Authentication with API keys

Team plan

Keys come with the Team plan. For now we make them for you: write to us with a name for the key.

Get a key

Your key starts with ak_ and is shown once. We keep only a scrambled fingerprint (a SHA-256 hash), so a lost key can be replaced but not recovered.

Use it

Send the key in the Authorization header:

curl https://api.acresift.com/v1/parcels/37105012685 \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ak_..."

A missing, wrong or revoked key gets 401 Unauthorized. GET /v1/coverage, GET /v1/sources, /openapi.json and /docs need no key.

What a key can see

Parcel data, including owner name and tax-bill mailing address: public records, the same fields paying users see in the app. The public calls never return owner names or addresses.

Keep it safe

• Treat a key like a password.
• Keep it on a server, in an environment variable or secrets store. Never in a web page, app or spreadsheet.
• Use one key per tool, so you can revoke one without breaking the rest.

Revoke a key

Write to us. It stops working straight away.