ApiSkills

Authentication · 6 min

API Key auth (header & query)

A single secret key, sent in a header (recommended) or the query string (weaker).

API keys are the most common auth for developer APIs (Stripe, SendGrid). You send one key that both identifies and authenticates your app. There is no username — the key is everything.

In a header (recommended)

curl https://api.ifsjaipur.cloud/playground/auth/api-key -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"

In the query string (weaker)

curl "https://api.ifsjaipur.cloud/playground/auth/api-key-query?api_key=YOUR_API_KEY"

Both authenticate the same app, but the query-string version is weaker: URLs get logged by servers, proxies, and browser history, so the key leaks. Prefer the header.

Tip · In n8n: use a "Header Auth" credential (name: x-api-key, value: your key) rather than hardcoding the header on the node.