# Does getCredentials wait for access token expiry to refresh?

**URL:** <https://community.auth0.com/t/does-getcredentials-wait-for-access-token-expiry-to-refresh/197435>\
**Category:** Get Help\
**Tags:** apis, application\
**Created:** [February 19, 2026, 11:55pm UTC](https://community.auth0.com/t/does-getcredentials-wait-for-access-token-expiry-to-refresh/197435 "2026-02-19T23:55:56Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![clairel](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/auth0/user_avatar/community.auth0.com/clairel/32/71827_2.png) [@clairel](https://community.auth0.com/u/clairel)\
**Post date:** [February 19, 2026, 11:55pm UTC](https://community.auth0.com/t/does-getcredentials-wait-for-access-token-expiry-to-refresh/197435/1 "2026-02-19T23:55:56Z")

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We have a react native app set up using the `react-native-auth0` library and calling `useAuth0.getCredentials()` to refresh our tokens. I was wondering if `getCredentials` will wait for the access token to expire before refreshing, or if there is some buffer time before expiry where it will try to refresh while the existing access token is still valid. It would be great if this overlap could be configured.

We pass those tokens to a WebView so there could be a small delay where the WebView uses an older access token, so ideally there would be a grace period of overlap between the two access tokens.

Thanks!

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**Author:** ![nik.baleca](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/auth0/user_avatar/community.auth0.com/nik.baleca/32/68749_2.png) [@nik.baleca](https://community.auth0.com/u/nik.baleca)\
**Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 4:54pm UTC](https://community.auth0.com/t/does-getcredentials-wait-for-access-token-expiry-to-refresh/197435/3 "2026-02-20T16:54:05Z")

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Hi @clairel

Welcome to the Auth0 Community!

The `getCredentials()` function does not wait for the access token to expire, it renews the credentials with an available refresh token by having a default buffer time applied to it of 60 seconds. This buffer is **configurable**. You can adjust this “minimum Time To Live” (minTTL) parameter to give you a larger window as such:

```auto
const credentials = await getCredentials(300); 

```

Otherwise, there is **no “grace period” or “overlap”** where two access tokens are simultaneously considered “new.” When a refresh occurs, a distinctly new access token is issued. The old one remains valid only until its original expiration time.

If you have any other questions, let me know!

Kind Regards,  
Nik

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**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/auth0/original/3X/b/5/b560f266932fcce5d57f09a6595bd50518cae3f3.jpeg) [@system](https://community.auth0.com/u/system)\
**Post date:** [March 6, 2026, 4:54pm UTC](https://community.auth0.com/t/does-getcredentials-wait-for-access-token-expiry-to-refresh/197435/4 "2026-03-06T16:54:25Z")

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