Authentication

Authentication#

The download requests to the AVISO Thredds Data Server require user authentication. To get credentials, please register at AVISO User Registration.

This module handles authentication through a .netrc file located in the user’s home directory. It ensures that user credentials are securely stored and reused for subsequent requests.

Overview#

The authentication process relies on the standard UNIX-style .netrc mechanism to store login credentials associated with specific hosts.

When the module performs an authenticated request, it proceeds as follows:

  1. Checks if a valid .netrc file exists in the user’s home directory.

  2. If the file is missing, malformed, or does not contain the expected host entry, the user is prompted to enter their credentials interactively.

  3. Once the credentials are provided, they are saved (or updated) in the .netrc file.

  4. Future requests reuse the stored credentials automatically.

File Format#

The .netrc file should contain:

machine tds-odatis.aviso.altimetry.fr
 login <user_login>
 password <user_password>

Note that user_login is typically an email address associated with the user’s account.

Example Usage#

from altimetry_downloader_aviso import get
get("SWOT_L3_LR_SSH_Basic", output_dir="aviso_dir", cycle_number=7, pass_number=[12, 13])

If no .netrc file is found, the module will prompt for credentials:

Username: my_username
Password: ...

The credentials are then written to the .netrc file for future use.

Error Handling#

If the .netrc file is malformed or credentials are invalid, the module will display a warning message.

See Also#

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