> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.kitefishai.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Authentication

> How to authenticate with the KiteFishAI API.

## API Keys

All requests require an API key. Keys are prefixed with `kf-` and can be created from the [dashboard](https://kitefishai.com/dashboard).

## Option 1 — Pass directly

```python theme={null}
import kitefishai

client = kitefishai.Client(api_key="kf-...")
```

## Option 2 — Environment variable (recommended)

Set `KITEFISH_API_KEY` in your environment and the client picks it up automatically:

```bash theme={null}
export KITEFISH_API_KEY="kf-..."
```

```python theme={null}
client = kitefishai.Client()
```

This is the recommended approach. It keeps credentials out of source code.

## Option 3 — `.env` file

Use a library like [`python-dotenv`](https://pypi.org/project/python-dotenv/):

```bash theme={null}
# .env
KITEFISH_API_KEY=kf-...
```

```python theme={null}
from dotenv import load_dotenv
load_dotenv()

import kitefishai
client = kitefishai.Client()
```

<Warning>
  Never commit API keys to source control. Add `.env` to your `.gitignore`.
</Warning>

## On-prem deployments

For air-gapped enterprise deployments, override the base URL:

```python theme={null}
client = kitefishai.Client(
    api_key="kf-...",
    base_url="https://your-internal-host/v1",
)
```

Or via environment:

```bash theme={null}
export KITEFISH_BASE_URL="https://your-internal-host/v1"
```