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

# Authentication

> Authenticate Videobase API requests with an API key.

Every v1 operation requires the 16-character API key associated with an active Videobase account.

## Header authentication

Send the key in the `X-Api-Key` header. This is the recommended method.

```bash theme={null}
curl --request GET \
  --url https://api.videobase.com/v1/account \
  --header "X-Api-Key: YOUR_API_KEY"
```

## Query authentication

The backend also accepts the key in a `key` query parameter:

```bash theme={null}
curl --request GET \
  --url "https://api.videobase.com/v1/account?key=YOUR_API_KEY"
```

<Warning>
  Prefer header authentication. Query strings can appear in browser history, reverse-proxy logs, analytics tools, and copied URLs.
</Warning>

## Invalid keys

A missing, malformed, revoked, or unknown key returns HTTP `500` with an error body:

```json theme={null}
{
  "message": "Invalid API Key",
  "status": 500
}
```

See [Error handling](/api-reference/errors) for the complete error contract.