# Authentication & Certificates To run a Gateway, you’ll need to authenticate using a certificate package and an authorization header. These credentials allow your Gateway to connect securely to the BDN and access bloXroute services. #### **Steps to Retrieve Authentication Files** 1. Register and purchase a paid plan (Enterprise or above) 2. Log in to the bloXroute Customer Portal → 3. Navigate to the "Account" section. On this page, you’ll find: * Your authorization header (for API calls) * A “Download” button to obtain your certificate package * **Please follow the setup instructions shown on the page.** 4. Download and extract the certificate ZIP package * Do not rename the extracted folder * Save the contents in a known location (e.g., `/usr/local/bloxroute-certificate`) 5. Your certificate package includes: * `gateway.crt` – Your public cert * `gateway.key` – Your private key * `secret_hash` – Used for Gateway authentication --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.bloxroute.com/eth/gateway/authentication-and-certificates.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.