Topic
API Keys & Authentication for LLM APIs
6 posts on api keys & authentication for llm apis — part of glossary on the n4n AI blog.
What is an LLM API key and how does it work
An LLM API key is a credential that authenticates requests to large language model providers. This guide covers how keys work, rotation, scoping, and common pitfalls.
What happens when an API key is leaked publicly
A step-by-step incident response guide for when an API key is exposed, covering immediate revocation, rotation, audit logging, and prevention strategies.
How to scope API keys with rate limits and allowlists
Learn to scope API keys with granular rate limits and allowlists — step-by-step implementation for multi-tenant LLM apps, with runnable code and verification checks.
How to keep your OpenAI API key secure
A step-by-step guide to securing OpenAI API keys in production — environment variables, secrets managers, rotation, monitoring, and gateway-level controls.
How environment variables protect your LLM API keys
A practical guide to securing LLM API keys with environment variables, covering local development, CI/CD, container deployments, and common pitfalls.
API key vs OAuth: which is better for LLM apps
A head-to-head comparison of API keys and OAuth for LLM applications, covering capabilities, latency, ergonomics, and when to use each authentication method.
More topics in glossary
- Structured Outputs & JSON Mode19
- AI Agents Fundamentals12
- Hallucination in LLMs11
- Sampling Parameters: Top-p, Top-k & Penalties11
- Context Window & Context Length10
- Fine-Tuning Fundamentals9
- Foundation Models: Base vs Instruct vs Chat9
- Model Families & Naming Conventions: GPT-5, Claude, Gemini 3, Llama 4, Mistral, DeepSeek, Qwen, Grok9
- Grounding & Fact-Checking in AI8
- LLM Benchmarks: MMLU, HumanEval, SWE-bench & GPQA8
- Max Tokens, Stop Sequences & Output Truncation8
- Quantization Formats: GGUF, GPTQ, AWQ & INT4/INT88