Auth0 Token Vault: How AI Agents Call APIs for Users
Auth0 Token Vault is a feature of Auth0, Okta’s customer identity platform, that lets an application, including an AI agent, call other services’ APIs on a user’s behalf. When a user connects an account such as Google, Microsoft, Slack or GitHub and approves the requested permissions, Auth0 stores the resulting access and refresh tokens in the Token Vault and keeps them fresh. When the agent needs to act, say to schedule a meeting in Google Calendar, the application exchanges the user’s Auth0 token for that provider’s access token and makes the call. The agent’s own code never has to store or refresh the credentials.
The quick answer: Token Vault is the piece of Auth0 for AI Agents that handles third-party access, and it’s a natural choice for teams already using Auth0 for login. It went generally available in November 2025 alongside three companion features: user authentication, asynchronous human approval, and fine-grained authorization for retrieval. It’s identity infrastructure for developers, not an app you install. A disclosure: we make Carly, an AI assistant that connects to thousands of apps for its users, so we work on a related problem from the end-user side. Everything below comes from Auth0’s docs and announcements.
Token Vault at a glance
Checked against Auth0’s documentation, product pages and announcements on November 12, 2026.
| Auth0 Token Vault | |
|---|---|
| What it is | Secure storage and exchange of users’ OAuth tokens for external APIs |
| Part of | Auth0 for AI Agents, generally available since November 2025 |
| Providers | Google, Microsoft, Box, Slack, GitHub, any OpenID Connect provider and custom connections |
| Integrations | 35+ supported app integrations at launch, plus standard OAuth for other apps |
| Frameworks | LangChain, LlamaIndex and the Vercel AI SDK, among others |
| Company | Auth0, part of Okta |
| Best for | Teams on Auth0 building agents that act in users’ Google, Microsoft or Slack accounts |
What Token Vault does
Auth0’s Token Vault documentation says it “simplifies how your applications access external APIs on a user’s behalf.” The flow has four steps:
- The user connects an account. They sign in with a supported provider and approve the requested OAuth scopes. Auth0 adds that “connected account” to the user’s Auth0 profile.
- Auth0 stores the tokens. The access and refresh tokens for each connected account go into the Token Vault. Because they’re linked to the profile, the app doesn’t need the user to re-authorize later.
- The app exchanges tokens. When it needs to call the external API, the app trades the user’s valid Auth0 token for an access token from that provider, issued to that user.
- The app calls the API. With the provider’s token, it acts on the user’s behalf.
Auth0’s launch post describes the benefit for agents: tokens are stored, managed and refreshed automatically, “ensuring sensitive data and credentials are never at risk or stored within your agent’s logic,” and the user “provides consent only once.”
Three ways to exchange tokens
Token Vault supports three token exchanges, depending on what kind of software is asking:
| Exchange | What it trades | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Refresh token exchange | An Auth0 refresh token for a provider’s access token | Web, mobile and native apps that act when the user isn’t actively using them |
| Access token exchange | An Auth0 access token for a provider’s access token | APIs and microservices receiving tokens from other services, such as a single-page app |
| Privileged worker exchange | A signed JWT for a provider’s access or refresh token | Backend workers in service-to-service flows |
The refresh token exchange is the one that matters most for agents that run in the background, because it lets an agent keep acting on a user’s connected accounts after the user has closed the app.
Common uses
Auth0’s docs give two typical scenarios:
- An AI agent in a web app that calls external APIs to do tasks for the user, such as scheduling a meeting in Google Calendar.
- A backend service that exchanges an Auth0 access token for a provider’s token to call external APIs.
The launch post’s example is a productivity agent that needs GitHub and Slack. Auth0 also works with its Organizations feature for business apps, but each member still connects and authorizes their own account: “Token Vault does not create a shared organization account.”
The rest of Auth0 for AI Agents
Token Vault is one of four features Auth0 bundles as Auth0 for AI Agents, for business, consumer and internal apps:
- User authentication. Identifies who is talking to the agent, so a support agent can see a customer’s order history once they log in.
- Token Vault. Connects the agent to third-party APIs on the user’s behalf.
- Asynchronous authorization. Human-in-the-loop approval for critical actions, built on the Client-Initiated Backchannel Authentication (CIBA) standard. The agent asks, and the user approves on their own device. At launch, push notifications through Auth0 Guardian were available, with email and SMS listed as coming soon.
- Fine-grained authorization for RAG. Makes sure an agent only retrieves documents the user is allowed to see, using Auth0’s FGA service.
Together these answer the two questions Auth0’s launch post poses: “How will your AI agents identify your users and securely connect to their apps and APIs?” and “How do you maintain agent oversight and build in human approval for critical actions?”
Pricing
Auth0 doesn’t price Token Vault as a standalone product. Its pricing page lists Token Vault among its AI features, sells AI identity for business and commerce apps as an enterprise add-on, and notes a free year for qualifying startups, so check with Auth0 for what your plan includes.
How Token Vault compares
Token Vault competes with Descope Outbound Apps, a similar vault inside another identity platform, and with agent-focused authorization and integration platforms such as Arcade.dev, Scalekit, Nango and Composio, which our Composio alternatives guide compares. Its main advantage is that it lives inside an identity platform many companies already use for login, so user identity, connected accounts and agent permissions sit in one place. The dedicated agent platforms tend to offer larger tool catalogs, while Token Vault focuses on the token layer and leaves the tools to you or your framework.
Token Vault is for developers building agents. If you want an assistant that’s already connected to the apps you use, Carly connects to thousands of apps, labels and sorts email across all your Gmail and Outlook accounts by your rules, handles advanced scheduling, and makes and answers calls and texts, from inside ChatGPT or Claude or by text.
Who Token Vault suits
Token Vault is a good fit if:
- You already use Auth0 for login and are adding an AI agent.
- Your agent needs to act in users’ Google, Microsoft, Slack, GitHub or Box accounts.
- You want users to consent once and have tokens refreshed for you.
- You need human approval for sensitive agent actions alongside API access.
Look elsewhere if:
- You aren’t on Auth0 and don’t plan to move your login there.
- You want thousands of ready-made agent tools rather than just the token layer.
- You’re an end user looking for an assistant, not a developer building one.
FAQ
What is Auth0 Token Vault?
Token Vault is an Auth0 feature that securely stores the OAuth access and refresh tokens for users’ connected accounts, such as Google or Slack, so applications and AI agents can call those services’ APIs on the users’ behalf.
How does an app get a token from Token Vault?
It performs a token exchange, trading the user’s Auth0 refresh token, access token or a signed JWT for the external provider’s access token, then calls the provider’s API with it.
Which services does Token Vault support?
Google, Microsoft, Box, Slack and GitHub, plus any OpenID Connect provider and custom connections. Auth0 launched with 35+ supported app integrations and standard OAuth support for others.
Is Token Vault part of Auth0 for AI Agents?
Yes. Auth0 for AI Agents, generally available since November 2025, combines user authentication, Token Vault, asynchronous authorization and fine-grained authorization for RAG.
Can users approve agent actions?
Yes, through asynchronous authorization, which uses the CIBA standard to ask users to approve critical actions on their own device.
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