title: REST API authentication tokens
body: <p>I'm building my first REST API from scratch and am trying to understand the best way to handle API tokens. I'm not talking about "user authentication" (I would be using OAuth for that). I'm talking about public/private tokens that an application uses to identify itself so that my API can decide whether or not the application is allowed to use the API in the first place.</p>
  
  <p>Some API resources will be available to anyone with valid token(s), and some will require OAuth authentication. I will be communicating with the API over HTTPS, but I still want to make sure I am following some sort of standard for passing tokens back and forth.</p>