Part 3: Create a Service Account #

Prior to engaging with Kosli, authentication is necessary. There are two methods to achieve this:

Utilizing a service account API key (recommended).
Using a personal API key.

Service Accounts #

Service accounts are exclusively available within shared organizations.

A service account represents a machine user designed for interactions with Kosli from external systems, such as CI or runtime environments.

To create a service account:

Log in to Kosli.
From the left navigation menu, choose the organization where you wish to create the service account.
Navigate to Settings in the left navigation menu.
Select Service accounts from the settings sub-menu.
Click Add new service account, provide a name for the service account, and click Add.
Once created, generate an API key for the service account by clicking Add API Key.
Choose a Time-To-Live (TTL) for the key, add a descriptive label, and then click Add.
Ensure to copy the generated key as it won't be retrievable later. This key serves as the authentication token.

Personal API Keys #

Personal API keys possess equivalent permissions to your user account, encompassing access to multiple organizations. Therefore, exercise caution while utilizing personal API keys. These keys grant access and perform actions as per the associated user's permissions across various organizations.

To create a personal API key:

Login to Kosli
From your user menu on the top right corner, click Profile
In the API Keys section, click Add API Key, select a Time-To-Live (TTL) for the key, add a descriptive label, and then click Add
Ensure to copy the generated key as it won't be retrievable later. This key serves as the authentication token.

API Keys rotation #

You can execute a zero-downtime API key rotation by following these steps:

Generate a New Key: Create a new API key that will replace the existing key.
Replace the Old Key Where Used: Implement the new key in all areas where the old key is currently utilized for authentication or access.
Delete the Old Key: Once the new key is in place and operational, remove or delete the old key from the system or applications where it was previously employed for security or authentication purposes.

By systematically following these steps, you can ensure a seamless API key rotation without causing any downtime or interruptions in service.

Using API Keys #

In CLI #

you can assign an API key to any CLI command by one of the following options:

using the --api-token flag
exporting an environment variable called KOSLI_API_TOKEN
setting it in a config file and passing the config file using --config-file (see here)

In API #

When utilizing the Kosli API directly, you can authenticate your requests using basic authentication. Set the username to your API key and the password to any string value.