Authentication

Every Akarso command needs an API key to authenticate with the Akarso API. Keys have an ak_ prefix.

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Signing up and creating an API key is free — a subscription is only needed to publish posts (see pricing).

The easiest way is the CLI browser login:

1akarso auth login

This opens a browser window where you sign in and approve the CLI. An API key is automatically created and saved.

You can also create keys manually from the dashboard after signing in with Google.

Manual key setup

If you already have an API key:

1akarso auth set --key ak_your_key_here

Resolution priority

The CLI looks for the API key in this order:

Priority	Source	Example
1	`--api-key` flag	`akarso posts list --api-key ak_xxx`
2	`AKARSO_API_KEY` env var	`export AKARSO_API_KEY=ak_xxx`
3	Config file	`~/.akarso/config.json`

The --api-key flag is useful for one-off commands or when switching between multiple keys. For regular use, set the env var or save to the config file.

Config file

The config file lives at ~/.akarso/config.json:

123{
  "apiKey": "ak_your_key_here"
}

The akarso auth login and akarso auth set commands write this file automatically.

Verify your key

1akarso auth check

This calls the Akarso API to verify the key is valid.

Environment variables