> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.inb.cc/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Authentication

> How to authenticate API requests with your API key

# Authentication

Every request to the InfinityBlue API must include a Bearer token in the `Authorization` header. The token is tied to your account and is used for billing, rate limiting, and access control.

## Get your API key

<Steps>
  <Step title="Sign in">
    Open the [InfinityBlue dashboard](https://getinfinityblue.com) and sign in with your account.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Open the API keys page">
    Navigate to **Settings → API Keys**. The page lists every key that belongs to your workspace, along with its creation date and last-used timestamp.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Create a new key">
    Click **Create key**, give it a descriptive name (for example `prod-backend` or `local-dev`), and copy the value that appears. The key is shown only once.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Warning>
  Store the key immediately. For security reasons, the dashboard never displays the full key value again. If you lose it you must rotate the key.
</Warning>

## Pass the key in a request

The key goes in the `Authorization` header using the Bearer scheme:

```bash theme={null}
curl https://api.getinfinityblue.com/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"model": "gpt-5.4", "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Hi"}]}'
```

When using the official OpenAI SDKs, point the client at the InfinityBlue base URL and supply the key through the standard environment variable:

```python theme={null}
import os
from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI(
    api_key=os.environ["INFINITYBLUE_API_KEY"],
    base_url="https://api.getinfinityblue.com/v1",
)

response = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="gpt-5.4",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Hi"}],
)
```

```javascript theme={null}
import OpenAI from "openai";

const client = new OpenAI({
  apiKey: process.env.INFINITYBLUE_API_KEY,
  baseURL: "https://api.getinfinityblue.com/v1",
});

const response = await client.chat.completions.create({
  model: "gpt-5.4",
  messages: [{ role: "user", content: "Hi" }],
});
```

## Key security best practices

<Tip>
  Treat your API key like a password. Anyone with the key can spend your credits and read your account metadata.
</Tip>

* Load keys from environment variables or a secret manager. Never commit them to git or paste them into source files.
* Use a different key per environment (development, staging, production) so you can revoke one without breaking the others.
* Rotate keys on a fixed schedule and immediately after any suspected leak.
* Apply IP allowlists or origin restrictions when the dashboard supports them for your plan.
* When working in shared notebooks, redact the key from cell output and clear it from kernel memory at the end of the session.

## Troubleshooting

If you receive a `401 Unauthorized` response, walk through this checklist:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Confirm the header is present">
    The request must include `Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY` (note the space after `Bearer`). Without the scheme prefix, the server treats the header as malformed.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Confirm the key is active">
    A revoked or deleted key returns the same `401` error. Re-check the API keys page in the dashboard.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Confirm the base URL">
    Make sure you are sending requests to `https://api.getinfinityblue.com/v1` and not a sibling host. Different environments have different key namespaces.
  </Step>
</Steps>

See [Error Handling](/quickstart/errors) for a complete list of status codes and recovery steps.