Create an API key to connect your help center to your own code, scripts and tools through the HelpCenter.io API. Sync articles with other systems, power your own search, automate content updates or pull your statistics into internal dashboards.
Who can do this: Owners and Admins · Plans: All plans
Create a key
In the left menu, click the gear icon, then Settings.
Under API keys, click New key.
In Name, say where the key will be used, for example "Docs sync script". A clear name tells you later which key to delete.
Pick a Scope: Read only or Read & write.
Leave Team notes off unless the integration needs your team's editorial notes.
Click Create key.
Click Copy next to the new key and store it somewhere safe, such as a password manager or your server's secret settings.
The list shows each key masked, with its scope and a Team notes tag if it has notes access. Copy always copies the full key.
Choose a scope
Option | What the key can do |
|---|---|
Read only | Read your articles, categories, comments and statistics, without changing anything. |
Read & write | Everything a read-only key can do, plus create, update and delete articles and categories, upload images, moderate comments and manage webhooks. |
Team notes (optional) | Read the private notes your team leaves on articles. With Read & write, also answer and resolve them. Readers never see these notes. |
You choose the scope and Team notes access when you create a key, and you can't change them later. To give an integration more access, create a new key, switch the integration to it and delete the old one.
Use your key
Whoever builds the integration sends the key in the apikey header of each request to https://api.helpcenter.io/v1. A key works only with the help center it was created in. For a first request, follow Quickstart: your first API request on the developer portal. API keys there explains how keys work in detail.
A key can also connect an AI agent you build to your help center, on the Growth and Catalyst plans. See Connect Claude, ChatGPT and other AI agents.
Limits and errors
Each key can make up to 300 requests a minute, with lower limits for changes and for statistics. A key that goes over a limit gets 429 responses until it may try again. Rate limits on the developer portal has the numbers and how to handle them, and Errors explains every error response.
Keep your keys safe
Use Read only keys whenever you don't need to change content.
Create a separate key for each integration, so you can delete one without breaking the others.
Never put a key in code that runs in the browser or in a public repository. The widget doesn't need an API key.
To replace a key, create a new one, switch your integration to it, then delete the old one.
Delete keys you no longer use.
Delete a key
Under Settings → API keys, click the trash icon next to the key.
Click Delete key to confirm.
Requests using that key stop working immediately.
Who can see a key
Keys are personal: you see and delete only the keys you created, and other admins see only theirs. Before you remove someone from the team, ask them to delete the keys they created. If that's no longer possible, contact support.
Related articles
API keys on the developer portal
Quickstart: your first API request on the developer portal
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