Access Tokens
Learn about Mapbox Access Tokens and how to find your default public token.
This guide is an introduction to access tokens for developers getting started with Mapbox. To learn more about access tokens, see our full access tokens guide in the Dive Deeper section.
What is an access token?
An Access Token is a string that associates API requests with your Mapbox account and gives your websites/applications access to Mapbox services. You will usually add your access token somewhere in your source code or set it as an environment variable when you start building a project that uses Mapbox.
Where do I find my access tokens?
Access tokens are located at the bottom of your account page or on your tokens page.
Public Tokens
Public tokens are designed to be used in client-side applications, meaning they can be safely exposed in web browsers, mobile apps, and other client environments. Public tokens limit users to read-only access, preventing them from changing, deleting, or creating resources.
Your Default Public Token
Your default public token provides a quick way to get started with Mapbox services, especially for initial testing and development.
Your default public token is located at the top of your tokens list. You can find the tokens list at the bottom of your accounts page as seen in the video below:
Additional Public Tokens
When your app is ready for deployment, you should create a new public token to use instead of your default public token. When creating a token, you can limit its access to only the services it needs, and limit its use to certain URLs.
To learn how to create additional public tokens, view the Creating additional access tokens section of our Dive Deeper guide.
Secret Tokens
Secret tokens allow you access to more secure systems at Mapbox, for example the ability to gain download access of our mobile SDKs.
To learn how to create a secret access token, view our the Creating secret access tokens section of our Dive Deeper guide.
Additional Resources
See the following guides for more information on Mapbox access tokens.