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API Keys Lifecycle

API Keys Lifecycle​

  1. Creation: Issue scoped keys per environment and team. Label them clearly (e.g., platform-team:checkout).
  2. Usage: Limit exposure by injecting keys via secrets managers and short-lived deploy-time copies.
  3. Rotation: Automate rotation using dual-key deployments. Issue a new key, switch traffic, then revoke the old key.
  4. Retirement: When a key leaves service, revoke it, invalidate cached copies, and audit dependencies that referenced it.

Audit activity per key to detect leaked credentials or unauthorized usage. Signaling on unusual volumes of high-severity endpoints reduces blast radius.