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The Hacktron REST API authenticates every request with an organization‑scoped API key sent in the X-Api-Key header. API keys are:
  • Organization‑scoped — each key belongs to exactly one organization. You never need to pass an organization ID alongside the key.
  • Scoped — each key declares one or more scopes (read, write, delete) that gate which endpoints it can call.
Connecting an AI assistant (Claude, Cursor, Codex, …) instead of calling the API directly? See the MCP guide — it can authenticate with one of these API keys or with OAuth.

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Creating an API key

API keys are created from the Hacktron dashboard. You must have the Admin or Owner role in the organization you are creating a key for.
  1. Sign in to app.hacktron.ai and switch to the organization you want the key to belong to.
  2. Open Settings → API keys.
  3. Click Create API key.
  4. Give the key a descriptive name (for example ci-pipeline, backstage-integration).
  5. Choose the scopes the key needs — pick the minimum set your integration requires. See Scopes.
  6. Optionally set an expiration date.
  7. Click Create.
The full API key is shown only once, immediately after creation. Copy it and store it in a secret manager right away. If you lose it, you will need to revoke the key and create a new one.
Each organization can have at most 10 active API keys at a time. Revoke unused keys before creating new ones if you hit the limit.

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Key format

Hacktron API keys look like this:
  • They always start with the hacktron_ prefix.
  • The first 12 characters (for example hacktron_3s9) are stored as a non‑secret prefix so you can recognise keys in your logs and in the dashboard. The full key is never stored server‑side — only a SHA‑256 hash.

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Making authenticated requests

Send your API key in the X-Api-Key header on every request:
Never hardcode API keys in source control or client-side code. Load them from environment variables or a secret manager at runtime.

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Scopes

Scopes control what an API key is allowed to do. They are declared when you create the key and cannot be changed afterwards — create a new key if you need different scopes. Each endpoint in this reference states the scope it requires. Calling an endpoint with a key that is missing the required scope returns 403 Forbidden.

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Revoking a key

You can revoke a key at any time from Settings → API keys in the dashboard. Revocation takes effect immediately — the next request with that key will fail with 401 Unauthorized. Revoked keys are kept in the dashboard audit trail (with last‑used timestamps) but can never be reactivated.

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Testing your key

To verify a key is working, list scans:
A successful response returns HTTP 200 and a JSON body containing data, total, page, and limit fields.
Endpoints can also be exercised interactively in the Swagger UI at https://api.hacktron.ai/docs. The “Authorize” button accepts an X-Api-Key value and persists it for subsequent requests.
Common failures: