> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.ringup.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Authentication

> Ringup authenticates every API request with a secret API key. Get one from your dashboard and send it as a Bearer token.

Ringup authenticates every API request with a secret **API key**. You pass it in the
`Authorization` header on each call:

```bash theme={null}
Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_RINGUP_KEY>
```

## Get your key

Create an API key in your Ringup dashboard, under **Developers, then API keys**. Keys come in two
kinds, and the same code works with either, so you promote by swapping the key:

* **Test keys** (`rk_test_...`) run against the sandbox: fake money, real flows, ready-made
  merchants and callers. See [Testing](/concepts/testing).
* **Live keys** (`rk_live_...`) run against your real merchants and settle on their own processor.

## Pass it on every request

Every Ringup call, `create_checkout`, `identify`, `charge`, and the rest, takes the key as a
Bearer token:

<CodeGroup>
  ```bash curl theme={null}
  curl -X POST https://api.ringup.dev/v1/checkouts \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_RINGUP_KEY>" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -d '{ "amount_cents": 2500 }'
  ```

  ```javascript Node theme={null}
  const res = await fetch("https://api.ringup.dev/v1/checkouts", {
    method: "POST",
    headers: {
      "Authorization": "Bearer <YOUR_RINGUP_KEY>",
      "Content-Type": "application/json",
    },
    body: JSON.stringify({ amount_cents: 2500 }),
  });
  ```

  ```python Python theme={null}
  import requests

  res = requests.post(
      "https://api.ringup.dev/v1/checkouts",
      headers={"Authorization": "Bearer <YOUR_RINGUP_KEY>"},
      json={"amount_cents": 2500},
  )
  ```
</CodeGroup>

In an agent integration you set the key once and it rides every call:

* **Vapi (native handoff):** the CLI writes your key into the payment tools it provisions. You
  paste it once at setup.
* **Call transfer (every other platform):** the key lives in the `Authorization` header of the
  `create_checkout` tool or HTTP call your agent makes, next to the other tool config.

Either way the key sits on your server or in the platform's tool configuration, never in a value
the model generates.

<Warning>
  Your secret key can create charges. Keep it server-side. Never put it in client-side code, a
  prompt, a transcript, or a public repository, and never let the model see or type it. If a key
  leaks, roll it from the dashboard.
</Warning>

## Trying it without a key

The public demo sandbox exposes a seeded caller and demo merchants that need no key, so you can run
the [Quickstart](/quickstart) and hear a wired demo before you sign up. The moment you point at
your own merchants and callers, you use your key.