alter-sdk 0.5.0

Alter Vault Python SDK - OAuth token management with policy enforcement

Alter SDK for Python

Official Python SDK for Alter Vault - Credential management for agents with policy enforcement.

Features

• Zero Token Exposure: Tokens are never exposed to developers - injected automatically
• Single Entry Point: One method (vault.request()) for all provider APIs
• Type-Safe Enums: Provider and HttpMethod enums with autocomplete
• URL Templating: Path parameter substitution with automatic URL encoding
• Automatic Audit Logging: All API calls logged with request metadata (HTTP method and URL) for full audit trail
• Real-time Policy Enforcement: Every token request checked against current policies
• Automatic Token Refresh: Tokens refreshed transparently by the backend
• API Key and Custom Credential Support: Handles OAuth tokens, API keys, and custom credential formats automatically
• HMAC Request Signing: All SDK-to-backend requests are signed with a derived HMAC-SHA256 key for integrity, authenticity, and replay protection
• Actor Tracking: First-class support for AI agent and MCP server observability

Installation

pip install alter-sdk

Quick Start

import asyncio
from alter_sdk import AlterVault, ActorType, Provider, HttpMethod

async def main():
    vault = AlterVault(
        api_key="alter_key_...",
        actor_type=ActorType.AI_AGENT,
        actor_identifier="my-agent",
    )

    # Make API request -token injected automatically, never exposed
    response = await vault.request(
        "CONNECTION_ID",  # from Alter Connect (see below)
        HttpMethod.GET,
        "https://www.googleapis.com/calendar/v3/calendars/primary/events",
        query_params={"maxResults": "10"},
    )
    events = response.json()
    print(events)

    await vault.close()

asyncio.run(main())

Where does connection_id come from?

OAuth connections (per-user, from end user action):

1. Your end user completes OAuth via Alter Connect (frontend widget) or vault.connect() (headless)
2. The onSuccess callback returns a connection_id (UUID) -one per user per account
3. You save it in your database, mapped to your user
4. You pass it to vault.request() when making API calls

Managed secrets (per-service, from developer action):

1. You store credentials in the Developer Portal under Managed Secrets
2. The portal returns a connection_id -one per stored credential, shared across your backend
3. Use the same vault.request() -credentials are injected automatically

# You can also discover connection_ids programmatically:
result = await vault.list_connections(provider_id="google")
for conn in result.connections:
    print(f"{conn.id}: {conn.account_display_name}")

Usage

The request() method returns the raw httpx.Response. The token is injected automatically and never exposed.

Simple GET Request

response = await vault.request(
    connection_id,
    HttpMethod.GET,
    "https://www.googleapis.com/calendar/v3/calendars/primary/events",
)

POST with JSON Body

response = await vault.request(
    connection_id,
    HttpMethod.POST,
    "https://api.example.com/v1/items",
    json={"name": "New Item", "price": 99.99},
    reason="Creating new item",
)

URL Path Templating

response = await vault.request(
    connection_id,
    HttpMethod.PUT,
    "https://api.example.com/v1/items/{item_id}",
    path_params={"item_id": "123"},
    json={"price": 89.99},
)

Query Parameters and Extra Headers

response = await vault.request(
    connection_id,
    HttpMethod.POST,
    "https://api.notion.com/v1/databases/{db_id}/query",
    path_params={"db_id": "abc123"},
    extra_headers={"Notion-Version": "2022-06-28"},
    json={"page_size": 10},
)

Context Manager

async with AlterVault(
    api_key="alter_key_...",
    actor_type=ActorType.BACKEND_SERVICE,
    actor_identifier="my-service",
) as vault:
    response = await vault.request(
        connection_id,
        HttpMethod.GET,
        "https://www.googleapis.com/calendar/v3/calendars/primary/events",
    )
# Automatically closed

Note: After close() is called, subsequent request() calls raise AlterSDKError. close() is idempotent -calling it multiple times is safe.

Using Managed Secrets

For your own APIs with API keys or service tokens (no OAuth flow needed):

async with AlterVault(
    api_key="alter_key_...",
    actor_type=ActorType.BACKEND_SERVICE,
    actor_identifier="my-service",
) as vault:
    response = await vault.request(
        "MANAGED_SECRET_CONNECTION_ID",  # from Developer Portal
        HttpMethod.GET,
        "https://api.internal.com/v1/data",
    )

The credential is injected automatically as the configured header type (Bearer, API Key, Basic Auth).

Connection Management

List Connections

Retrieve OAuth connections for your app, optionally filtered by provider:

from alter_sdk import AlterVault, ActorType

async with AlterVault(
    api_key="alter_key_...",
    actor_type=ActorType.BACKEND_SERVICE,
    actor_identifier="my-service",
) as vault:
    # List all connections
    result = await vault.list_connections()
    for conn in result.connections:
        print(f"{conn.provider_id}: {conn.account_display_name} ({conn.status})")

    # Filter by provider with pagination
    result = await vault.list_connections(provider_id="google", limit=10, offset=0)
    print(f"Total: {result.total}, Has more: {result.has_more}")

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
provider_id	str | None	None	Filter by provider (e.g., "google")
limit	int	100	Max connections to return
offset	int	0	Pagination offset

Returns ConnectionListResult with: connections (list[ConnectionInfo]), total, limit, offset, has_more.

Create Connect Session

Generate a session URL for end-users to authenticate with OAuth providers:

session = await vault.create_connect_session(
    allowed_providers=["google", "github"],
    return_url="https://myapp.com/callback",
)
print(f"Connect URL: {session.connect_url}")
print(f"Expires in: {session.expires_in}s")

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
allowed_providers	list[str] | None	None	Restrict to specific providers
return_url	str | None	None	Redirect URL after OAuth flow

Returns ConnectSession with: session_token, connect_url, expires_in, expires_at.

Headless Connect (from code)

For CLI tools, Jupyter notebooks, and backend scripts -opens the browser, waits for the user to complete OAuth, and returns the result:

results = await vault.connect(
    providers=["google"],
    connection_policy={  # optional TTL bounds
        "max_ttl_seconds": 86400,
        "default_ttl_seconds": 3600,
    },
    timeout=300,         # max wait in seconds (default: 5 min)
    open_browser=True,   # set False to print URL instead
)
for result in results:
    print(f"Connected: {result.connection_id} ({result.provider_id})")
    print(f"Account: {result.account_identifier}")

# Now use the connection_id with vault.request()
response = await vault.request(
    results[0].connection_id,
    HttpMethod.GET,
    "https://www.googleapis.com/calendar/v3/calendars/primary/events",
)

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
providers	list[str] | None	None	Restrict to specific providers
timeout	int	300	Max seconds to wait for completion
poll_interval	float	2.0	Seconds between status checks
connection_policy	dict | None	None	TTL bounds (max_ttl_seconds, default_ttl_seconds)
open_browser	bool	True	Open browser automatically

Returns list[ConnectResult] -one per connected provider. Each has: connection_id, provider_id, account_identifier, scopes, and optionally connection_policy (if a TTL was set).

Raises ConnectTimeoutError if the user doesn't complete in time, ConnectDeniedError if the user denies authorization, ConnectConfigError if the OAuth app is misconfigured.

AI Agent Actor Tracking

from alter_sdk import AlterVault, ActorType, Provider, HttpMethod

vault = AlterVault(
    api_key="alter_key_...",
    actor_type=ActorType.AI_AGENT,
    actor_identifier="email-assistant-v2",
    actor_name="Email Assistant",
    actor_version="2.0.0",
    framework="langgraph",
)

response = await vault.request(
    connection_id,
    HttpMethod.GET,
    "https://www.googleapis.com/calendar/v3/calendars/primary/events",
    run_id="550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000",  # auto-generated UUID if omitted
    thread_id="thread-xyz",
    tool_call_id="call_abc_123",
)

Note: run_id is auto-generated as a UUID v4 if not provided. All sub-actions within a single request() call share the same run_id for audit log grouping.

Multi-Agent Deployments

Each agent must create its own AlterVault instance with a unique actor identity. Do not share a single instance across agents.

# Each agent gets its own vault instance
email_agent = AlterVault(
    api_key="alter_key_...",
    actor_type=ActorType.AI_AGENT,
    actor_identifier="email-assistant-v2",
    actor_name="Email Assistant",
)

calendar_agent = AlterVault(
    api_key="alter_key_...",
    actor_type=ActorType.AI_AGENT,
    actor_identifier="calendar-agent-v1",
    actor_name="Calendar Agent",
)

# Audit logs and policies are tracked per agent
await email_agent.request(
    gmail_connection_id,  # from Alter Connect
    HttpMethod.GET,
    "https://gmail.googleapis.com/gmail/v1/users/me/messages",
)
await calendar_agent.request(
    calendar_connection_id,  # from Alter Connect
    HttpMethod.GET,
    "https://www.googleapis.com/calendar/v3/calendars/primary/events",
)

# Clean up each instance
await email_agent.close()
await calendar_agent.close()

Configuration

from alter_sdk import AlterVault, ActorType

vault = AlterVault(
    api_key="alter_key_...",              # Required: Alter Vault API key
    actor_type=ActorType.AI_AGENT,        # Required: ActorType enum
    actor_identifier="my-agent",          # Required: Unique identifier
    timeout=30.0,                         # Optional: HTTP timeout in seconds
    actor_name="My Agent",               # Optional: Human-readable name
    actor_version="1.0.0",               # Optional: Version string
    framework="langgraph",               # Optional: AI framework
    client_type="cursor",                # Optional: MCP client type
)

Error Handling

The SDK provides a typed exception hierarchy so you can handle each failure mode precisely:

AlterSDKError (base)
├── BackendError                     # Generic backend error
│   ├── ReAuthRequiredError          # User must re-authorize via Alter Connect
│   │   ├── ConnectionExpiredError   # 403 — connection TTL elapsed
│   │   ├── ConnectionRevokedError   # 400 — auth permanently broken (revoked, invalid_grant)
│   │   └── ConnectionDeletedError   # 410 — user disconnected via Wallet (new ID on re-auth)
│   ├── ConnectionNotFoundError      # 404 — wrong connection_id
│   └── PolicyViolationError         # 403 — policy denied (business hours, IP, etc.)
├── ConnectFlowError                 # Headless connect() failed
│   ├── ConnectDeniedError           # User clicked Deny
│   ├── ConnectConfigError           # OAuth app misconfigured
│   └── ConnectTimeoutError          # User didn't complete in time
├── ProviderAPIError                 # Provider returned 4xx/5xx
│   └── ScopeReauthRequiredError    # 403 + scope mismatch — user must re-authorize
└── NetworkError                     # Backend or provider unreachable
    └── TimeoutError                 # Request timed out (safe to retry)

from alter_sdk import AlterVault, Provider, HttpMethod
from alter_sdk.exceptions import (
    AlterSDKError,              # Base exception (including validation errors)
    BackendError,               # Generic backend error
    ReAuthRequiredError,        # Parent for all re-auth errors
    ConnectionDeletedError,     # User disconnected via Wallet — new ID on re-auth (410)
    ConnectionExpiredError,     # TTL expired — user must re-authorize (403)
    ConnectionNotFoundError,    # Wrong connection_id — check for typos (404)
    ConnectionRevokedError,     # Auth permanently broken — revoked/invalid_grant (400)
    PolicyViolationError,       # Policy denied access — business hours, IP, etc. (403)
    ConnectFlowError,           # Headless connect() failed (denied, provider error)
    ConnectDeniedError,         # User denied authorization
    ConnectConfigError,         # OAuth app misconfigured
    ConnectTimeoutError,        # Headless connect() timed out
    NetworkError,               # Backend or provider unreachable
    TimeoutError,               # Request timed out (subclass of NetworkError)
    ProviderAPIError,           # Provider API returned error (4xx/5xx)
    ScopeReauthRequiredError,   # 403 + scope mismatch (subclass of ProviderAPIError)
)

try:
    response = await vault.request(
        connection_id,
        HttpMethod.GET,
        "https://www.googleapis.com/calendar/v3/calendars/primary/events",
    )

# --- Connection unusable — user must re-authorize via Alter Connect ---
except ConnectionExpiredError:
    # TTL set during Connect flow has elapsed
    print("Connection expired — prompt user to re-authorize")
except ConnectionRevokedError:
    # Auth permanently broken — user revoked at provider, refresh token
    # expired, or token refresh permanently failed (invalid_grant)
    print("Connection revoked — prompt user to re-authorize")
except ConnectionDeletedError:
    # User disconnected via Wallet — re-auth generates a NEW connection_id
    print("Connection deleted — prompt user to re-connect, store the new ID")
except ConnectionNotFoundError:
    # No connection with this ID exists — check for typos or stale references
    print("Connection not found — verify your connection_id")

# --- Policy restrictions — may resolve on its own ---
except PolicyViolationError as e:
    # Business hours, IP allowlist, or other Cerbos policy denial
    print(f"Policy denied: {e.message} (reason: {e.policy_error})")
    print("Check policy config in Developer Portal, or queue work for later")

# --- Transient / infrastructure errors — safe to retry ---
except NetworkError as e:
    # TimeoutError is a subclass, so this catches both
    print(f"Network issue — retry with backoff: {e.message}")

except ScopeReauthRequiredError as e:
    print(f"Scope mismatch on {e.connection_id} - user needs to re-authorize")
    # Create a new Connect session so the user can grant updated scopes

# --- Provider errors ---
except ProviderAPIError as e:
    print(f"Provider error {e.status_code}: {e.response_body}")

Re-authorization and Connection IDs

When a user re-authorizes through Alter Connect, the same connection_id is preserved in most cases. The existing connection record is updated in place with fresh tokens. You do not need to update your stored connection_id.

The exception is ConnectionDeletedError — the user disconnected via the Wallet, so re-authorization creates a new connection with a new connection_id. Store the new ID from the ConnectResult.

Exception	Same connection_id after re-auth?
ConnectionExpiredError	Yes
ConnectionRevokedError	Yes
ConnectionDeletedError	No — new ID generated
ConnectionNotFoundError	N/A — ID never existed

Supported Providers

The SDK includes type-safe Provider enums for all 66 supported providers. Use them for filtering connections or as documentation -- request() takes a connection_id string, not a provider enum.

from alter_sdk import Provider

# Custom providers (full OAuth implementations)
Provider.GOOGLE       # "google"
Provider.GITHUB       # "github"
Provider.SLACK        # "slack"
Provider.CALENDLY     # "calendly"
Provider.CLICKUP      # "clickup"
Provider.CANVA        # "canva"
# ... and 23 more (see Provider enum for full list)

# Config-driven providers (45 total) -- examples:
Provider.HUBSPOT      # "hubspot"
Provider.SALESFORCE   # "salesforce"
Provider.STRIPE       # "stripe"
Provider.MICROSOFT    # "microsoft"
Provider.DISCORD      # "discord"
Provider.SPOTIFY      # "spotify"
Provider.LINKEDIN     # "linkedin"
Provider.DROPBOX      # "dropbox"
Provider.FIGMA        # "figma"
# ... and 36 more (see Provider enum for full list)

# Usage: filter connections by provider
result = await vault.list_connections(provider_id=Provider.HUBSPOT)

# Usage: make requests with connection_id
await vault.request(connection_id, HttpMethod.GET, url)

All 66 providers

Acuity Scheduling, Adobe, Aircall, Airtable, Apollo, Asana, Atlassian, Attio, Autodesk, Basecamp, Bitbucket, Bitly, Box, Brex, Cal.com, Calendly, Canva, ClickUp, Close, Constant Contact, Contentful, Deel, Dialpad, DigitalOcean, Discord, DocuSign, Dropbox, eBay, Eventbrite, Facebook, Figma, GitHub, Google, HubSpot, Instagram, Linear, LinkedIn, Mailchimp, Mercury, Microsoft, Miro, Monday, Notion, Outreach, PagerDuty, PayPal, Pinterest, Pipedrive, QuickBooks, Ramp, Reddit, RingCentral, Salesforce, Sentry, Slack, Snapchat, Spotify, Square, Squarespace, Stripe, TikTok, Todoist, Twitter, Typeform, Webex, Webflow

Requirements

• Python 3.11+
• httpx[http2]
• pydantic

License

MIT License