> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://chisa.mintlify.site/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Create Session > You can use this method to create a fully valid session ID once a user has validated the request token. More information about how this works can be found here. This is step 3 from the How do I generate a session id? guide. ## OpenAPI ````yaml api-reference/openapi.json post /3/authentication/session/new openapi: 3.0.3 info: title: Themoviedb API description: >- Version 3 (stable) of The Movie Database (TMDB) API offers a concise list of available methods for movies, TV shows, actors, and images. version: 1.0.0 contact: {} servers: - url: https://api.themoviedb.org - url: https://api.themoviedb.org/3 security: [] tags: - name: Account - name: Authentication description: >- # How do I generate a session id? As outlined in the [getting started guide](https://developer.themoviedb.org/docs/getting-started), the basics to getting a user authenticated look like this: 1. **Create a new request token** 2. **Get the user to authorize the request token** 3. **Create a new session id with the authorized request token** Steps 1 and 3 should be fairly easy to understand, but let's walk through each to ensure clarity. ## Step 1: Create a request token The first step as a developer is to request a new token. This is a **temporary token** required to ask the user for permission to access their account. This token will automatically expire **after 60 minutes** if it's not used. ## Step 2: Ask the user for permission With a request token in hand, forward your user to the following URL: ``` https://www.themoviedb.org/authenticate/{REQUEST_TOKEN} ``` You can also pass this URL a `redirect_to` parameter, like so: ``` https://www.themoviedb.org/authenticate/{REQUEST_TOKEN}?redirect_to=http://www.yourapp.com/approved ``` Once the user has approved your request token, they will either be redirected to the URL you specified in the `redirect_to` parameter or to the `/authenticate/allow` path on TMDB. If they aren't redirected to a custom URL, the page will also include an `Authentication-Callback` header. This header contains the API call for step #3. You can either manually generate it or simply use the one we return. ## Step 3: Create a session ID By calling the **new session method** with the request token that has been approved by the user in Step 2, we will return a **new session_id**. This session can now be used to write user data. You should treat this key **like a password** and keep it secret. ## What about guest sessions? A **guest session** can be used to rate movies **without** requiring a registered TMDB user account. For more information about how to create a guest session, see [here](https://developer.themoviedb.org/docs/authentication). - name: Certification - name: Changes - name: Collections - name: Companies - name: Configuration - name: Credits - name: Discover - name: Find - name: Genres - name: Guest Session - name: Keywords - name: List description: >- ## v3 or v4 list? 😕 You may have noticed that the a v4 version of our list API exists. While these v3 list methods continue to work, all of the new features you can see on our website are only available if you switch to the v4 lists. **What are some of the improvements in v4?** - You can import "unlimited" items in a single request - You can use mixed type (movie and TV) lists - You can use private lists - You can add and use comments per item - There are more sort options - They are faster - Check the v4 documentation for more information. - name: Movie Lists - name: Movies - name: Networks - name: People Lists - name: People - name: Reviews - name: Search - name: Trending - name: TV Series Lists - name: TV Series - name: TV Seasons - name: TV Episodes - name: TV Episode Groups - name: Watch Providers paths: /3/authentication/session/new: post: tags: - Authentication summary: Create Session description: >- You can use this method to create a fully valid session ID once a user has validated the request token. More information about how this works can be found here. This is step 3 from the How do I generate a session id? guide. operationId: createSession parameters: - name: '' in: header schema: type: string example: '' requestBody: content: application/json: schema: type: object properties: request_token: type: string example: f6a38deb1d109eeec83fe061e217ba19d94e5849 examples: Create Session: value: request_token: f6a38deb1d109eeec83fe061e217ba19d94e5849 responses: '200': description: Session headers: Alt-Svc: schema: type: string example: h3=":443"; ma=86400 Connection: schema: type: string example: keep-alive Content-Encoding: schema: type: string example: br Date: schema: type: string example: Fri, 03 Jan 2025 15:51:08 GMT Server: schema: type: string example: openresty Transfer-Encoding: schema: type: string example: chunked Vary: schema: type: string example: Origin Via: schema: type: string example: >- 1.1 95e16d4ec89b0a07da1a8770b0f15cfa.cloudfront.net (CloudFront) X-Amz-Cf-Id: schema: type: string example: RsDkLR6-qxa25YWfm5EfTeC0Ydk0WqAPnTCtcdBP4w6Ld5sOZE3K3w== X-Amz-Cf-Pop: schema: type: string example: LOS50-P2 X-Cache: schema: type: string example: Miss from cloudfront cache-control: schema: type: string example: public, max-age=0 etag: schema: type: string example: W/"05816d0bf74c559c5e8b222760a85dfb" vary: schema: type: string example: accept-encoding content: application/json: schema: type: object properties: session_id: type: string example: 99f5fe8d04188f32c8fe2092c365a3f85cb3e376 success: type: boolean example: true examples: Session: value: session_id: 99f5fe8d04188f32c8fe2092c365a3f85cb3e376 success: true ````