> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://inference-docs.cerebras.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Authentication

The Cerebras API uses API keys for authentication. Create and manage API keys from our [Inference Cloud Console](https://cloud.cerebras.ai?utm_source=3pi_authentication\&utm_campaign=api_reference).

<Danger>
  **Keep your API key secure.** Never share it publicly or include it in client-side code (such as browsers or mobile apps). Instead, load it safely from an environment variable or a server-side key management service.
</Danger>

API keys are passed using HTTP Bearer authentication:

```
Authorization: Bearer CEREBRAS_API_KEY
```

## Example Request

```bash theme={null}
curl --location 'https://api.cerebras.ai/v1/chat/completions' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer ${CEREBRAS_API_KEY}" \
  --data '{
    "model": "gpt-oss-120b",
    "messages": [
      {"role": "user", "content": "Tell me a fun fact about space."}
    ]
  }'
```

## Using Official SDKs

You can also authenticate automatically when using the official SDKs for Python and Node.js by passing your API key during client initialization:

<CodeGroup>
  ```python Python theme={null}
  import os
  from cerebras.cloud.sdk import Cerebras

  client = Cerebras(
      # This is the default and can be omitted
      api_key=os.environ.get("CEREBRAS_API_KEY"),
  )
  ```

  ```javascript Node.js theme={null}
  import Cerebras from 'cerebras_cloud_sdk';

  const client = new Cerebras({
    apiKey: process.env['CEREBRAS_API_KEY'], // This is the default and can be omitted
  });
  ```
</CodeGroup>

## Set Your API Key

For security reasons, and to avoid configuring your API key each time, we recommend setting your API key as an environment variable. You can do this by running the following command in your terminal:

<CodeGroup>
  ```bash macOS / Linux theme={null}
  export CEREBRAS_API_KEY="your-api-key"
  ```

  ```bash Windows theme={null}
  setx CEREBRAS_API_KEY "your-api-key"
  ```
</CodeGroup>