> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.fivemesh.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# API keys

> Create user-owned service keys with personal, organization and CDN path scopes.

Service API keys let scripts and tools call FiveMesh service operations without using your dashboard session.

Keys are user-owned. Scope controls whether the key targets personal resources or organization resources.

## Create a key

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open key creation">
    In the dashboard, open **Account** and create a new API key.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Name the key">
    Use a name that describes where the key will run, such as `Production CDN worker`.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose the owner context">
    Select **Personal resources** or **Organization resources**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose CDN path access">
    If the key has CDN permissions, choose whether it can access all CDN paths or only specific path prefixes.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Review permissions">
    Select a preset or customize the allowed service actions.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Copy the key">
    Create the key and copy the secret immediately.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Warning>
  The secret is shown once after creation. Store it in your deployment secrets or server environment before leaving the page.
</Warning>

## Permission areas

The dashboard can create keys for:

* Global service operations.
* CDN operations such as read, write, delete, purge, domains and settings.
* Cache operations such as resource cache, origins, rules, purge, preload and observability.
* Voice operations such as instance state and lifecycle when public API access becomes available.

Use the smallest permission set that supports the script or tool.

## CDN path prefixes

When a key has CDN permissions, you can restrict it to specific paths.

Examples:

```text theme={null}
/phone
/mugshots
/uploads
```

Use path scope when a script should only manage one media area.

## Organization keys

For organization resources, choose the organization during key creation. The key remains owned by your user account, but the resource scope points at the selected organization.

## Related pages

* [Workspaces](/dashboard/workspaces)
* [Organizations](/dashboard/organizations)
* [CDN object browser](/cdn/object-browser)
* [Cache operations](/cache/operations)
* [Voice operations](/voice/operations)