Logging in

SkPy provides two ways to authenticate to Skype: SOAP and Live login.

Providers

SOAP login is preferred; it’s a newer authentication flow that supports accounts using two-factor authentication, however it requires Skype accounts to be linked to a Microsoft account with a working Outlook.com email address.

Live authentication is a legacy flow that automates the browser login page; it’s brittle and known to cause issues for some users, but it works for older accounts without a linked Microsoft account, and accepts a wider range of credentials.

Features	SOAP	Live
Valid usernames
Email address	✔	✔
Phone number		✔
Skype username		✔
Valid passwords
Account password	✔ [1]	✔
Application-specific token	✔
Restrictions
Supports 2FA-enabled accounts	✔
Supports accounts without MS link		✔

[1]

Only for accounts without two-factor authentication enabled.

See also

Authentication – for troubleshooting failed logins.

Default handling

A connection to Skype is made when first creating a Skype instance, if you provide a username and password:

>>> from skpy import Skype
>>> from getpass import getpass
>>> Skype("fred.2", getpass())
Password:
Skype(userId='fred.2')

In this form, the best authentication method will be chosen for you (SOAP authentication for Microsoft accounts with an email address as the username, or Live/legacy authentication for accounts with Skype usernames and phone numbers).

Manual control

Depending on the interface being provided by the user, it may not be desirable to require credentials when instantiating the Skype class. In this case, pass no arguments to produce an as-yet-unconnected instance:

>>> sk = Skype()
>>> sk.conn
SkypeConnection(connected=False)

After you’ve obtained credentials from the user, the Skype connection object Skype.conn can be manipulated directly, to set a username/password pair and the desired authentication mechanism, or to sign in as a guest:

>>> # Auto-detect the best authentication method:
>>> sk.conn.setUserPwd("fred.2", getpass())
Password:
>>> sk.getSkypeToken()
>>> sk.conn
SkypeConnection(userId='fred.2', connected=True, guest=False)

>>> # Or use a Microsoft account, including 2FA-protected accounts:
>>> sk.conn.soapLogin("fred.adams@outlook.com", getpass())
Password:
>>> sk.conn
SkypeConnection(userId='fred.2', connected=True, guest=False)

>>> # Or use legacy authentication with a Skype username or phone number:
>>> sk.conn.liveLogin("fred.2", getpass())
Password:
>>> sk.conn
SkypeConnection(userId='fred.2', connected=True, guest=False)

>>> # Or join a conversation as a guest:
>>> sk.conn.guestLogin("https://join.skype.com/abcdefghijkl", "Fred")
>>> sk.conn
SkypeConnection(userId='guest:a1b2c3d4...', connected=True, guest=True)