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

# Get your Orbit Search API key

> Get your first Orbit Search API key in the dashboard, choose the right scopes, and store the raw key safely before making API requests.

API keys let your applications call the Orbit Search API without a user session. Get your first key in the [Orbit developer dashboard](https://developer.orbitsearch.com/dashboard/keys), then use the resulting `sk_orb_...` value as the bearer token for search and profile requests.

<Warning>
  The raw key is shown **only once** in the dashboard. Copy it into a secret manager immediately. After you close the modal, Orbit only shows the safe `display_key` form, such as `sk_orb_a0186...55fd`.
</Warning>

## Where to get keys

Use **Dashboard** → **API keys** to issue personal and organization-scoped keys.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the developer dashboard">
    Sign in to Orbit and go to [developer.orbitsearch.com/dashboard/keys](https://developer.orbitsearch.com/dashboard/keys).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose key ownership">
    Use a **personal key** for global search and local development. Use an **organization key** when your integration needs to search directories or other organization-owned corpora.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Select scopes">
    Choose the minimum scopes your integration needs:

    * `search:read` — call search endpoints such as `POST /v2/developer/search`, `POST /v2/developer/search/sse`, `POST /v2/developer/profiles/:id/query`, and `POST /v2/developer/deep-search`
    * `profile:read` — call `GET /v2/developer/profiles/:id`
  </Step>

  <Step title="Copy and store the raw key">
    Store the raw `sk_orb_...` value in your secrets manager or environment configuration.

    ```bash theme={"dark"}
    export ORBIT_API_KEY="sk_orb_REDACTED"
    ```
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Note>
  The public developer API does not create your first API key. It starts after you already have a dashboard-issued `sk_orb_...` key.
</Note>

## Key types

| Key type         | Best for                                      | Search scopes                                                  |
| ---------------- | --------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Personal key     | Development, prototypes, global people search | Global search only                                             |
| Organization key | Production integrations and directory search  | Global, directory, and directories scopes with matching grants |

Personal keys meter credits against your user account. Organization keys meter credits against the organization that owns the key.

## Using the key

Pass the raw key in the `Authorization` header:

```bash theme={"dark"}
curl -X POST "https://api.orbitsearch.com/v2/developer/search" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ORBIT_API_KEY" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: $(uuidgen)" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query":"founders in sf","numUsers":10}'
```

## Managing keys

Use the dashboard to rotate, revoke, and inspect keys. The dashboard shows non-secret metadata like `display_key`, name, scopes, status, expiration, and last-used timestamps. It never shows the raw key again after creation.

Developer API keys cannot create, list, revoke, or delete other API keys.