title: OAuth for server side apps
body: <p>I need to interact with an API that only supports OAuth2.</p>
  
  <p>The problem is, I would like to write a purely server side application which should sit there without a GUI polling an API every day.</p>
  
  <p>The API gives me the ability to get the application token programatically, but it looks like I need to implement the entire GUI flow to get the subsequent access token.  This is because I need to log in via the application providers web based login screen.</p>
  
  <p>It looks like I then need to get that access token, and copy this out as my server side credential where I recreate it.  If that ever expires or goes bad, I'll need to go back via the GUI flow to get my server side access token.  </p>
  
  <p>Is my understanding correct here as this feels very clunky?</p>
  
  <p>Specifically: </p>
  
  <p>Can I avoid implementing the process where we link over to the application providers login form?</p>
  
  <p>Is it right that after doing this, I have to unpick an access token and store this within my server side application.  I don't appear to have any control over whether that will expire?</p>
  
  <p>I can see that e.g. Facebook specifically support server side and client side flow.  I wonder if I'm coming up against limitations in this particular implementation of OAuth 2?</p>