diff --git a/include/fdp/fdp.h b/include/fdp/fdp.h
index d46bf11..609a75f 100644
--- a/include/fdp/fdp.h
+++ b/include/fdp/fdp.h
@@ -118,7 +118,8 @@ FdpError fdp_link_read(FdpDataPipeline *data_pipeline, const char *data_product,
  * @return Error code
  */
 FdpError fdp_link_write(FdpDataPipeline *data_pipeline,
-                        const char *data_product, char *data_store_path, size_t data_store_path_len);
+                        const char *data_product, char *data_store_path,
+                        size_t data_store_path_len);
 
 /**
  * @brief Enumeration used to denote the different levels of logging.
@@ -168,6 +169,21 @@ FdpLogLevel fdp_get_log_level();
  */
 int fdp_log(FdpLogLevel log_level, const char *msg);
 
+/**
+ * @brief Read token from file.
+ *
+ * @param path The path to the token file.
+ *
+ * @param token Destination to store the token. The user must allocate
+ * sufficient space for the token.
+ *
+ * @param token_len Length of the character array used to store the token.
+ *
+ * @return Error code. Returns 0 if the token was read successfully, or a
+ * positive integer otherwise.
+ */
+FdpError fdp_read_token(const char *path, char *token, size_t token_len);
+
 #ifdef __cplusplus
 
 } // close extern "C"
diff --git a/src/fdp_c_api.cxx b/src/fdp_c_api.cxx
index 078610e..b3ccffa 100644
--- a/src/fdp_c_api.cxx
+++ b/src/fdp_c_api.cxx
@@ -5,9 +5,12 @@
 #include <string>
 #include <utility>
 
+#include <ghc/filesystem.hpp>
+
 #include "fdp/exceptions.hxx"
 #include "fdp/fdp.h"
 #include "fdp/fdp.hxx"
+#include "fdp/objects/metadata.hxx"
 #include "fdp/utilities/logging.hxx"
 
 namespace FDP = FairDataPipeline;
@@ -55,7 +58,7 @@ void FDP::delete_c_struct(FdpDataPipeline *data_pipeline) {
  */
 template <typename Function, typename Return, typename... Args>
 FdpError exception_to_err_code(Function &&function, Return &ret,
-                               Args &&... args) {
+                               Args &&...args) {
   try {
     ret = std::forward<Function>(function)(std::forward<Args>(args)...);
     return FDP_ERR_NONE;
@@ -82,7 +85,7 @@ FdpError exception_to_err_code(Function &&function, Return &ret,
  * @brief Companion to exception_to_err_code for non-returning functions.
  */
 template <typename Function, typename... Args>
-FdpError exception_to_err_code_void(Function &&function, Args &&... args) {
+FdpError exception_to_err_code_void(Function &&function, Args &&...args) {
   int dummy;
   return exception_to_err_code(
       [&function, &args...]() -> int {
@@ -323,3 +326,24 @@ int fdp_log(FdpLogLevel log_level, const char *msg) {
   }
   return 0;
 }
+
+// =========
+// utilities
+// =========
+
+FdpError fdp_read_token(const char *path, char *token, size_t token_len) {
+  std::string token_str;
+  FdpError err = exception_to_err_code(FDP::read_token, token_str,
+                                       ghc::filesystem::path(path));
+  if (err) {
+    FDP::logger::get_logger()->error() << "Failed to read token file";
+    return err;
+  }
+  if (token_str.size() >= token_len) {
+    FDP::logger::get_logger()->error()
+        << "Token array is too small to store token";
+    return FDP_ERR_OTHER;
+  }
+  strncpy(token, token_str.c_str(), token_len);
+  return err;
+}
diff --git a/test/test_c_api.cxx b/test/test_c_api.cxx
index d1ac2c7..f9637f3 100644
--- a/test/test_c_api.cxx
+++ b/test/test_c_api.cxx
@@ -37,10 +37,12 @@ TEST(CTest, link_read_write) {
   FdpDataPipeline *pipeline;
   fs::path config = fs::path(TESTDIR) / "data" / "write_csv.yaml";
   fs::path script = fs::path(TESTDIR) / "test_script.sh";
-  std::string token =
-      fdp::read_token(fs::path(home_dir()) / ".fair" / "registry" / "token");
+  fs::path token_path = fs::path(home_dir()) / ".fair" / "registry" / "token";
+  char token[BUFFER_SIZE];
+  ASSERT_EQ(fdp_read_token(token_path.c_str(), token, BUFFER_SIZE),
+            FDP_ERR_NONE);
   ASSERT_EQ(fdp_init(&pipeline, config.string().c_str(),
-                     script.string().c_str(), token.c_str()),
+                     script.string().c_str(), token),
             FDP_ERR_NONE);
 
   // Test link write
@@ -58,7 +60,7 @@ TEST(CTest, link_read_write) {
   ASSERT_EQ(fdp_finalise(&pipeline), FDP_ERR_NONE);
   config = fs::path(TESTDIR) / "data" / "read_csv.yaml";
   ASSERT_EQ(fdp_init(&pipeline, config.string().c_str(),
-                     script.string().c_str(), token.c_str()),
+                     script.string().c_str(), token),
             FDP_ERR_NONE);
 
   // Test link read
@@ -111,10 +113,12 @@ TEST(CTest, c_to_cpp) {
   FdpDataPipeline *c_pipeline;
   fs::path config = fs::path(TESTDIR) / "data" / "write_csv.yaml";
   fs::path script = fs::path(TESTDIR) / "test_script.sh";
-  std::string token =
-      fdp::read_token(fs::path(home_dir()) / ".fair" / "registry" / "token");
+  fs::path token_path = fs::path(home_dir()) / ".fair" / "registry" / "token";
+  char token[BUFFER_SIZE];
+  ASSERT_EQ(fdp_read_token(token_path.c_str(), token, BUFFER_SIZE),
+            FDP_ERR_NONE);
   ASSERT_EQ(fdp_init(&c_pipeline, config.string().c_str(),
-                     script.string().c_str(), token.c_str()),
+                     script.string().c_str(), token),
             FDP_ERR_NONE);
 
   // Switch to C++ API