# Getting your API Key

<figure><img src="/files/2uAgQO6fv9vcG1a7nA8x" alt="" width="375"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

{% hint style="warning" %}
Your API keys carry many privileges, so be sure to keep them secure! Do not share your secret API keys in publicly accessible areas such as GitHub, client-side code, and so forth.
{% endhint %}

## Pre-requisite&#x20;

* You have an active MadKudu account&#x20;
* You are a MadKudu Admin

## How to create API keys

{% hint style="info" %}
Your API keys are personal, they are tied to your user and your permissions. You can create different ones for different integrations.&#x20;
{% endhint %}

1. Log into MadKudu admin console: [https://admin.madkudu.com](https://admin.madkudu.com/org/3327)
2. On the left navigation bar, go to **Personal Settings** then **My API Keys**
3. Click **Create API key**

<figure><img src="/files/mvZdSQVHwqvOUpOuZO82" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

4. Give it a name after the integration or tool you’ll use it with (e.g. "Cursor", "Zapier", "Claude"...)
5. Once created, you can copy you key:

<figure><img src="/files/10e3dkZECORy5BZC2bAi" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

## View your API keys

1. Log into MadKudu admin console: [https://admin.madkudu.com](https://admin.madkudu.com/org/3327)
2. On the left navigation bar, go to **Personal Settings** then **My API Keys**
3. You can see the list of all your API keys, and copy them

<figure><img src="/files/s1tf5rpIOjcTUH725MC1" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

## How to Use the API Key

### with MadKudu MCP

You'll use the API key when installing MadKudu MCP in your AI tools. Please[ follow instructions here](/madkudu-mcp/what-is-madkudu-mcp.md)

### with MadKudu API

The MadKudu API uses API keys to authenticate requests.

All API requests must be made over [HTTPS](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTP_Secure). Calls made over plain HTTP will fail.&#x20;

The API Key must be passed in the `X-API-Key` header for **every requests**. API requests without authentication will also fail.


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# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://developers.madkudu.com/getting-started/quickstart.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.