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Authentication

Learn how to authenticate your API requests to Vectorcache.

API Keys

Vectorcache uses API keys for authentication. Each API key is associated with a specific project.

Creating an API Key

  1. Log in to your dashboard
  2. Navigate to your project
  3. Go to the API Keys tab
  4. Click Create API Key
  5. Give it a descriptive name
  6. Copy the key immediately - you won't see it again!

API Key Format

API keys follow this format:

vc_1234567890abcdef1234567890abcdef
  • Prefix: vc_
  • 32 hexadecimal characters

Using API Keys

HTTP Header

Include your API key in the Authorization header using Bearer authentication:

Authorization: Bearer vc_1234567890abcdef1234567890abcdef

Example Requests

curl -X POST "https://api.vectorcache.ai/v1/cache/query" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer vc_1234567890abcdef1234567890abcdef" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "prompt": "What is AI?",
    "model": "gpt-4o"
  }'

const response = await fetch('https://api.vectorcache.ai/v1/cache/query', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'Authorization': 'Bearer vc_1234567890abcdef1234567890abcdef',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    prompt: 'What is AI?',
    model: 'gpt-4o'
  })
});

import requests

headers = {
    'Authorization': 'Bearer vc_1234567890abcdef1234567890abcdef',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
}

response = requests.post(
    'https://api.vectorcache.ai/v1/cache/query',
    json={'prompt': 'What is AI?', 'model': 'gpt-4o'},
    headers=headers
)

Security Best Practices

1. Store Keys Securely

❌ Never hardcode API keys:

// DON'T DO THIS
const apiKey = 'vc_1234567890abcdef1234567890abcdef';

✅ Use environment variables:

// DO THIS
const apiKey = process.env.VECTORCACHE_API_KEY;

2. Use Environment Variables

.env file: 

VECTORCACHE_API_KEY=vc_1234567890abcdef1234567890abcdef

Never commit .env files to git: 

# .gitignore
.env
.env.local

3. Rotate Keys Regularly

  • Create a new API key
  • Update your application to use the new key
  • Revoke the old key once migration is complete

4. Use Different Keys per Environment

# .env.development
VECTORCACHE_API_KEY=vc_dev_key123...

# .env.production
VECTORCACHE_API_KEY=vc_prod_key456...

5. Limit Key Exposure

  • Use separate keys for different applications
  • Revoke keys when they're no longer needed
  • Monitor key usage in the dashboard

Managing API Keys

Viewing API Keys

  1. Go to your project dashboard
  2. Navigate to API Keys tab
  3. View all active and revoked keys

You'll see: - Key prefix (e.g., vc_1234...) - Key name - Creation date - Last used date - Status (Active/Revoked)

Revoking API Keys

To revoke a key:

  1. Go to API Keys tab
  2. Find the key to revoke
  3. Click Revoke
  4. Confirm the action

⚠️ Warning: Revoking a key immediately disables it. Any applications using that key will receive 401 errors.

Key Usage Tracking

Monitor your API key usage:

  • Last Used: When the key was last used
  • Request Count: Total requests made with this key
  • Usage Metrics: Available in the Analytics tab

Authentication Errors

401 Unauthorized

Missing or invalid API key:

{
  "detail": "Invalid or missing API key"
}

Causes: - API key not provided - Invalid API key format - Key has been revoked - Key doesn't exist

Solution: - Verify your API key is correct - Check if the key is active in your dashboard - Ensure the Authorization header is properly formatted

403 Forbidden

API key doesn't have permission:

{
  "detail": "API key does not have permission to access this project"
}

Causes: - Using an API key from a different project - Key permissions have been restricted

Solution: - Use the correct API key for this project - Check key permissions in the dashboard

API Key Scopes (Coming Soon)

Future releases will support scoped API keys with granular permissions:

  • cache:read - Read from cache only
  • cache:write - Write to cache only
  • cache:* - Full cache access
  • analytics:read - View analytics
  • keys:manage - Manage API keys

Next Steps