API Keys

An API key authenticates requests made to the Light Rider platform API from outside the dashboard — scripts, notebooks, or the SDK — separately from your browser sign-in session.

Generating a key

Go to Settings → API Keys (/settings/keys) and select Generate API Key. The full key is shown once, at creation time — copy it somewhere safe immediately, since only a prefix is shown afterward.

Send it as a bearer token on requests to the platform API:

Authorization: Bearer <your-api-key>

See Jobs & results for a full request example.

Rotating a key

Rotate key generates a new key and immediately invalidates the old one — use this if you suspect a key has leaked, without needing to update every caller's key separately from revoking the old one.

Revoking a key

Revoke deletes the key entirely. Any request still using it will be rejected until you generate a new one.

What a key can do

An API key acts on your behalf for programmatic actions — currently, submitting quantum jobs and reading their status/results. It does not grant access to account or billing settings; those require signing in normally.

Simulators don't need a key

An API key is only required to submit jobs to real quantum processors via the platform API. Simulators run locally through the SDK without one.

Next steps

• Jobs & results — submit and track jobs using your key.
• Light Rider SDK — a higher-level Python client instead of raw HTTP calls.