Quick Start

This guide will walk you through creating your first NeuroAI API key and making your first authenticated API request. No prior setup required—just follow these simple steps to start integrating NeuroAI into your applications.

Full API Keys Documentation

Need more details? View the complete API Keys guide with security best practices and advanced features.

What You’ll Learn

Create Your First Key

Generate an API key in under 2 minutes

Authenticate Requests

Make your first authenticated API call

Test & Verify

Verify your API key is working correctly

Best Practices

Learn essential security practices

Step 1: Create Your API Key

Dashboard

Using the Dashboard

1. Log in to your NeuroAI account
2. Navigate to Settings → Users and Teams → API Keys
3. Click Create API Key
4. Fill in the details:
   Name: My First API Key
   Description: Testing API integration
   Role: Developer
   Expiration: (optional) 90 days
   
5. Click Create

⚠️ Important: Copy your API key immediately and store it securely—you won’t be able to see it again!

Your API key will look something like this:

neuro_sk_1234567890abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

API

Using the API

If you already have an access token, create an API key programmatically:

curl -X POST "https://api.neuroai.com/v1/api-keys" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "My First API Key",
    "description": "Testing API integration",
    "role": "developer"
  }'

The response will include your new API key:

{
  "id": "key_abc123",
  "key": "neuro_sk_1234567890abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz",
  "name": "My First API Key",
  "role": "developer",
  "created_at": "2026-01-12T10:00:00Z"
}

Step 2: Store Your API Key Securely

Never commit API keys to version control or hardcode them in your application source code.

Create a .env file in your project directory:

# .env
NEUROAI_API_KEY=neuro_sk_1234567890abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
NEUROAI_API_BASE=https://api.neuroai.com/v1

Add .env to your .gitignore:

# .gitignore
.env
.env.local
*.env

Step 3: Make Your First API Call

cURL

Using cURL

Test your API key with a simple request:

curl "https://api.neuroai.com/v1/agents" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer neuro_sk_1234567890abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz"

Or using environment variables:

# Set your API key
export NEUROAI_API_KEY="neuro_sk_1234567890abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz"

# Make the request
curl "https://api.neuroai.com/v1/agents" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NEUROAI_API_KEY"

Python

Using Python

Install the requests library:

pip install requests python-dotenv

Create a test script:

import os
from dotenv import load_dotenv
import requests

# Load environment variables
load_dotenv()

# Get API key
api_key = os.getenv('NEUROAI_API_KEY')

# Make authenticated request
headers = {
    'Authorization': f'Bearer {api_key}',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
}

response = requests.get(
    'https://api.neuroai.com/v1/agents',
    headers=headers
)

# Print the results
if response.status_code == 200:
    print("✅ Success! Your API key is working.")
    print(response.json())
else:
    print(f"❌ Error: {response.status_code}")
    print(response.text)

Run your script:

python test_api.py

Node.js

Using Node.js

Install dependencies:

npm install axios dotenv

Create a test script:

require('dotenv').config();
const axios = require('axios');

// Get API key from environment
const apiKey = process.env.NEUROAI_API_KEY;

// Create API client
const client = axios.create({
  baseURL: 'https://api.neuroai.com/v1',
  headers: {
    'Authorization': `Bearer ${apiKey}`,
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
  }
});

// Make authenticated request
async function testApiKey() {
  try {
    const response = await client.get('/agents');
    console.log('✅ Success! Your API key is working.');
    console.log(response.data);
  } catch (error) {
    console.error('❌ Error:', error.response?.status);
    console.error(error.response?.data);
  }
}

testApiKey();

Run your script:

node test_api.js

Step 4: Verify Your API Key

Test that your API key is valid and check its permissions:

curl "https://api.neuroai.com/v1/auth/verify" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NEUROAI_API_KEY"

Expected response:

{
  "valid": true,
  "key_id": "key_abc123",
  "name": "My First API Key",
  "role": "developer",
  "permissions": ["agents:read", "agents:create", "workflows:execute"],
  "expires_at": "2026-04-12T10:00:00Z"
}

✅ If you see "valid": true, your API key is working correctly!

Common API Operations

Now that your API key is set up, try these common operations:

List Agents

GET /v1/agents

View all available AI agents

Create Task

POST /v1/tasks

Create a new AI task

Upload File

POST /v1/files

Upload files for processing

Get Task Status

GET /v1/tasks/{task_id}

Check task completion status

Example: Create a Task

curl -X POST "https://api.neuroai.com/v1/tasks" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NEUROAI_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "instruction": "Analyze this quarterly report and summarize key findings",
    "agent_type": "analyst",
    "attachments": ["file_id_123"]
  }'

Security Best Practices

Environment Variables

Store keys in .env files, never in source code

Separate Keys

Use different keys for dev, staging, and production

Rotate Regularly

Change your API keys every 90 days

Monitor Usage

Track API key activity for suspicious patterns

Quick Security Checklist

• ✅ Store API keys in environment variables
• ✅ Add .env to .gitignore
• ✅ Use separate keys per environment
• ✅ Set expiration dates for keys
• ✅ Use minimum required permissions
• ❌ Never commit keys to version control
• ❌ Don’t share keys via email or chat
• ❌ Avoid logging API keys

Troubleshooting

401 Unauthorized Error

Problem: Your request is being rejected with a 401 error.

Solutions:

• Verify your API key is correct (no extra spaces or characters)
• Check the Authorization header format: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY
• Ensure the API key hasn’t been revoked or expired
• Confirm you’re using the correct API base URL

Test your key:

curl "https://api.neuroai.com/v1/auth/verify" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NEUROAI_API_KEY"

403 Forbidden Error

Problem: Your API key doesn’t have permission for this operation.

Solutions:

• Check your API key’s role and permissions
• Use a key with higher privileges (e.g., Administrator)
• Create a new key with the required permissions

Check permissions:

curl "https://api.neuroai.com/v1/api-keys/CURRENT_KEY_ID" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NEUROAI_API_KEY"

Can't Find My API Key

Problem: You lost or forgot your API key.

Solutions:

• API keys cannot be retrieved after creation
• Create a new API key from the dashboard
• Revoke the old key if you’re concerned about security
• Update your applications with the new key

Environment Variables Not Loading

Problem: Your code can’t read the API key from .env.

Solutions for Python:

pip install python-dotenv

from dotenv import load_dotenv
load_dotenv()  # Add this at the top of your script

Solutions for Node.js:

npm install dotenv

require('dotenv').config();  // Add this at the top

Verify the file exists:

ls -la | grep .env
cat .env  # Make sure API key is there

Next Steps

Full API Keys Guide

Learn about key types, permissions, and advanced features

API Reference

Explore all available API endpoints

Security Guide

Deep dive into API key security

Rate Limits

Understand API rate limits and quotas

Webhooks

Set up real-time notifications

Examples

View complete integration examples

Quick Reference

Authentication Headers

Bearer Token (Recommended):

Authorization: Bearer neuro_sk_your_key_here

X-API-Key Header:

X-API-Key: neuro_sk_your_key_here

Query Parameter (Not recommended for production):

?api_key=neuro_sk_your_key_here

Environment Setup

Create .env file:

NEUROAI_API_KEY=neuro_sk_your_key_here
NEUROAI_API_BASE=https://api.neuroai.com/v1

Load in Python:

from dotenv import load_dotenv
import os
load_dotenv()
api_key = os.getenv('NEUROAI_API_KEY')

Load in Node.js:

require('dotenv').config();
const apiKey = process.env.NEUROAI_API_KEY;

Common Endpoints

• Verify Key: GET /v1/auth/verify
• List Agents: GET /v1/agents
• Create Task: POST /v1/tasks
• Get Task: GET /v1/tasks/{task_id}
• Upload File: POST /v1/files
• List API Keys: GET /v1/api-keys

API Key Management

Create Key:

POST /v1/api-keys

List Keys:

GET /v1/api-keys

Rotate Key:

POST /v1/api-keys/{key_id}/rotate

Delete Key:

DELETE /v1/api-keys/{key_id}

Get Help

Documentation

Browse comprehensive guides and tutorials

API Status

Check real-time API availability

Support

Contact our support team

Community

Join the developer community