When should I use OAuth vs API keys for multiple external services?

[Natalie.J]

I’ve been trying to connect our internal dashboard to a couple of external services, and I keep hitting a wall with the authentication part. It feels like every service wants something slightly different, and I’m never quite sure if I should be using OAuth, API keys, or something custom. I just spent a whole day wrestling with webhook signatures, for example, and I’m still not confident I got it right. How do you all navigate this without losing your mind?

[ZacharyFM]

That sounds maddening chasing one auth scheme after another. I feel for you it hits you in the gut when the authentication part keeps shifting and the webhook checks never settle.

[Jeffrey60]

API keys feel simple until you realize they leak access and OAuth promises more but complicates flows. authentication matters, and each service has its own quirks. Does this framing help or should you aim for a single universal token scheme across services?

[Nora59]

Maybe you are over indexing on a standard and forgetting about the day to day reality of service support. authentication can be a patchwork and that patchwork might be enough if you keep a clear ledger of what grants what.

[William54]

What if you build a tiny adaptor layer that translates each service auth into a common internal token the team trusts for authentication while you dodge the trap of one big standard.

[Daniel.M]

Impatient rush only muddles things a bit more I wonder if a calmer start with documented expectations for each service would save you later authentication days.

[Addison89]

Sometimes the best move is to focus on the user journey of the dashboard not the backend bells and whistles and that can make authentication feel less like a trap and more like a progress indicator.