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.
unkey:v1:<workspace_id>:rootKeys/<key_id>#write, and the caller must
already hold every permission of the original key. When expiration is not null,
it also requires unkey:v1:<workspace_id>:rootKeys/<key_id>#delete.
expiration controls the original key: 0 revokes it immediately, a positive value
keeps it valid for that many milliseconds, and null keeps its current expiration.
Save the returned secret securely. You can’t retrieve it later. --expiration is a duration in milliseconds for the original key, not a Unix timestamp. Use --body with expiration: null to keep its existing expiration.
Usage
Flags
integer
required
Milliseconds until the original root key expires. Use 0 to revoke it immediately. Use null to keep the original key’s current expiration. This value never extends an existing expiration. Range: 0 to 4102444800000. The flag accepts an integer. Use
--body to send expiration: null.string
required
Root key identifier returned by rootKeys.createKey or rootKeys.listKeys.
Shared flags
These flags control authentication, requests, and output. CLI output and shared flags describes them in full.string
A JSON document sent as the request body instead of building it from the flags above. It is mutually exclusive with the request-building flags, and unknown fields are rejected locally. See Send a raw body.
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 labeled details, or json for the unchanged full response envelope, including all fields and pagination. 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.Examples
API endpoint
The command callsPOST /v2/rootKeys.rerollKey and prints its response. See the endpoint definition for the HTTP contract. Request fields use camelCase in --body.