Request a Mobile Authorization Code on the Command Line

Applies to: Mobile Authorization API | Reader SDK

Learn how to request authorization tokens with a command-line tool to initialize Square mobile solutions like the Reader SDK.


Warning

The Mobile Authorization API is used by the Reader SDK, which is now deprecated. This API will be retired along with the Reader SDK on December 31, 2025. Developers should migrate their application to the Mobile Payments SDK, which is the successor to the Reader SDK and contains its own authorization methods.

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Requirements and limitations

  • An active location ID - Copy a valid developer account location ID from the Production mode Locations settings page of your Square application in the Developer Console.
  • A valid access token - For more information, see Access Tokens and Other Square Credentials.
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Generate a mobile authorization code

You should generate mobile authorization codes programmatically because they're short lived and cannot be hardcoded or reused. You might, however, need to generate a mobile authorization code manually during development.

To manually generate a mobile authorization code:

  1. Open the Developer Console.
  2. In the left pane, choose Credentials, and then copy your personal access token from the Credentials page.
  3. In the left pane, choose Locations, and then copy an active location ID from the Locations page.
  1. Paste the values into the following cURL command:

    curl https://connect.squareup.com/mobile/authorization-code \ -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \ -H 'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN' \ -d '{"location_id":"YOUR_LOCATION_ID"}'

    You should get a response that looks like this:

    squareup.com/mobile/authorization-code { "authorization_code": "YOUR_MOBILE_AUTHORIZATION_CODE", "expires_at": "2018-05-11T02:05:07Z" }
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See also