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Outbound authentication solves credentials when the agent calls third-party services. Agent Identity encrypts and stores API keys and OAuth tokens, keeps them out of your code, and caches, refreshes, and rotates them automatically. Choose a method by scenario:

Create an outbound credential

1

Activate Agent Identity

Open the Agent Identity activation page, accept the terms, and activate and authorize.
2

Create the credential

In the console, go to Authentication › Outbound Credentials, create an API Key or OAuth Client for your method, and fill in the credentials (API key, Client ID, Client Secret, callback URL, and so on).

Use it in an agent

Once the credential exists, two wrappers inject it into the agent: VeIdentityFunctionTool for plain function tools and VeIdentityMcpToolset for MCP toolsets. Both take an auth_config — produced by the methods below — and Agent Identity injects the credential at runtime.

API key

The simplest method, for service-to-service calls with fixed credentials. In the console, New › New API Key, fill in a name, the third-party API key, and how it’s passed (Header or Query). Build the auth_config with api_key_auth:

OAuth2 M2M

For service-to-service calls — more secure than an API key and supports token refresh. In the console, New › New OAuth Client, choose the Machine to Machine (M2M) flow; credentials can use a built-in provider (Lark, Coze, Google, GitHub), an OIDC issuer URL, or fully custom endpoints. Build the auth_config with oauth2_auth and auth_flow="M2M":

OAuth2 user federation

For cases where the app accesses a third-party service on a user’s behalf. In the console, New › New OAuth Client, choose the User Federation (USER_FEDERATION) flow and set the callback URL. Build the auth_config with oauth2_auth and auth_flow="USER_FEDERATION":
On first use, the user authorizes the app in the third-party service; Agent Identity runs the authorization flow and handles later token exchange and refresh. If the user revokes access, calls error out and you should prompt them to re-authorize.

Callback address

When configuring the callback in the third-party OAuth2 provider, use the Agent Identity address for your region:
  • Beijing: https://auth.id.cn-beijing.volces.com/api/v1/oauth2callback
  • Shanghai: https://auth.id.cn-shanghai.volces.com/api/v1/oauth2callback
  • Guangzhou: https://auth.id.cn-guangzhou.volces.com/api/v1/oauth2callback
After the user authorizes, the provider redirects the code and state to this address, and Agent Identity handles the token exchange.

Example

The agent below connects to Volcengine ECS’s MCP service through user-federation auth, querying instances and running commands on the user’s behalf:
For more detail, see the Agent Identity documentation.
Last modified on September 19, 2026