# Authenticate a User

> Get started with Directus Auth. Learn how to register, login, create users, and make authenticated requests.

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This guide will cover registering users, logging in, and making an authenticated request.

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## Before You Start

You will need a Directus project.

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Create a `posts` collection with at least a `title` and `content` field. [Follow the data modeling quickstart to learn more](/getting-started/data-model). Create a single item in the collection.

## Creating a Role and a Policy

From your settings, navigate to User Roles and create a new role named "User". This role will later be applied to new users who register.

Within the role page, create a new policy named "Read Posts". Add a permission to the policy to allow **Read** action on `posts` collection.

## Allow User Registration

From your settings, enable User Registration. Select the User role that was just created and disable the Verify Email setting.

## Registering via the Data Studio

Log out of the Data Studio. From the Sign In screen, you will see a new option to Sign Up. Once a user is signed up, they will immediately be able to log in.

## Registering via API

Open your terminal and run the following command to register a new user.

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```bash [Terminal]
curl \
    --request POST \
    --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
    --data '{ "email": "hello@example.com", "password": "d1r3ctu5" }' \
    --url 'https://directus.example.com/users/register'
```

```graphql [GraphQL]
mutation {
    users_register(email: "hello@example.com", password: "d1r3ctu5")
}
```

```js [SDK]
import { createDirectus, rest, registerUser } from '@directus/sdk';

const client = createDirectus('https://directus.example.com').with(rest());

const result = await client.request(registerUser('hello@example.com', 'd1r3ctu5'));
```

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Go to the user directory in the module bar and you should see a new user has been created.

## Logging In

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```bash [Terminal]
curl \
    --request POST \
    --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
    --data '{ "email": "hello@example.com", "password": "d1r3ctu5" }' \
    --url 'https://directus.example.com/auth/login'
```

```graphql [GraphQL]
mutation {
    auth_login(email: "hello@example.com", password: "d1r3ctu5") {
        access_token
        refresh_token
    }
}
```

```js [SDK]
import { createDirectus, authentication } from '@directus/sdk';

const email = "hello@example.com";
const password = "d1r3ctu5";

const client = createDirectus('http://directus.example.com').with(authentication());

const token = await client.login({ email, password });
```

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## Authenticating Requests

You can use the access token while making requests. If your token has expired, you must refresh it.

```bash [Terminal]
curl \
--header 'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN' \
--url 'https://directus.example.com/items/posts'
```

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Read more about refreshing tokens.

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## Next Steps

Read more about [access tokens](/guides/auth/tokens-cookies), [access control](/guides/auth/access-control), and then refer to the Users API reference to manage user accounts.

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Explore the Users API Reference.

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