Authentication

Secure your requests and unlock higher rate limits with API key authentication

Overview

Placewise supports two authentication modes:

Anonymous

No API key required, limited to 10 requests per hour

10 requests/hour

Authenticated

Use API keys for higher limits based on your subscription plan

Free: 1K/monthPro: 50K/month

Getting API Keys

Coming Soon

User dashboard for API key management is currently in development. For now, contact support to get API keys.

Future: Self-Service Dashboard

Create an account or sign in at /dashboard
Navigate to API Keys section
Click "Create New API Key"
Give your key a descriptive name
Copy and securely store your key (you won't see it again!)

API Key Format

API keys follow a specific format to help you identify them:

Live Keys

Production

pk_live_abc123def456...

Use for production applications. Counts against your subscription quota.

Test Keys

Development

pk_test_xyz789uvw012...

Use for development and testing. Separate rate limits, doesn't affect production quota.

Using API Keys

You can provide your API key in two ways:

1. Query Parameter (Simple)

Add api_key parameter to your URL

/api/image?query=mountains&width=800&api_key=pk_live_YOUR_KEY

⚠️ Warning: Query parameters are visible in URLs. Only use this method for server-side requests or development.

2. HTTP Header (Recommended)

Include X-API-Key header in your requests

JavaScript:

fetch('/api/image?query=mountains&width=800', {
  headers: {
    'X-API-Key': 'pk_live_YOUR_KEY'
  }
})

cURL:

curl -H "X-API-Key: pk_live_YOUR_KEY" \
  "https://yourdomain.com/api/image?query=mountains"

✅ Best Practice: Headers are more secure as they're not logged in browser history or server access logs.

Security Best Practices

❌

Never expose keys in client-side code

Don't include API keys directly in HTML, JavaScript, or mobile apps where users can see them

✅

Use environment variables

Store keys in .env files and access via process.env

PLACEWISE_API_KEY=pk_live_YOUR_KEY

✅

Make requests from your backend

Keep API keys on your server and proxy requests from your frontend

// Your backend API route
export async function GET(request) {
  const imageUrl = await fetch(
    `/api/image?query=${query}`,
    { headers: { 'X-API-Key': process.env.PLACEWISE_API_KEY } }
  );
  return Response.json({ imageUrl });
}

✅

Rotate keys regularly

Create new keys and revoke old ones periodically, especially if you suspect compromise

✅

Use test keys during development

Keep production keys separate from development keys to prevent accidental quota usage

Rate Limits by Plan

Plan	Monthly Requests	Price	Features
Anonymous	10/hour	Free	Basic access, no authentication
Free	1,000	$0/mo	API key required, basic support
Pro	50,000	$29/mo	Priority support, analytics
Business	500,000	$199/mo	Advanced analytics, SLA
Enterprise	Unlimited	Custom	Dedicated support, custom SLA

View detailed pricing comparison →

Try the Playground →

Test authenticated requests interactively

Rate Limits →

Understand rate limiting and how to handle 429 errors

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