> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.inspect.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Inspect.dev authentication and OAuth documentation

> Official Inspect.dev authentication documentation for OAuth 2.0 with PKCE, supported scopes, protected-resource discovery, and errors.

Official Inspect.dev account access uses OAuth 2.0 Authorization Code with PKCE through
Clerk. The free CLI workflow does not require authentication, and Inspect does
not issue broad API keys, shared passwords, or unattended machine credentials.

## OAuth discovery

Inspect is the protected resource at `https://inspect.dev`. Its
[RFC 9728 protected-resource metadata](https://inspect.dev/.well-known/oauth-protected-resource)
identifies `https://clerk.inspect.dev` as the authorization server.

Clerk publishes authorization-server and OpenID Connect metadata at:

* `https://clerk.inspect.dev/.well-known/oauth-authorization-server`
* `https://clerk.inspect.dev/.well-known/openid-configuration`

## Sign in with the Inspect CLI

1. Run `inspect login`.
2. The CLI creates a PKCE verifier and challenge and opens the authorization page.
3. A human approves the browser flow.
4. Verify the session with `inspect account --json`.

Agents may start the login flow, but must never ask a user to paste a password,
access token, or other credential into a conversation.

## Scopes and permissions

Supported scopes include `openid`, `profile`, `email`, `offline_access`, and
`user:org:read`. Request only the scopes needed for the current task. See the
[Inspect permission matrix](/developers/permissions) for the
endpoint-to-scope mapping.

## Authentication errors

Missing, expired, or invalid credentials return HTTP 401 with a structured
Inspect error and a `WWW-Authenticate` discovery hint. Valid credentials
without sufficient permission return HTTP 403. Follow the response `hint` and
retry only when the operation is safe.

Append `.md` to this page URL for a low-overhead Markdown version of the guide.