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Create a root key with the permissions listed on this page under Root Keys in the dashboard sidebar. CLI commands can instead use a session from unkey login with the required permissions. See Permission reference for every permission.
Update a key in place. Only the fields you pass change. Changes can take up to about 10 seconds to apply. To clear a field, use --body and set the field to null. The flags can’t do this. Calls POST /v2/keys.updateKey. See Enabling, disabling, and deleting keys.

Usage

Flags

string
required
Id of the key to update.
string
JSON object with an optional remaining and an optional refill of interval (daily or monthly), amount, and refillDay. refillDay is a day of the month from 1 to 31. It’s required for monthly and not allowed for daily. Either mistake fails with 400. Setting remaining to null makes the key unlimited and drops its refill schedule.
boolean
Enable (--enabled) or disable (--enabled=false) the key. Leave it off to keep the current state.
integer
New expiry as a Unix timestamp in milliseconds.
string
Link the key to the identity with this external id. The identity is created if it doesn’t exist.
string
JSON object that replaces the key’s metadata.
string
New name.
string[]
Comma-separated permission slugs that replace the key’s direct permissions. A slug that doesn’t exist yet is created.
string
JSON array of rate limits, each with name, limit, duration in milliseconds, and autoApply. Replaces the key’s rate limits.
string[]
Comma-separated role names that replace the key’s roles. Each role must already exist. An unknown name fails the call.

Shared flags

Every resource command takes these. See CLI output and shared flags.
string
Root key used for the request. Falls back to UNKEY_ROOT_KEY, then stored credentials, including a CLI session. See CLI authentication for the full precedence order.
string
default:"https://api.unkey.com"
Base URL of the API. Falls back to UNKEY_API_BASE_URL. You don’t normally need to set it.
string
default:"~/.unkey/config.toml"
Path of the TOML config file. Falls back to UNKEY_CONFIG. An explicit --config takes precedence over a stored CLI session. Browser login stores a session, not a root key in this file. See CLI authentication.
enum
default:"human"
Use human (default) for name-first summary tables and single-response trees, or json for the unchanged full response envelope, including all fields and pagination. Trees wrap long values without truncation. Terminal tables use relative timestamps and may shorten display names and descriptions, but never identifiers, slugs, or credentials. Redirected human output keeps complete values and uses RFC3339 UTC timestamps. Falls back to UNKEY_OUTPUT; other values are rejected. --json also selects JSON output. Add --debug to print the request ID to stderr. See Output formats.
boolean
Print the successful response’s request ID to stderr, separate from stdout.
boolean
Print the full response as JSON. Takes precedence over a valid --output or UNKEY_OUTPUT value.
string
Send this JSON as the whole request body instead of using the command’s flags. You can’t combine it with them.

Required permissions

unkey:v1:<workspace_id>:projects/<project_id>/keyspaces/<keyspace_id>/keys/<key_id>#write, or a broader permission that covers the key. See Root key permissions.

Examples

Rename
Disable
Or send the whole request as JSON:
Raw body
Last modified on November 11, 2026