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Developer keys are personal tokens that authenticate you to the MCP server and the Tools API. Use them for scripts, servers, and any client where the browser-based OAuth flow is not a fit. Each key begins with nkw_live_. A key is created for one surface: an MCP key (mcp:call) for the MCP server, or an API key (api:call) for the Tools API. Every plan, including Free, can create keys.

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Create a key

1

Open the app

Sign in at nikiwa.com.
2

Open Developer Keys

Click your profile in the sidebar, choose Settings, then open Developer Keys. Select the MCP Keys tab, or API Keys for the Tools API.
3

Create

Give the key a name, such as “trading-bot” or “research-notebook”, and create it.
4

Copy it now

The full key is shown once. Copy it and store it somewhere safe. Nikiwa never displays the full key again.
The raw key is revealed only at creation. After that, the app shows only a non-secret key prefix. If you lose a key, revoke it and create a new one. There is no way to recover the original secret.

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Use a key

For Cursor, VS Code and custom setups, use a Bearer token. Claude Desktop uses the Connectors screen instead. The following block is for Cursor (.cursor/mcp.json) and clients using the same mcpServers format. VS Code uses a different format; see Installation.
Cursor
Exact config differs per client, but the essentials are always the same: the endpoint https://pro-api.nikiwa.com/mcp and an Authorization: Bearer header carrying your key.

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Manage keys

From the Developer Keys panel you can see each key’s name, prefix, creation date, and when it was last used, along with its usage.

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Revoking a key

Revoke a key from the same panel. Revocation is immediate: a revoked key stops authenticating. Revoke any key you suspect has leaked, then create a replacement.

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Scope and limits

  • Scope: MCP keys carry mcp:call, which authorizes the MCP server. The Tools API uses a separate api:call scope.
  • Number of keys: depends on your plan, from 1 on Free to 10 on Business. See Credits & Pricing.
  • Rate limit: each key has its own per-minute rate limit: 60 requests per minute by default, capped by your plan at 10 on Free, Plus, and Pro, 60 on Max, and 120 on Business.
  • Credits: tool calls are paid from your account’s shared credit balance, not per key.
  • Metering: usage is tracked per key. See Usage & metering.
A key authenticates as you. Never commit one to source control or ship it in client-side or browser code, where users could extract it.