API Keys — Proposed Guide

API Keys: A proposed API key would identify an approved machine integration. Its secret value must be separate from the non-secret key identifier used for…

Overview

A proposed API key would identify an approved machine integration. Its secret value must be separate from the non-secret key identifier used for administration and audit records.

Key concepts

Limit each key to a known owner, environment and scope set. Rotation should overlap only as long as necessary to replace the old client configuration.

Implementation considerations

No keys can be created here. The only credential text used in examples is YOUR_API_KEY; future issuance, secret display and revocation need separate implementation.

Illustrative data model

This local fixture shows a possible representation for the concepts above. It is not an endpoint response, production configuration or a claim that the described capability is implemented.

{
  "reference_only": true,
  "topic": "API Keys",
  "key_id": "key_example_123",
  "environment": "local-fixture",
  "scope": [
    "expenses:read"
  ],
  "expires_at": "2026-01-15T12:00:00Z"
}

Design review checklist

• Document which organization owns the api keys representation and which actor may view or change it.
• Test the boundaries of key id, environment, scope, expires at using synthetic values, including missing or inconsistent references.
• Before future implementation, obtain an approved contract and review failure behavior. This documentation does not authorize production activation.

Proposed data types

Related documentation