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Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://unkey.com/docs/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

Authenticate the CLI by storing your root key locally. Use this before running other commands so you don’t need to pass --root-key every time. The command prompts for your root key interactively (input is hidden) and saves it to ~/.unkey/config.toml with restricted file permissions. You can create a root key from the Unkey dashboard.
Your root key is stored in plaintext at ~/.unkey/config.toml. Make sure only your user account can read this file. The CLI creates it with 0600 permissions by default.

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Usage

unkey auth login
The command prompts you to enter your root key. Input is hidden for security: 
Enter your root key: ••••••••••••
Authentication successful. Key stored in /home/you/.unkey/config.toml
Once stored, all subsequent commands use this key automatically: 
# No --root-key needed
unkey api keys create-key --api-id=api_1234abcd --name="My Key"

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Overriding the stored key

You can override the stored key on a per-command basis using the --root-key flag or the UNKEY_ROOT_KEY environment variable: 
# Flag takes highest priority
unkey api apis get-api --api-id=api_1234abcd --root-key=unkey_xxx

# Environment variable
export UNKEY_ROOT_KEY=unkey_xxx
unkey api apis get-api --api-id=api_1234abcd
The priority order is: --root-key flag > UNKEY_ROOT_KEY env var > ~/.unkey/config.toml.

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Updating your key

Run unkey auth login again to replace the stored key. The new key overwrites the previous one.
Last modified on May 6, 2026