# Authentication

After your application is successfully [connected](https://emotiv.gitbook.io/cortex-api/connecting-to-the-cortex-api) to the Cortex service, you must go through the authentication procedure.

First, you should call [getUserLogin](https://emotiv.gitbook.io/cortex-api/authentication/getuserlogin) to check if the user has already logged in though [EMOTIV Launcher](https://emotiv.gitbook.io/emotiv-launcher/). Then, you must call [requestAccess](https://emotiv.gitbook.io/cortex-api/authentication/requestaccess) to ask the user to approve your application.

Finally, call [authorize](https://emotiv.gitbook.io/cortex-api/authentication/authorize) to generate a Cortex token or you can reuse a token that you previously got from this method, if it is not expired.