Secure API Access with API Keys
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All Similarweb API requests require authentication using API keys. This guide covers everything you need to know about creating, managing, and using your API keys securely.

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Before You Begin
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  <h3>You must have the following:</h3>
  *   Active Similarweb account with API access (contact your Account Manager if you need access)
*   Admin-level permissions (required for API key generation and management)
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API Keys Creation
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<Steps attributes='{"style":{"width":"100%","minWidth":"100%"}}'>
<Step stepNumber="1" title="Access Your Account Settings">1.  Log in to your [Similarweb platform](https://pro.similarweb.com)
2.  Navigate to **Settings** → **Account** from the left menu
3.  Look for the **Data Tools** section</Step><Step stepNumber="2" title="Generate Your API Key">1.  Select either **REST API or Batch API**
2.  Scroll down and click **Generate a new API key**
3.  Give your API key a name
4.  Select the primary use for this key (your email or another user)
5.  Click **Create**
6.  Your new API key will appear in the **Generated Keys table** under the user name you selected
7.  Make sure the **Activation** toggle is enabled (switched on)<Callout attributes='{"isFitToPage":true,"dataType":"warning","style":{"style":{"width":"100%","minWidth":"100%"},"width":"100%","minWidth":"100%"}}'>
  <p><strong class="slate-bold">Important</strong>: Only activated API keys can access data. If your key shows as inactive, you'll receive "Invalid API key" errors.</p>
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</Step></Steps>

<Image url="https://d24lr4zqs1tgqh.cloudfront.net/d13fccb0-3ff2-48a6-a0df-5eacd16a0b14.jpg" alt="Genrating an API key" caption="" attributes='{"width":"1104px","height":"563px"}'/>

API Keys Management
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<span style="color:rgb(56, 66, 72)">Admins can create and manage API keys for the entire account.</span>

1.  <span style="color:rgb(56, 66, 72)">Every user can have up to 3 active keys.</span>
    
2.  <span style="color:rgb(56, 66, 72)">There's no expiry date on active keys.</span>
    
3.  <span style="color:rgb(56, 66, 72)">When a user is removed from the account his API key is revoked, there’s also an option of specifically removing users API keys.</span>
    
4.  <span style="color:rgb(56, 66, 72)">Admins can set credit limits per user under each API, for example a user can have 10K on REST API and 10K on Batch API. Only Admins can control limits. The limits are per user and not per key.</span>
    

<Image url="https://d24lr4zqs1tgqh.cloudfront.net/f56e1522-2b1b-4673-aaac-c52c09317226.jpg" alt="Admin panel showing credit limits" caption="" attributes='{"width":"1104px","height":"541px"}'/>