2. Create an API key

Your code signs in to Maitento with an API key. It acts as you, with your permissions.

1. In the portal, open Settings → API keys and choose Create API key. Give it a name, and an expiry date if you like.

2. Copy the line labelled Environment variable:

   

   It looks like this:

   MAITENTO_API_KEY=<your user id>:<your secret>

   It’s two values joined by a colon: your user id, and the key’s secret. The secret is shown only this once, so put it somewhere safe, such as a password manager or your secret store.

Set the environment variables

The SDKs and the mt command line read the key from MAITENTO_API_KEY, and the namespace to work in from MAITENTO_NAMESPACE. The tutorials use a namespace called tutorials:

macOS and LinuxWindows

export MAITENTO_API_KEY="<user id>:<secret>"
export MAITENTO_NAMESPACE="tutorials"

$env:MAITENTO_API_KEY = "<user id>:<secret>"
$env:MAITENTO_NAMESPACE = "tutorials"

Check it works

TypeScriptPythonC#CLIcurl

import { Maitento } from "@maitento/sdk";

// Reads your API key from MAITENTO_API_KEY.
const mt = new Maitento();

// Who the key belongs to, and which models you can use.
const me = await mt.users.self();
console.log(`Signed in as ${me.user.name} <${me.user.emailAddress}> in ${me.tenant.name}.`);

const models = await mt.models.list();
console.log(`${models.length} models available, for example ${models.slice(0, 3).map((m) => m.name).join(", ")}.`);

from maitento import Maitento

# Reads your API key from MAITENTO_API_KEY.
mt = Maitento()

# Who the key belongs to, and which models you can use.
me = mt.users.self()
print(f"Signed in as {me.user.name} <{me.user.email_address}> in {me.tenant.name}.")

models = mt.models.list()
print(f"{len(models)} models available, for example {', '.join(m.name for m in models[:3])}.")

#:package Maitento.Sdk@26.10.0

using Maitento.Sdk;

// Reads your API key from MAITENTO_API_KEY.
await using var mt = MaitentoClient.CreateFromEnvironment();

// Who the key belongs to, and which models you can use.
var me = await mt.Users.GetSelfAsync();
Console.WriteLine($"Signed in as {me.User.Name} <{me.User.EmailAddress}> in {me.Tenant.Name}.");

var models = await mt.AiModels.GetAllAsync();
var examples = string.Join(", ", models.Take(3).Select(m => m.Name));
Console.WriteLine($"{models.Length} models available, for example {examples}.");

mt api-login key "$MAITENTO_API_KEY"
mt aimodel-list

export MAITENTO_AUTH="ApiKey ${MAITENTO_API_KEY/:/ }"
curl https://api.maitento.com/users/self -H "Authorization: $MAITENTO_AUTH"

Signed in as Ana Silva <ana@example.com> in Acme.
51 models available, for example anthropic.fable-5, anthropic.fable-5.1, anthropic.haiku-4.5.

Calling the API directly

Without an SDK, send the key in the Authorization header: the word ApiKey, your user id, and the secret, separated by spaces:

Authorization: ApiKey <your user id> <your secret>

The curl examples in these docs use $MAITENTO_AUTH, set as above. ${MAITENTO_API_KEY/:/ } swaps the colon for a space.

Keeping keys safe

• One key per use. Make separate keys for your laptop, CI and each service, so you can revoke one without breaking the others.
• Never put a key in source code or a project file. Use your platform’s secret store.
• Revoke a key you no longer need, or one that may have leaked, from Settings → API keys.

Next: 3. Add a model key.