Overview
Users may receive a confirmation email indicating their CSV export is ready, but encounter an error when attempting to download the file. The error typically appears as:
Status Code: 401 Unauthorized
Error Message: “Invalid auth mechanism. Please review our docs https://docs.alloy.co/”
Root Cause
This issue is most commonly caused by an authentication mismatch between browser sessions.
When the download link is clicked from the email, it may open in a browser (or browser profile) where the user is not logged into their Alloy account. Since the export link requires an authenticated session, the request fails and returns a 401 error.
Resolution
Option 1: Open Link in Authenticated Browser
In the email, right-click the “Download” button
Select “Copy link address”
Paste the link into the browser where you normally access Alloy (and are already logged in)
Option 2: Log Into Alloy and Retry
Navigate to the Alloy login page:
https://alloy-us.app.alloy.com/v3/dashboard/login/?next=/evaluations/Log in to your account (if not already authenticated)
Return to the email and click the download link againSummary
The “Invalid auth mechanism” error is not caused by the export itself, but by attempting to access the download link without an active Alloy session. Ensuring the link is opened in a logged-in browser resolves the issue in most cases.