{"record":{"id":"7fc31ab95652118d","repo":"mattermost-community/focalboard","slug":"unable-to-get-the-session-for-the-token","errorCode":null,"errorMessage":"unable to get the session for the token","messagePattern":"unable to get the session for the token","errorType":"exception","errorClass":null,"httpStatus":401,"severity":"error","filePath":"server/auth/auth.go","lineNumber":39,"sourceCode":"\tconfig      *config.Configuration\n\tstore       store.Store\n\tpermissions permissions.PermissionsService\n}\n\n// New returns a new Auth.\nfunc New(config *config.Configuration, store store.Store, permissions permissions.PermissionsService) *Auth {\n\treturn &Auth{config: config, store: store, permissions: permissions}\n}\n\n// GetSession Get a user active session and refresh the session if needed.\nfunc (a *Auth) GetSession(token string) (*model.Session, error) {\n\tif len(token) < 1 {\n\t\treturn nil, errors.New(\"no session token\")\n\t}\n\n\tsession, err := a.store.GetSession(token, a.config.SessionExpireTime)\n\tif err != nil {\n\t\treturn nil, errors.Wrap(err, \"unable to get the session for the token\")\n\t}\n\tif session.UpdateAt < (utils.GetMillis() - utils.SecondsToMillis(a.config.SessionRefreshTime)) {\n\t\t_ = a.store.RefreshSession(session)\n\t}\n\treturn session, nil\n}\n\n// IsValidReadToken validates the read token for a board.\nfunc (a *Auth) IsValidReadToken(boardID string, readToken string) (bool, error) {\n\tsharing, err := a.store.GetSharing(boardID)\n\tif model.IsErrNotFound(err) {\n\t\treturn false, nil\n\t}\n\tif err != nil {\n\t\treturn false, err\n\t}\n\n\tif !a.config.EnablePublicSharedBoards {","sourceCodeStart":21,"sourceCodeEnd":57,"githubUrl":"https://github.com/mattermost-community/focalboard/blob/a84bbb65e32edf972856b329417096ac413518e9/server/auth/auth.go#L21-L57","documentation":"GetSession wraps the store's GetSession failure with 'unable to get the session for the token'. Given a non-empty token, the session store either cannot find it (typically an ErrNotFound, meaning expired or unknown token, since GetSession enforces a.config.SessionExpireTime) or the storage backend failed. Callers of authenticated endpoints see this when their session token is no longer valid.","triggerScenarios":"Calling GetSession (directly or via any authenticated API route middleware) with a token that does not exist in the store, a token older than SessionExpireTime seconds, or when the session store (database) errors during lookup. An empty token produces the distinct 'no session token' error instead.","commonSituations":"User session expired after SessionExpireTime of inactivity; server-side sessions were wiped (restart with ephemeral store, database reset, or switching store backends); client sends a stale/hardcoded token after logout; clock skew or misconfigured SessionExpireTime causing immediate expiry.","solutions":["Re-authenticate (log in again) to obtain a fresh session token, then retry the request","Clear the client's stale token/cookie and ensure the token header is populated and current","If unexpected, check the wrapped cause (log with %+v): ErrNotFound means expired/unknown token; other errors indicate a store/database problem","Review SessionExpireTime/SessionRefreshTime configuration and whether the session store persists across restarts"],"exampleFix":"// before: reusing a long-lived cached token\ntoken := os.Getenv(\"FB_TOKEN\") // may be expired\nsession, err := auth.GetSession(token)\n\n// after: login when the session is invalid\nsession, err := auth.GetSession(token)\nif err != nil {\n    token = loginAndGetNewToken(username, password)\n    session, err = auth.GetSession(token)\n}","handlingStrategy":"try-catch","validationCode":"// Go: check the token exists before calling GetSession\nif token == \"\" {\n    return errors.New(\"no session token provided\")\n}\n// client side: only attach a token if one was issued and not marked expired\nif time.Since(issuedAt) > expireTime {\n    token = refreshOrRelogin()\n}","typeGuard":null,"tryCatchPattern":"session, err := a.GetSession(token)\nif err != nil {\n    if strings.Contains(err.Error(), \"no session token\") || strings.Contains(err.Error(), \"unable to get the session for the token\") {\n        // treat as 401: clear stored token and redirect to login\n        clearTokenAndRedirectToLogin()\n        return\n    }\n    log.Printf(\"session lookup failed: %+v\", err) // store outage vs expiry\n}","preventionTips":["Implement automatic re-login or token refresh when a 401/session error is received","Persist sessions in a durable store so server restarts don't invalidate them","Check SessionExpireTime configuration matches expected session lifetime","Clear client-side tokens on logout and never hardcode tokens in code or env files"],"tags":["go","auth","session","token-expired"],"backgroundTag":"session-expired-or-invalid","analyzedSha":"a84bbb65e32edf972856b329417096ac413518e9","analyzedAt":"2026-08-30T09:22:20.720Z","schemaVersion":2},"datasetVersion":"2026-08-30T13:17:10.514Z"}