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At the core of every Box API call is an Access Token. Similar to using the Box Web App, you will only be able to successfully interact with content the user associated with the Access Token is either a collaborator on or owns. This can be further restricted by a token.
Required access scopes, application access, enabled advanced settings, user permissions, and endpoint-specific restrictions all work together to determine which API calls will be successful. For example, even if a user has collaborator access to a folder, a call to get information about the folder will not be successful if the read scope is not granted to the application.

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Types of tokens

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Application types and access tokens

The following shows how each application type is expected to create an Access Token.
Last modified on September 10, 2026