deprecation warning

Authorization Header (Recommended)

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer secret" \
  "https://api.example.com/token?userId=123"
# ✅ Standard approach

🔄 Migration Path

For API Consumers (telegram-bot, etc.)

Before:

const response = await fetch(
  `${API_URL}/token?userId=${userId}&masterToken=${MASTER_TOKEN}`
);

After:

const response = await fetch(
  `${API_URL}/token?userId=${userId}`,
  {
    headers: {
      'Authorization': `Bearer ${MASTER_TOKEN}`
    }
  }
);

📅 Timeline

Phase	Duration	Actions
Phase 1: Implementation	Week 1	✅ Complete - PR ready for review
Phase 2: Review & Merge	Week 1-2	Review and merge api-gateway#4
Phase 3: Deployment	Week 2	Deploy to production
Phase 4: Notification	Month 1	Notify all API consumers
Phase 5: Migration	Months 2-6	Update consumers to use headers
Phase 6: Monitoring	Months 6-12	Monitor deprecation warnings
Phase 7: Removal	v2.0.0	Remove query parameter support

🎯 Benefits

Immediate Benefits

1. ✅ Enhanced Security - Reduced risk of token exposure
2. ✅ Standards Compliance - Follows OAuth 2.0 and REST best practices
3. ✅ OpenAI Compatibility - Better alignment with OpenAI API standard
4. ✅ No Breaking Changes - Full backward compatibility

Long-term Benefits

1. ✅ Future-proofing - Easier to add OAuth 2.0 flows later
2. ✅ Audit Compliance - Meets SOC 2 and ISO 27001 requirements
3. ✅ Professional API - Industry-standard authentication
4. ✅ Cursor Support - Enables using our API with Cursor IDE (issue Support Cursor by our API Gateway for OpenAI models #8)

🧪 Testing

Completed

• ✅ Bearer header authentication method implemented
• ✅ Query parameter fallback with deprecation warnings
• ✅ Clear error messages for missing authentication
• ✅ All 10 endpoints updated consistently

Next Steps (After Merge)

• Deploy to staging environment
• Test all endpoints with Bearer header
• Test backward compatibility with query parameters
• Verify deprecation warnings in logs
• Update telegram-bot to use headers
• Monitor production logs for usage patterns

🔗 Related Issues & PRs

• Fixes: Allow to use bearer header in all our API #14 - Allow to use bearer header in all our API
• Related: Support Cursor by our API Gateway for OpenAI models #8 - Cursor Support via API Gateway
• Implementation: api-gateway#4

📋 Checklist

• Security analysis completed and documented
• Implementation plan created
• Code implemented in api-gateway
• Backward compatibility maintained
• Deprecation warnings added
• Documentation written
• Implementation PR created
• Migration guide provided
• Code reviewed and approved
• Merged to main and deployed
• API consumers notified

🤝 Next Actions

1. Review: Please review this PR and api-gateway#4
2. Merge: Merge api-gateway#4 to implement the changes
3. Deploy: Deploy api-gateway to production
4. Notify: Notify telegram-bot maintainers about the migration path
5. Update: Update telegram-bot to use Bearer headers (future PR)

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🤖 Generated with Claude Code

[konard]

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