---
title: API Tokens and Client Keys
pagination_next: reference/front-end-api
---

Unleash uses API keys to facilitate communication between consuming clients such as [SDKs](../reference/sdks), [Edge](../reference/unleash-edge), or other tools and automation.

Unleash supports the following types of API tokens:
- [Client tokens](#client-tokens) for connecting server-side client SDKs, Unleash Edge, and Unleash Proxy to Unleash.
- [Frontend tokens](#frontend-tokens) for connecting client-side SDKs to Unleash using the Frontend API.
- [Personal access tokens](#personal-access-tokens) for testing and debugging or providing temporary access to an automation tool.
- [Service account tokens](/reference/service-accounts) for providing API access to integrations or automation tools.

## API token types

### Client tokens

Client tokens are intended for use in [server-side client SDKs](../reference/sdks#server-side-sdks) to grant the permissions to:
-   Reading feature flag information
-   Registering applications with the Unleash server
-   Sending usage metrics

Client tokens are scoped to one or more projects and a single environment. When creating a client token, you c an give it access to a specific list of projects or to all current or future projects. Client tokens are secrets and must not be exposed to end users.

Client tokens cannot be used in frontend SDKs, use [Frontend tokens](#frontend-tokens) instead.

### Frontend tokens

Use frontend tokens for connecting [frontend SDKs](../reference/sdks#front-end-sdks) using the [Unleash Frontend API](./front-end-api). They grant the user permission to:
-   Reading enabled flags for a given context
-   Registering applications with the Unleash server
-   Sending usage metrics

Frontend tokens are scoped to one or more projects and a single environment. When creating a frontend token, you can give it access to a specific list of projects or to all current or future projects. Frontend tokens are not considered secret and are safe to expose client-side.

Frontend tokens cannot be used in server-side SDKs, use [Client tokens](#client-tokens) instead.

### Personal access tokens

Personal access tokens reflect the permissions of the user who creates them. If the user's permissions change, such as through the addition of a custom role, the token automatically updates to match the new permissions.
You can use personal access tokens for testing, debugging, or giving temporary access to automation tools.

When you use a personal access token to modify resources, the events record the token creator's name for that operation.

Personal access tokens with a lifetime expire and stop working after their expiration date. Although you can set the token to not expire, we recommend using tokens with expiration dates for security purposes.

Personal access tokens are not suitable for Client SDKs, as they cannot read flag data from multiple environments, they may expire, or their permissions may change. Use [Client tokens](#client-tokens) instead.

### Service account tokens

Service account tokens provide API access to integration and automation tools. To learn more, go to [Service Accounts](/reference/service-accounts).

### Admin tokens

:::warning

Admin tokens are deprecated. Use other token types:
- With [Open Source](https://www.getunleash.io/pricing) and [Pro](../availability#plans), use [personal access tokens](#personal-access-tokens).
- With [Enterprise](https://www.getunleash.io/pricing), use [service accounts](./service-accounts).

:::

Admin tokens grant full read and write access to all resources in the Unleash server API, this includes all projects, all environments, and all [root resources](../reference/rbac#core-principles).


## API token permissions

:::note Availability

**Version**: `4.22+`

:::

The following table provides a summary of what ...:

| Role/Permission                               | Details                                                                 |
|-----------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Admin root role                               | Can view, create, update, or delete tokens for any project.             |
| Custom root role with API token permission    | Can view, create, update, or delete tokens for any project with the corresponding permission. |
| Member project role                           | Can view, create, update, or delete tokens within the project.          |
| Custom project role with API token permission | Can view, create, update, or delete tokens within the project with the corresponding permission. |
| Viewer root role                              | Cannot view, create, update, or delete tokens.                          |
| Any role                                      | Can create personal access tokens.                          | 

## API token format

API tokens consist of three parts:

1. Project information
2. Environment
3. Hash

The parts are separated by two different separators: A colon (`:`) between the project(s) and the environment, and a full stop (`.`) between the environment and the hash.

```
{{projects}}:{{environment}}.{{hash}}
```

The project value of the token can be one of:
-   A single project ID, for example, `default`: when the token can only access a single project.
-   `[]`: when the token is valid for a specific set of projects*. The list of projects is not shown in the token.
-   `*`: when the token is **valid for all projects (current and future)**.

The environment is the name of an environment on your Unleash instance, such as `development`. The hash is 64-character long hexadecimal string.

Personal access tokens start with the string `user`, and do not contain additional project or environment information.

Some example API tokens are:

-   A token with access to the `development` environment of a single project, `new-checkout-flow`:
    ```
    new-checkout-flow:development.be44368985f7fb3237c584ef86f3d6bdada42ddbd63a019d26955178
    ```
-   A token with access to the `production` environment in multiple projects:
    ```
    []:production.be44368985f7fb3237c584ef86f3d6bdada42ddbd63a019d26955178
    ```
-   A token with access to the `development` environment in all current and future projects:
    ```
    *:development.be44368985f7fb3237c584ef86f3d6bdada42ddbd63a019d26955178
    ```
-   A personal access token:
    ```
    user:be7536c3a160ff15e3a92da45de531dd54bc1ae15d8455c0476f086b
    ```


Note, in Unleash v4.3 or less, API tokens are a 64-character long hexadecimal string with no additional information. For example:

```
be44368985f7fb3237c584ef86f3d6bdada42ddbd63a019d26955178
```

## Create an API token

Depending on your [permissions](#api-token-permissions), you can create API tokens in the Unleash Admin UI in three ways:
- **Admin > API access**: for client or frontend tokens; requires the Admin root role, or a custom root role with API token permissions.
- **Settings > API access** inside a project: for a project-specific client or frontend tokens; permitted for project Members or users with a [corresponding root role](#api-token-permissions).
- **Profile > View profile settings > Personal API tokens**: for personal access token.

### Create a personal access token

## Proxy client keys

:::warning

Unleash Proxy is in maintenance mode. Use [Unleash Edge](../reference/unleash-edge) instead.

:::

Use proxy client keys to connect [Frontend SDKs](../reference/sdks#front-end-sdks) to [Unleash Proxy](../reference/unleash-proxy). Proxy client keys are not considered a secret and are safe to expose client-side.

Proxy client keys are arbitrary strings that you provide the Unleash proxy with on startup. They can be any string you choose, and you create them yourself.

:::info Creating proxy client keys

To designate a string as a proxy client key, add it to the `clientKeys` list when [starting the proxy](../reference/unleash-proxy#configuration). Connecting clients should then specify the same string as their client key.

:::

Proxy client keys cannot be used to connect to the Unleash API, use [API tokens](#api-tokens) instead.
