Bearer Token Header Generator
Paste an access token and get the Authorization: Bearer header, or a complete request for curl, JavaScript fetch, axios, Python requests, PHP cURL or HTTPie. The tool cleans up pasted prefixes and quotes, checks the token against the bearer-token syntax of RFC 6750, and for JSON Web Tokens shows the issuer, subject and expiry so you can see at a glance why an API might reject it.
- Runs in your browser
- No sign-up
- Free to use
How to use Bearer Token Header Generator
- Paste a test access token.
- Choose the output: header or a language.
- Set the method and URL for the code sample.
- Copy the result and replace hard-coded tokens with environment variables in real code.
Bearer Token Header Generator features
Eight outputs
Header, curl, fetch, axios, Python, PHP, HTTPie and an environment-variable version.
Input clean-up
Removes “Authorization:”, “Bearer ” and surrounding quotes.
Syntax check
Validates the RFC 6750 token format.
JWT details
Issuer, subject, audience and expiry, with expired-token warnings.
Unsigned token alert
Flags alg "none" JWTs.
Local only
The token never leaves your browser.
When to use Bearer Token Header Generator
- Calling a protected API endpoint from the command line.
- Pasting a token from an OAuth playground into a test script.
- Finding out whether a 401 error is caused by an expired token.
- Writing documentation examples for an API.
Bearer Token Header Generator FAQ
What is a bearer token?
An access token that grants access to whoever presents it, like a ticket. The client sends it in the Authorization header as “Bearer <token>”, and the API checks it.
Why does my API return 401 with a valid-looking token?
Common causes are an expired token, a token issued for another audience or environment, a missing “Bearer ” prefix, or extra spaces and quotes copied with the token. The checks here catch most of these.
Is it safe to paste my token here?
The page works entirely in your browser and stores nothing. Even so, prefer test tokens: anyone who sees a real bearer token can use it until it expires.
Can I put the token in the URL instead?
Avoid it. Query strings are recorded in server logs, proxies and browser history. RFC 6750 allows it only as a last resort.
Does this check the JWT signature?
No. It reads the claims to help with debugging. Use the JWT Decoder or JWT Signature Generator with the right key to verify signatures.
What is the env variable option for?
It reads the token into a shell variable without echoing it, so the token does not end up in your shell history or in scripts you share.
Using bearer tokens safely
Most modern APIs authenticate requests with bearer tokens. After a user signs in through OAuth, or after a developer creates a personal access token, the client attaches the token to each request in the Authorization header. The scheme is called “bearer” because possession is enough: the server does not ask who is presenting the token, only whether the token itself is valid.
The format is defined in RFC 6750. The header value is the word Bearer, a single space and the token, which may contain letters, digits and a few punctuation characters. Tokens copied from consoles and documentation often bring extra baggage: the word Bearer, surrounding quotes, line breaks or the full “Authorization:” prefix. The generator strips these and points out characters that do not belong.
Tokens come in two kinds. Opaque tokens are random strings that only the issuing server can look up. JSON Web Tokens carry readable claims: who issued them, for whom, for which API and until when. When a request fails with 401, reading those claims usually explains why: the token expired, was issued for a staging environment, or targets a different audience. The details are shown without verifying the signature, which requires the issuer’s key.
Because a bearer token is as good as a password while it is valid, where it appears matters. Keep tokens in the Authorization header rather than in URLs, which end up in logs and history; keep them out of source code and shell history; and give them short lifetimes with refresh tokens for renewal. The environment-variable output demonstrates a habit that prevents many accidental leaks.
If a real token has been exposed in a chat, a ticket or a public repository, revoke it with the issuer rather than waiting for it to expire. Many providers scan public code for leaked tokens, but revocation by the owner is the only immediate fix.