Register and keep the displayed credential
Create an account with an email address and a password between 12 and 72 bytes. The API key is shown once immediately after signup, before any payment. Copy it to a location appropriate for your application's secrets. Signup requires neither a Google login nor a wallet connection, and the key is not delivered by email.
An optional 100-credit trial depends on network-wide anti-abuse eligibility. If eligible, you can test protected retrieval without funding first. The key and balance belong to redditsearchapi.com; a key from another network domain does not work here. Use this page's signed-in account panel for account actions rather than assuming there is a separate dashboard address.
Use the key for protected retrieval
Your application sends the key in the Authorization Bearer header to protected retrieval routes. Keep it out of public browser code, shared screenshots and example URLs. The public /v1/status route needs no key and is uncharged; its response is only a scope disclosure and an indication that the HTTP application responds.
If you need a replacement key, sign in and confirm your password to regenerate it. Regeneration immediately invalidates the old key, so update the dependent application before resuming retrieval. No password-reset or automatic key-email feature is supplied. HTTP 401 means the key is missing or invalid; 402 means insufficient credit; 429 means the request rate is limited.
