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API keys are the primary credential for server-side integrations. Every fintech partner has at least one key per environment; most have several (one per server, one per CI, etc.).

Key format

The prefix tells Sly which environment to route to. Test keys only work against sandbox.getsly.ai; live keys only work against api.getsly.ai.

Create a key

From the dashboard: Settings → API Keys → Create key. From the API:
Response:
The plaintext key is returned once, on creation. Sly stores only a hash. If you lose the key, you must revoke it and create a new one.

Send a request

Or via the SDK:

Scopes

Keys can be restricted to specific operations. Grant the narrowest scope that works. Common production patterns:
  • Payments serviceaccounts:*, transfers:*, webhooks:read
  • Analytics servicetransfers:read, streams:read, reports:read
  • CI / deploy pipelinewebhooks:*, api-keys:read

Rotate a key

Two strategies: Overlap rotation (recommended for zero downtime):
  1. Create a new key
  2. Deploy your service with the new key
  3. Confirm traffic is flowing on the new key
  4. Revoke the old key
Hard rotation:
  1. Revoke the old key
  2. Create a new key
  3. Deploy — brief outage while keys swap

Security practices

  • Store keys in a secrets manager. Never commit to source control. Never log them. Rotate on staff departures.
  • One key per service. Don’t share keys between services — makes forensic tracing useless. Every request includes the apiKeyId in audit logs.
  • Use scopes. A key scoped to transfers:read can’t drain a wallet if it’s leaked.
  • Prefer short-lived credentials for agents. Server keys (pk_*) are for servers. Agents should use Ed25519 sessions.

Rate limits

API keys share your tenant’s overall rate budget. See rate limits for specifics. In short: 100 req/min/IP on standard plans, 5 req/min on auth endpoints.

Audit trail

Every API-key-authenticated request is logged with:
  • apiKeyId
  • Source IP
  • Method + path
  • Response status
  • Latency
Query via GET /v1/events?actor_type=api_key&api_key_id=key_abc123.