Create API namespace

Create an API namespace for organizing keys by environment, service, or product.

Use this to separate production from development keys, isolate different services, or manage multiple products. Each API gets a unique identifier and dedicated infrastructure for secure key operations.

Important: API names must be unique within your workspace and cannot be changed after creation.

Required Permissions

Your root key must have one of the following permissions:

api.*.create_api (to create APIs in any workspace)

POST

apis.createApi

Python (SDK)

from unkey.py import Unkey


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

    res = unkey.apis.create_api(name="payment-service-production")

    # 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.apis.createApi({
    name: "payment-service-production",
  });

  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.Apis.CreateAPI(ctx, components.V2ApisCreateAPIRequestBody{
        Name: "payment-service-production",
    })
    if err != nil {
        log.Fatal(err)
    }
    if res.V2ApisCreateAPIResponseBody != nil {
        // handle response
    }
}

curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.unkey.com/v2/apis.createApi \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer <token>' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '
{
  "name": "payment-service-production"
}
'

const options = {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {Authorization: 'Bearer <token>', 'Content-Type': 'application/json'},
  body: JSON.stringify({name: 'payment-service-production'})
};

fetch('https://api.unkey.com/v2/apis.createApi', 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/apis.createApi",
  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([
    'name' => 'payment-service-production'
  ]),
  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/apis.createApi")
  .header("Authorization", "Bearer <token>")
  .header("Content-Type", "application/json")
  .body("{\n  \"name\": \"payment-service-production\"\n}")
  .asString();

require 'uri'
require 'net/http'

url = URI("https://api.unkey.com/v2/apis.createApi")

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  \"name\": \"payment-service-production\"\n}"

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

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "data": {
    "apiId": "api_2cGKbMxRjIzhCxo1IdjH3a"
  }
}

{
  "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"
  }
}

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

name

string

required

Unique identifier for this API namespace within your workspace. Use descriptive names like 'payment-service-prod' or 'user-api-dev' to clearly identify purpose and environment.

Required string length: 3 - 255

Pattern: ^[a-zA-Z][a-zA-Z0-9._-]*$

Example:

"payment-service-production"

Response

API namespace created successfully. The response contains the unique API ID for referencing this namespace in key operations.

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

Show child attributes

Last modified on July 23, 2026

Delete API namespacePermanently delete an API namespace and immediately invalidate all associated keys. Use this for cleaning up development environments, retiring deprecated services, or removing unused resources. All keys in the namespace are immediately marked as deleted and will fail verification with `code=NOT_FOUND`. **Important**: This operation is immediate and permanent. Verify you have the correct API ID before deletion. If delete protection is enabled, disable it first through the dashboard or API configuration. **Required Permissions** Your root key must have one of the following permissions: - `api.*.delete_api` (to delete any API) - `api.<api_id>.delete_api` (to delete a specific API)

⌘I

Python (SDK)

from unkey.py import Unkey


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

    res = unkey.apis.create_api(name="payment-service-production")

    # 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.apis.createApi({
    name: "payment-service-production",
  });

  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.Apis.CreateAPI(ctx, components.V2ApisCreateAPIRequestBody{
        Name: "payment-service-production",
    })
    if err != nil {
        log.Fatal(err)
    }
    if res.V2ApisCreateAPIResponseBody != nil {
        // handle response
    }
}

curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.unkey.com/v2/apis.createApi \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer <token>' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '
{
  "name": "payment-service-production"
}
'

const options = {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {Authorization: 'Bearer <token>', 'Content-Type': 'application/json'},
  body: JSON.stringify({name: 'payment-service-production'})
};

fetch('https://api.unkey.com/v2/apis.createApi', 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/apis.createApi",
  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([
    'name' => 'payment-service-production'
  ]),
  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/apis.createApi")
  .header("Authorization", "Bearer <token>")
  .header("Content-Type", "application/json")
  .body("{\n  \"name\": \"payment-service-production\"\n}")
  .asString();

require 'uri'
require 'net/http'

url = URI("https://api.unkey.com/v2/apis.createApi")

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  \"name\": \"payment-service-production\"\n}"

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

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  },
  "data": {
    "apiId": "api_2cGKbMxRjIzhCxo1IdjH3a"
  }
}

{
  "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"
  }
}