The 401 http status code is returned when a request is made to a resource that requires authentication, but the credentials are not provided. This can happen for a number of reasons, but the most common cause is simply forgetting to include the necessary authentication information in the request.
If you receive a 401 status code when making a request, it is important to first check that you are including the correct authentication information.
Example:
A user will receive a 401 status code when accessing a protected resource until they provide a valid username and password (or in some cases a bearer token).
See the below links for configuring HTTP authentication in popular web servers:
RFC #: 7235 section 3.1
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