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The Scribe API authenticates every request with an API key, sent as a Bearer token in the Authorization header:
A request with a missing or invalid key returns 401.

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How API keys work

  • A key acts as a member. Each key is created by a workspace member and acts as that member, with the same role, narrowed by the scopes you grant.
  • A key belongs to one workspace. To call the API for another workspace, create a key from that workspace.
  • Keys expire. Keys expire one year after they are created. Create a new key before the old one expires.

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Create an API key

1

Open your workspace settings

In the Scribe dashboard, go to Settings, then open API keys.
Scribe dashboard API keys page showing the Create API key button and a table of existing keys with their scopes, last used date, and expiry
2

Create a new key

Select Create API key, give it a descriptive name (for example, the name of the integration or agent that will use it), and choose its scopes.
Scribe Create API key dialog with Read, Write, and Delete scope checkboxes for each resource, including signatures, teammates, emails, and assets
3

Copy and store the key

Copy the key and store it somewhere secure, such as a secret manager. The full key is shown only once.
Treat an API key like a password. Anyone who has it can act as the member who created it, within that member’s scopes. If a key is exposed, delete it from the dashboard and create a new one.

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Scopes

A key is limited to the scopes you grant it. Scopes use a resource:action format. A request that calls an endpoint outside the key’s scopes returns 403. Grant the narrowest set of scopes an integration needs. For example, a reporting script that only reads signatures needs signatures:read and nothing else. Integrations and financial documents are read only. They expose a single read scope each: integrations:read and financial_documents:read.
Integrations are connected and configured in the dashboard, never through an API key. A key can read them, but cannot activate, edit, or remove them.

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Keep your keys secure

  • Store keys in environment variables or a secret manager. Never commit them to source control or ship them in client-side code.
  • Use a separate key per integration, so you can delete one without affecting the others.
  • Grant the minimum scopes required for the task.
  • Delete unused keys, and create a replacement before a key expires.