API key

The API Key auth type sends a key and value either as an HTTP header or as a URL query parameter. Your API’s documentation tells you which placement and which name to use.

Set up an API key

Open a request and select the Auth tab.
Select API Key from the Type dropdown.
In Key, enter the header name or query parameter name, for example X-API-Key or api_key.
In Value, enter the API key.
Under Add to, select Header or Query Param. Header is the default.

A line below the fields shows how Nouto will send the key, for example X-API-Key: <value> or ?api_key=<value>.

Header placement

With Header selected, Nouto adds the key as a request header:

GET /api/data HTTP/1.1
Host: api.example.com
X-API-Key: your-api-key-here

Query parameter placement

With Query Param selected, Nouto appends the key to the URL when it sends the request:

GET /api/data?api_key=your-api-key-here HTTP/1.1
Host: api.example.com

The parameter doesn’t appear in the URL bar or on the Query tab.

Use variables for the key

Both Key and Value resolve {{variable}} references at send time:

Field	Example	Resolved value
Key	`{{API_HEADER_NAME}}`	`X-API-Key`
Value	`{{API_KEY}}`	`sk-abc123...`

The Value field shows its content in plain text. Store the key in a secret variable and reference it here.

Copy as cURL

To get a cURL command, right-click a saved request in the sidebar and select Copy as cURL. Nouto resolves variables in the copied command, so the command can contain the real key.

With Header placement, the key becomes a header:

curl \
  https://api.example.com/data \
  -H \
  'X-API-Key: your-api-key-here'

With Query Param placement, the key is part of the URL:

curl \
  'https://api.example.com/data?api_key=your-api-key-here'

Postman collections

When you import a Postman collection, requests that use Postman’s apikey auth keep their key name, value, and placement. When you export a collection in Postman format, API Key auth is written in Postman’s apikey format.