POST
/
v2
/
keys.createKey
Go (SDK)
package main

import(
	"context"
	"os"
	unkey "github.com/unkeyed/sdks/api/go/v2"
	"github.com/unkeyed/sdks/api/go/v2/models/components"
	"log"
)

func main() {
    ctx := context.Background()

    s := unkey.New(
        unkey.WithSecurity(os.Getenv("UNKEY_ROOT_KEY")),
    )

    res, err := s.Keys.CreateKey(ctx, components.V2KeysCreateKeyRequestBody{
        APIID: "api_1234abcd",
        Prefix: unkey.String("prod"),
        Name: unkey.String("Payment Service Production Key"),
        ByteLength: unkey.Int64(24),
        ExternalID: unkey.String("user_1234abcd"),
        Meta: map[string]any{
            "plan": "enterprise",
            "featureFlags": map[string]any{
                "betaAccess": true,
                "concurrentConnections": 10,
            },
            "customerName": "Acme Corp",
            "billing": map[string]any{
                "tier": "premium",
                "renewal": "2024-12-31",
            },
        },
        Roles: []string{
            "api_admin",
            "billing_reader",
        },
        Permissions: []string{
            "documents.read",
            "documents.write",
            "settings.view",
        },
        Expires: unkey.Int64(1704067200000),
        Credits: &components.KeyCreditsData{
            Remaining: unkey.Int64(1000),
            Refill: &components.KeyCreditsRefill{
                Interval: components.IntervalDaily,
                Amount: 1000,
                RefillDay: unkey.Int64(15),
            },
        },
        Ratelimits: []components.RatelimitRequest{
            components.RatelimitRequest{
                Name: "requests",
                Limit: 100,
                Duration: 60000,
                AutoApply: unkey.Bool(true),
            },
            components.RatelimitRequest{
                Name: "heavy_operations",
                Limit: 10,
                Duration: 3600000,
            },
        },
    })
    if err != nil {
        log.Fatal(err)
    }
    if res.V2KeysCreateKeyResponseBody != nil {
        // handle response
    }
}
{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "data": {
    "keyId": "key_2cGKbMxRyIzhCxo1Idjz8q",
    "key": "prod_2cGKbMxRjIzhCxo1IdjH3arELti7Sdyc8w6XYbvtcyuBowPT"
  }
}

Authorizations

​
Authorization
string
header
required

Unkey uses API keys (root keys) for authentication. These keys authorize access to management operations in the API. To authenticate, include your root key in the Authorization header of each request:

Authorization: Bearer unkey_123

Root keys have specific permissions attached to them, controlling what operations they can perform. Key permissions follow a hierarchical structure with patterns like resource.resource_id.action (e.g., apis.*.create_key, apis.*.read_api). Security best practices:

  • Keep root keys secure and never expose them in client-side code
  • Use different root keys for different environments
  • Rotate keys periodically, especially after team member departures
  • Create keys with minimal necessary permissions following least privilege principle
  • Monitor key usage with audit logs.

Body

application/json

Response

200
application/json

Successfully created a new API key. The response includes both the keyId (for reference in your system) and the full key string. IMPORTANT: This is the only time the complete key is available - it cannot be retrieved later. You must securely provide this key to your end user immediately.

The response is of type object.