Portal Authentication Troubleshooting Guide

Issue: 401 Errors - Missing Authentication Header

If you're getting 401 errors when the portal client calls the portal-server endpoints, follow this debugging checklist:

1. Verify API Key Configuration

Server Side (portal-server/.env file):

API_KEYS=dev_key_123,test_key_456

Client Side: The API key is now configured in Rust code at src/config.rs. For development, it's hardcoded to dev_key_123 to match the server.

⚠️ Important: The client's API key must match one of the keys in the server's API_KEYS list.

2. Check Browser Console Logs

When you make a request, you should see these debug logs in the browser console:

✅ Portal configuration initialized
🔧 Portal config loaded - API key: Present
🔑 Using API key: dev_key_123
🔧 Creating payment intent...
🔧 Setting up Stripe payment for resident registration

3. Common Issues and Solutions

Issue: API Key authentication still failing

Cause: Client API key doesn't match server configuration Solution:

Check src/config.rs - the client uses dev_key_123 by default
Ensure portal-server/.env has API_KEYS=dev_key_123,test_key_456
Restart both client and server after changes

Issue: Headers show correct API key but server still returns 401

Cause: Server API key mismatch Solution:

Check portal-server/.env file has matching key in API_KEYS
Restart portal-server after changing .env

Issue: CORS errors

Cause: Portal-server CORS configuration Solution: Ensure portal-server allows requests from http://127.0.0.1:8080

4. Manual Testing

Test the API key directly with curl:

curl -X POST http://127.0.0.1:3001/api/resident/create-payment-intent \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "x-api-key: dev_key_123" \
  -d '{"type":"resident_registration","amount":5000}'

5. Network Tab Inspection

Open browser Developer Tools (F12)
Go to Network tab
Make a request from the portal
Click on the request in the Network tab
Check the "Request Headers" section
Verify x-api-key header is present with value dev_key_123

6. Configuration Changes

To change the API key for production:

Edit src/config.rs and update the get_api_key() function
Rebuild the client: trunk build --release
Update server's .env file to include the new key in API_KEYS

Quick Start Commands

# 1. Start portal-server (in portal-server directory)
cd ../portal-server
cargo run

# 2. Start portal client (in portal directory)
cd ../portal
trunk serve --open

Getting Help

If the issue persists:

Check all console logs in browser
Verify network requests in Developer Tools
Confirm both client and server .env files are correct
Test with curl to isolate client vs server issues

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