Keep your business key secure

The one-time collection flow is prepared locally. Production release and your account's acceptance are separate checks; this guide does not confirm that the flow is available in your account today.

Collect a key once

An owner starts a new key in the Builder Console. The console shows a one-time code, never the business key. The prepared code works once for ten minutes. A terminal or your business's server trades that code for the key; a browser cannot collect it. Follow the secure claim instructions provided with your business account. Command-line collection remains planned.

Keep the resulting key in your server's secret storage. Never put it in browser code, an app bundle, a repository, logs, a support ticket or chat. We keep a fingerprint rather than a recoverable copy; losing the key means replacing it.

What a leaked key can do

Someone holding the key may use the business's permitted API operations and spend its shared allowance. That includes cards, search, product matching and saved-look reads. Matching may submit product-link proposals when explicitly requested. The key cannot approve those links, manage the owner's keys or change the shared catalogue. See the API reference for the exact operations.

Stop a leaked key

The owner chooses Replace key, then It leaked: stop it now. In the prepared flow the old key stops immediately, before the replacement code is collected. Collect the replacement securely, update the server secret and check access before resuming requests. Stop this key now stops a key without issuing a replacement.

Routine replacement

For a planned change, choose Routine change: both work for 24 hours. Once the new key is collected, the old key expires after that overlap. Update the server and check it with the generated whoami example; Retire old key now stops the old key sooner. A replacement never resets the business's allowance.

See Errors and refusals if collection or a request is refused. Never include the key itself when asking for help.