API keys

Agents authenticate to the gateway with scoped API keys, prefixed rcsk_. Keys are a separate rail from the human app — neither token is accepted on the other’s surface.

Mint a key

Keys are minted by an org admin from the dashboard (or the gateway). The plaintext key is shown once and then stored only as a SHA-256 hash — if you lose it, you mint a new one.


# The mint endpoint returns the plaintext key a single time
→ { data: { key: "rcsk_live_…" } }

Export it where your agent surface can read it:


export RCS_AGENT_KEY=rcsk_live_…

Treat rcsk_live_… like a password. It is displayed a single time and stored only as a SHA-256 hash. Anyone with the plaintext key can act within its scopes until you revoke it.

Scopes (least privilege)

Each key carries a least-privilege set of scopes — so a key can only do what it was minted for, and it’s revocable at any time.

Scope	Grants
`templates:read`	Search, fetch, and render templates
`templates:write`	Author new templates
`templates:submit`	Submit drafts to the provider for approval
`marketplace:clone`	Clone marketplace listings into your org
`messages:send`	Send messages to an E.164 list
`usage:read`	Read month-to-date metered usage

Mint read-only keys for discovery agents, and reserve messages:send for the small set of agents that actually broadcast.

How sending stays safe

Sending is hardened beyond scopes:

Destinations are validated as E.164 numbers.
The gateway is rate-limited.
An agent send must clear the exact same provider-approval gate as a human send — an unapproved template cannot ship.

Rotation & revocation