Update policy

Update a single policy in place without resending the environment’s full policy list. The policy keeps its id and its position in the evaluation order, and all other policies are untouched.

Omitted fields keep their stored values; at least one updatable field must be provided. Setting match to null removes all match expressions so the policy applies to every request. Providing one of keyauth, ratelimit, firewall or openapi replaces the policy’s rule entirely, including switching its type; at most one may be set.

Policy ids are regenerated whenever gateway.setPolicies replaces the list, so fetch current ids via gateway.listPolicies first.

Required Permissions

Your root key must have one of the following permissions:

environment.*.update_policy (for any environment)
environment.<environment_id>.update_policy (for a specific environment)

POST

gateway.updatePolicy

Python (SDK)

from unkey.py import Unkey, models


with Unkey(
    root_key="<YOUR_BEARER_TOKEN_HERE>",
) as unkey:

    res = unkey.gateway.update_policy(project="payments", app="payments-api", environment="production", policy_id="pol_9d2Fk1LmQ", match=None, keyauth={
        "keyspaces": [
            "ks_1234abcd",
        ],
    }, ratelimit={
        "limit": 100,
        "window_ms": 60000,
        "identifier": {
            "remote_ip": {},
        },
    }, firewall={
        "action": models.Action.ACTION_DENY,
    }, openapi={})

    # Handle response
    print(res)

import { Unkey } from "@unkey/api";

const unkey = new Unkey({
  rootKey: process.env["UNKEY_ROOT_KEY"] ?? "",
});

async function run() {
  const result = await unkey.gateway.updatePolicy({
    project: "payments",
    app: "payments-api",
    environment: "production",
    policyId: "pol_9d2Fk1LmQ",
    match: null,
  });

  console.log(result);
}

run();

package main

import(
	"context"
	"os"
	unkey "github.com/unkeyed/sdks/api/go/v2"
	"github.com/unkeyed/sdks/api/go/v2/models/components"
	"log"
)

func main() {
    ctx := context.Background()

    s := unkey.New(
        unkey.WithSecurity(os.Getenv("UNKEY_ROOT_KEY")),
    )

    res, err := s.Gateway.UpdatePolicy(ctx, components.V2GatewayUpdatePolicyRequestBody{
        Project: "payments",
        App: "payments-api",
        Environment: "production",
        PolicyID: "pol_9d2Fk1LmQ",
        Match: nil,
    })
    if err != nil {
        log.Fatal(err)
    }
    if res.V2GatewayUpdatePolicyResponseBody != nil {
        // handle response
    }
}

curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.unkey.com/v2/gateway.updatePolicy \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer <token>' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '
{
  "app": "payments-api",
  "environment": "production",
  "match": null,
  "policyId": "pol_9d2Fk1LmQ",
  "project": "payments"
}
'

const options = {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {Authorization: 'Bearer <token>', 'Content-Type': 'application/json'},
  body: JSON.stringify({
    app: 'payments-api',
    environment: 'production',
    match: null,
    policyId: 'pol_9d2Fk1LmQ',
    project: 'payments'
  })
};

fetch('https://api.unkey.com/v2/gateway.updatePolicy', options)
  .then(res => res.json())
  .then(res => console.log(res))
  .catch(err => console.error(err));

<?php

$curl = curl_init();

curl_setopt_array($curl, [
  CURLOPT_URL => "https://api.unkey.com/v2/gateway.updatePolicy",
  CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
  CURLOPT_ENCODING => "",
  CURLOPT_MAXREDIRS => 10,
  CURLOPT_TIMEOUT => 30,
  CURLOPT_HTTP_VERSION => CURL_HTTP_VERSION_1_1,
  CURLOPT_CUSTOMREQUEST => "POST",
  CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS => json_encode([
    'app' => 'payments-api',
    'environment' => 'production',
    'match' => null,
    'policyId' => 'pol_9d2Fk1LmQ',
    'project' => 'payments'
  ]),
  CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER => [
    "Authorization: Bearer <token>",
    "Content-Type: application/json"
  ],
]);

$response = curl_exec($curl);
$err = curl_error($curl);

curl_close($curl);

if ($err) {
  echo "cURL Error #:" . $err;
} else {
  echo $response;
}

HttpResponse<String> response = Unirest.post("https://api.unkey.com/v2/gateway.updatePolicy")
  .header("Authorization", "Bearer <token>")
  .header("Content-Type", "application/json")
  .body("{\n  \"app\": \"payments-api\",\n  \"environment\": \"production\",\n  \"match\": null,\n  \"policyId\": \"pol_9d2Fk1LmQ\",\n  \"project\": \"payments\"\n}")
  .asString();

require 'uri'
require 'net/http'

url = URI("https://api.unkey.com/v2/gateway.updatePolicy")

http = Net::HTTP.new(url.host, url.port)
http.use_ssl = true

request = Net::HTTP::Post.new(url)
request["Authorization"] = 'Bearer <token>'
request["Content-Type"] = 'application/json'
request.body = "{\n  \"app\": \"payments-api\",\n  \"environment\": \"production\",\n  \"match\": null,\n  \"policyId\": \"pol_9d2Fk1LmQ\",\n  \"project\": \"payments\"\n}"

response = http.request(request)
puts response.read_body

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "data": {}
}

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "error": {
    "detail": "Property foo is required but is missing.",
    "status": 404,
    "title": "Not Found",
    "type": "https://unkey.com/docs/errors/unkey/resource/not_found",
    "errors": [
      {
        "location": "body.permissions[0].name",
        "message": "Must be at least 3 characters long",
        "fix": "Ensure the name uses only alphanumeric characters, underscores, and hyphens"
      }
    ]
  }
}

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "error": {
    "detail": "Property foo is required but is missing.",
    "status": 404,
    "title": "Not Found",
    "type": "https://unkey.com/docs/errors/unkey/resource/not_found"
  }
}

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "error": {
    "detail": "Property foo is required but is missing.",
    "status": 404,
    "title": "Not Found",
    "type": "https://unkey.com/docs/errors/unkey/resource/not_found"
  }
}

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "error": {
    "detail": "Property foo is required but is missing.",
    "status": 404,
    "title": "Not Found",
    "type": "https://unkey.com/docs/errors/unkey/resource/not_found"
  }
}

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "error": {
    "detail": "Property foo is required but is missing.",
    "status": 404,
    "title": "Not Found",
    "type": "https://unkey.com/docs/errors/unkey/resource/not_found"
  }
}

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "error": {
    "detail": "Property foo is required but is missing.",
    "status": 404,
    "title": "Not Found",
    "type": "https://unkey.com/docs/errors/unkey/resource/not_found"
  }
}

Authorizations

Authorization

string

header

required

Unkey uses bearer tokens for authentication. Public integrations use root keys, while the dashboard proxy uses short-lived JWTs. To authenticate, include the token in the Authorization header of each request:

Authorization: Bearer unkey_123

Root keys have specific permissions attached to them, controlling what operations they can perform. Legacy permissions use tuple strings like api.*.create_key; resource permissions use Unkey Resource Names plus actions, like unkey:v1:ws_123:keyspaces/*#create_key. Security best practices:

Keep root keys secure and never expose them in client-side code
Use different root keys for different environments
Rotate keys periodically, especially after team member departures
Create keys with minimal necessary permissions following least privilege principle
Monitor key usage with audit logs.

Body

application/json

Partial update of a single policy. Omitted fields keep their stored values; at least one updatable field must be provided. Providing one of keyauth, ratelimit, firewall or openapi replaces the policy's rule entirely, including switching its type; at most one may be set.

project

string

required

Identifies a resource by either its unique ID or its slug. Accepts a prefixed ID (such as 'proj_' or 'app_') or a slug.

Required string length: 3 - 255

Pattern: ^[a-zA-Z0-9_-]+$

Example:

"proj_1234abcd"

app

string

required

Identifies a resource by either its unique ID or its slug. Accepts a prefixed ID (such as 'proj_' or 'app_') or a slug.

Required string length: 3 - 255

Pattern: ^[a-zA-Z0-9_-]+$

Example:

"proj_1234abcd"

environment

string

required

Identifies a resource by either its unique ID or its slug. Accepts a prefixed ID (such as 'proj_' or 'app_') or a slug.

Required string length: 3 - 255

Pattern: ^[a-zA-Z0-9_-]+$

Example:

"proj_1234abcd"

policyId

string

required

Id of the policy to update, as returned by gateway.listPolicies. Ids are regenerated whenever gateway.setPolicies replaces the list, so list the policies first if you are unsure the id is current.

Required string length: 1 - 512

Example:

"pol_9d2Fk1LmQ"

name

string

New human-readable name. Omit to keep the current name.

Required string length: 1 - 256

enabled

boolean

Enable or disable the policy. Disabled policies are stored but skipped during evaluation. Omit to keep the current setting.

match

object[] | null

Replaces all match expressions. Set null to remove them so the policy applies to every request. Omit to keep the current expressions.

Maximum array length: 10

Show child attributes

keyauth

object

Verifies Unkey API keys on matching requests.

Show child attributes

Example:

{ "keyspaces": ["ks_1234abcd"] }

ratelimit

object

Rate limits matching requests.

Show child attributes

Example:

{
  "limit": 100,
  "windowMs": 60000,
  "identifier": { "remoteIp": {} }
}

firewall

object

Blocks matching requests.

Show child attributes

Example:

{ "action": "ACTION_DENY" }

openapi

object

Validates matching requests against the app's uploaded OpenAPI spec. Has no configuration of its own. If no spec has been uploaded for the deployment, the policy is a no-op and requests pass through unvalidated.

Example:

{}

Response

Successfully updated the policy.

meta

object

required

Metadata object included in every API response. This provides context about the request and is essential for debugging, audit trails, and support inquiries. The requestId is particularly important when troubleshooting issues with the Unkey support team.

Show child attributes

data

object

required

Empty response object by design. A successful response indicates this operation was successfully executed.

Last modified on July 22, 2026

Create IdentityCreate an identity to group multiple API keys under a single entity. Identities enable shared rate limits and metadata across all associated keys. Perfect for users with multiple devices, organizations with multiple API keys, or when you need unified rate limiting across different services. **Important** Requires `identity.*.create_identity` permission

⌘I

Python (SDK)

from unkey.py import Unkey, models


with Unkey(
    root_key="<YOUR_BEARER_TOKEN_HERE>",
) as unkey:

    res = unkey.gateway.update_policy(project="payments", app="payments-api", environment="production", policy_id="pol_9d2Fk1LmQ", match=None, keyauth={
        "keyspaces": [
            "ks_1234abcd",
        ],
    }, ratelimit={
        "limit": 100,
        "window_ms": 60000,
        "identifier": {
            "remote_ip": {},
        },
    }, firewall={
        "action": models.Action.ACTION_DENY,
    }, openapi={})

    # Handle response
    print(res)

import { Unkey } from "@unkey/api";

const unkey = new Unkey({
  rootKey: process.env["UNKEY_ROOT_KEY"] ?? "",
});

async function run() {
  const result = await unkey.gateway.updatePolicy({
    project: "payments",
    app: "payments-api",
    environment: "production",
    policyId: "pol_9d2Fk1LmQ",
    match: null,
  });

  console.log(result);
}

run();

package main

import(
	"context"
	"os"
	unkey "github.com/unkeyed/sdks/api/go/v2"
	"github.com/unkeyed/sdks/api/go/v2/models/components"
	"log"
)

func main() {
    ctx := context.Background()

    s := unkey.New(
        unkey.WithSecurity(os.Getenv("UNKEY_ROOT_KEY")),
    )

    res, err := s.Gateway.UpdatePolicy(ctx, components.V2GatewayUpdatePolicyRequestBody{
        Project: "payments",
        App: "payments-api",
        Environment: "production",
        PolicyID: "pol_9d2Fk1LmQ",
        Match: nil,
    })
    if err != nil {
        log.Fatal(err)
    }
    if res.V2GatewayUpdatePolicyResponseBody != nil {
        // handle response
    }
}

curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.unkey.com/v2/gateway.updatePolicy \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer <token>' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '
{
  "app": "payments-api",
  "environment": "production",
  "match": null,
  "policyId": "pol_9d2Fk1LmQ",
  "project": "payments"
}
'

const options = {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {Authorization: 'Bearer <token>', 'Content-Type': 'application/json'},
  body: JSON.stringify({
    app: 'payments-api',
    environment: 'production',
    match: null,
    policyId: 'pol_9d2Fk1LmQ',
    project: 'payments'
  })
};

fetch('https://api.unkey.com/v2/gateway.updatePolicy', options)
  .then(res => res.json())
  .then(res => console.log(res))
  .catch(err => console.error(err));

<?php

$curl = curl_init();

curl_setopt_array($curl, [
  CURLOPT_URL => "https://api.unkey.com/v2/gateway.updatePolicy",
  CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
  CURLOPT_ENCODING => "",
  CURLOPT_MAXREDIRS => 10,
  CURLOPT_TIMEOUT => 30,
  CURLOPT_HTTP_VERSION => CURL_HTTP_VERSION_1_1,
  CURLOPT_CUSTOMREQUEST => "POST",
  CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS => json_encode([
    'app' => 'payments-api',
    'environment' => 'production',
    'match' => null,
    'policyId' => 'pol_9d2Fk1LmQ',
    'project' => 'payments'
  ]),
  CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER => [
    "Authorization: Bearer <token>",
    "Content-Type: application/json"
  ],
]);

$response = curl_exec($curl);
$err = curl_error($curl);

curl_close($curl);

if ($err) {
  echo "cURL Error #:" . $err;
} else {
  echo $response;
}

HttpResponse<String> response = Unirest.post("https://api.unkey.com/v2/gateway.updatePolicy")
  .header("Authorization", "Bearer <token>")
  .header("Content-Type", "application/json")
  .body("{\n  \"app\": \"payments-api\",\n  \"environment\": \"production\",\n  \"match\": null,\n  \"policyId\": \"pol_9d2Fk1LmQ\",\n  \"project\": \"payments\"\n}")
  .asString();

require 'uri'
require 'net/http'

url = URI("https://api.unkey.com/v2/gateway.updatePolicy")

http = Net::HTTP.new(url.host, url.port)
http.use_ssl = true

request = Net::HTTP::Post.new(url)
request["Authorization"] = 'Bearer <token>'
request["Content-Type"] = 'application/json'
request.body = "{\n  \"app\": \"payments-api\",\n  \"environment\": \"production\",\n  \"match\": null,\n  \"policyId\": \"pol_9d2Fk1LmQ\",\n  \"project\": \"payments\"\n}"

response = http.request(request)
puts response.read_body

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "data": {}
}

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "error": {
    "detail": "Property foo is required but is missing.",
    "status": 404,
    "title": "Not Found",
    "type": "https://unkey.com/docs/errors/unkey/resource/not_found",
    "errors": [
      {
        "location": "body.permissions[0].name",
        "message": "Must be at least 3 characters long",
        "fix": "Ensure the name uses only alphanumeric characters, underscores, and hyphens"
      }
    ]
  }
}

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "error": {
    "detail": "Property foo is required but is missing.",
    "status": 404,
    "title": "Not Found",
    "type": "https://unkey.com/docs/errors/unkey/resource/not_found"
  }
}

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "error": {
    "detail": "Property foo is required but is missing.",
    "status": 404,
    "title": "Not Found",
    "type": "https://unkey.com/docs/errors/unkey/resource/not_found"
  }
}

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "error": {
    "detail": "Property foo is required but is missing.",
    "status": 404,
    "title": "Not Found",
    "type": "https://unkey.com/docs/errors/unkey/resource/not_found"
  }
}

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "error": {
    "detail": "Property foo is required but is missing.",
    "status": 404,
    "title": "Not Found",
    "type": "https://unkey.com/docs/errors/unkey/resource/not_found"
  }
}

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "error": {
    "detail": "Property foo is required but is missing.",
    "status": 404,
    "title": "Not Found",
    "type": "https://unkey.com/docs/errors/unkey/resource/not_found"
  }
}