How to use an API key

This topic outlines the high-level steps of how to create and use API keys.

1. Create API key credentials

The first step is to create a set of API key credentials. These credentials are used to generate long-lived access tokens and include settings that define their privileges and item access.

To create API key credentials, you use the portal:

1. Sign in to your portal.

2. Click Content > My content > New item and select Developer credentials.

3. In the Credential types menu, select API key credentials.

4. Set the privileges to determine the operations your application will be authorized to perform.

5. Set the item access privileges to determine the items your application will be authorized to access.

6. Review your selections and, when you are ready, click Generate token or Go to item details.

2. Copy the API key

The API key credentials created in the previous step can contain up to two API keys. These long-lived access tokens are only visible once when they are created and are not stored anywhere in ArcGIS. Copy the API key to use it in your client application.

You can get the access token in two ways:

Get the access token immediately:

1. When you first create API key credentials, click Generate token to create an API key. Copy the resulting string.

Get the access token after the credential item is created:

1. Go to the item page of your API key credentials and click Credentials > Manage.

2. Under API keys, click Regenerate API key to generate a new API key. This will invalidate the existing key.

3. Alternatively, click Generate a secondary API key to generate a second API key without invalidating the first. The two keys share identical privileges, and each has a unique expiration date.

3. Use the API key

The last step is to use the API key access token to make requests to location services and secure items in a portal. To use the access token, embed it directly into your application.

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curl https://geocode-api.arcgis.com/arcgis/rest/services/World/GeocodeServer/findAddressCandidates \
-d "f=pjson" \
-d "address=1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW, DC" \
-d "token=<YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN>"

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{
    "spatialReference": {
      "wkid": 4326,
      "latestWkid": 4326
    },
    "candidates": [
      {
        "address": "1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, District of Columbia, 20500",
        "location": {
          "x": -77.036548499999995,

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      esriConfig.apiKey= "YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN";
      const map = new Map({
        basemap: "arcgis-topographic" // Basemap layer
      });

      const view = new MapView({
        map: map,
        center: [-118.805, 34.027],
        zoom: 13, // scale: 72223.819286
        container: "viewDiv",
        constraints: {
          snapToZoom: false
        }
      });

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const apiKey = "YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN";
const basemapEnum = "ArcGIS:Topographic"
const layer = L.esri.Vector.basemap(basemapEnum, { apiKey: apiKey });
const map = L.map('map', {
  center: [34.027, -118.805]
});
map.setView([34.027, -118.805], 13); // latitude, longitude, zoom level, scale: 72223.819286

Tutorials