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help/_articles/miscellaneous/personal-api-key.md
fred_the_tech_writer b667eec297 Apikey fix (#303)
* --apikey cmd fix

* apikey fix
2020-11-19 18:54:46 -05:00

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---
layout: article
title: Personal API Key for CLI Authentication
categories: [miscellaneous]
featured: false
popular: false
tags: [api key, cli]
---
Your Bitwarden Personal API Key can be used as an alternative method for authenticating into the Command Line Interface (CLI).
{% callout info %}
Your Personal API Key is not the same as the API Key used to access the Bitwarden Public API for organization management. Personal API Keys will have a `client_id` with format `"user.clientId"`, while Organization API Keys will have a `client_id` with format `"organization.ClientId"`.
{% endcallout %}
### In This Article
- [Get your Personal API Key](#get-your-personal-api-key)
- [Rotate Your API Key](#rotate-your-api-key)
- [Authenticate using Your API Key](#authenticate-using-your-api-key)
## Get Your Personal API Key
Complete the following steps to get your Personal API Key:
1. Login to your [Web Vault](https://vault.bitwarden.com){:target="_blank"} and select the **Settings** tab.
2. From the **My Account** screen, scroll down to the **API Key** section.
3. Select the **View API Key** button will prompt you to enter your Master Password.
Once correctly entered, you will be provided the following:
- `client_id: "user.clientId"` (This value is unique to your account and does not change.)
- `client_secret: "clientSecret"` (This value is unique and can be rotated.)
- `scope: "api"` (This value will always be `"api"`.)
- `grant_type: "client_credentials"` (This value will always be `"client_credentials"`.)
### Rotate Your API Key
Select the **Rotate API Key** button to rotate your personal API Key. Rotating your Key will only change your `client_secret`.
Rotating your key will invalidate your previous key and all active sessions using that key.
## Authenticate using your API Key
To use your API Key to authenticate into the CLI, enter the following command:
```
bw login --apikey
```
which will prompt you to enter the obtained `client_id` and `client_secret` to authenticate. Once you enter these values, enter your Master Password to decrypt your Vault. For more information, see [Bitwarden command line tool (CLI)](https://bitwarden.com/help/article/cli/).
### Environment Variables
The Bitwarden CLI will look for non-empty environment variables `BW_CLIENTID` or `BW_CLIENTSECRET`. Save these environment variables with your `client_id` and `client_secret` to prevent Bitwarden from prompting you every time.
You will still need to enter your Master Password to decrypt your Vault.