basic-auth-for-fun-and-profit.swift

// 1. Implement URLSession:task:didReceiveChallenge:completionHandler:. (Be sure to call the completion handler with NSURLSessionAuthChallengeDisposition.PerformDefaultHandling and a nil NSURLCredential.)
// 2. Set a breakpoint in the callback + trigger an authentication challenge at runtime
// 3. In the debugger, inspect the callback's `challenge.protectionSpace` argument for the values to put in the following lines of code...
// 4. Put the following lines of code somewhere before your network requests (i.e. AppDelegate area, or other)

let basicAuthCredentials = NSURLCredential(user: "username", password: "password", persistence: .Permanent)
let foobarHttpsProtectionSpace = NSURLProtectionSpace(host: "foo.bar.com", port: 443, protocol: "https", realm: "This Probably Has A Value, Get It From The Delegate Callback", authenticationMethod: NSURLAuthenticationMethodHTTPBasic)
NSURLCredentialStorage.sharedCredentialStorage().setDefaultCredential(basicAuthCredentials, forProtectionSpace: apidevHttpsProtectionSpace)

// 5. Remove the delegate callback implementation. The credentials stored in the `sharedCredentialStorage` will be used, when required.

Tip: Don't create + store lots of unnecessary NSURLProtectionSpaces (i.e. one for http/80, one for the main domain, etc). From my own experience trying this, they can quietly cause conflicts with each other, leaving you wondering why nothing is working.

Instead, obtain exactly the necessary NSURLProtectionSpace information needed from the callback function, and implement only those.

Also, if you're connecting to the host over HTTPS, the first authentication challenge will be NSURLAuthenticationMethodServerTrust. Ignore that one (that's for SSL). The next one - NSURLAuthenticationMethodHTTPBasic - is the one you're looking for.

I feel like I've found a long-buried treasure!