Api-Authentication on APIHub - Global API Directoryhttps://apihub.ai-term-hub.com/tags/api-authentication/Recent content in Api-Authentication on APIHub - Global API DirectoryHugoenThu, 23 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000API Authenticationhttps://apihub.ai-term-hub.com/guides/api-authentication/Thu, 23 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://apihub.ai-term-hub.com/guides/api-authentication/<h1 id="api-authentication">API Authentication</h1> <p>API authentication proves who is calling an API and authorizes what they can do. Most public APIs use one of four common schemes.</p> <h2 id="api-keys">API Keys</h2> <p>An API key is a long secret string sent with each request, usually in a header (<code>Authorization: Bearer &lt;key&gt;</code>) or a query parameter (<code>?api_key=...</code>). Keys are simple to issue and revoke but must be protected like passwords. Never commit them to source control; load them from environment variables or a secrets manager.</p>