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

# Authorization

> How to authenticate with the Meilisearch API using API keys and the Authorization header.

<Tip>
  If you are new to Meilisearch, check out the [getting started guide](/resources/self_hosting/getting_started/quick_start).
</Tip>

By [providing Meilisearch with a master key at launch](/resources/self_hosting/security/basic_security), you protect your instance from unauthorized requests. The provided master key must be at least 16 bytes. From then on, you must include the `Authorization` header along with a valid API key to access protected routes (all routes except [`/health`](/reference/api/health)).

<CodeGroup>
  ```bash cURL theme={null}
  curl \
    -X GET 'MEILISEARCH_URL/keys' \
    -H 'Authorization: Bearer MASTER_KEY'
  ```

  ```javascript JS theme={null}
  const client = new MeiliSearch({ host: 'MEILISEARCH_URL', apiKey: 'masterKey' })
  client.getKeys()
  ```

  ```python Python theme={null}
  client = Client('MEILISEARCH_URL', 'masterKey')
  client.get_keys()
  ```

  ```php PHP theme={null}
  $client = new Client('MEILISEARCH_URL', 'masterKey');
  $client->getKeys();
  ```

  ```java Java theme={null}
  Client client = new Client(new Config("MEILISEARCH_URL", "masterKey"));
  client.getKeys();
  ```

  ```ruby Ruby theme={null}
  client = MeiliSearch::Client.new('MEILISEARCH_URL', 'masterKey')
  client.keys
  ```

  ```go Go theme={null}
  client := meilisearch.New("MEILISEARCH_URL", meilisearch.WithAPIKey("masterKey"))
  client.GetKeys(nil);
  ```

  ```csharp C# theme={null}
  MeilisearchClient client = new MeilisearchClient("MEILISEARCH_URL", "masterKey");
  var keys = await client.GetKeysAsync();
  ```

  ```rust Rust theme={null}
  let client = Client::new("MEILISEARCH_URL", Some("MASTER_KEY")); let keys = client .get_keys() .await .unwrap();
  ```

  ```swift Swift theme={null}
  client = try MeiliSearch(host: "MEILISEARCH_URL", apiKey: "masterKey")
  client.getKeys { result in
      switch result {
      case .success(let keys):
          print(keys)
      case .failure(let error):
          print(error)
      }
  }
  ```

  ```dart Dart theme={null}
  var client = MeiliSearchClient('MEILISEARCH_URL', 'masterKey');
  await client.getKeys();
  ```
</CodeGroup>

The [`/keys`](/reference/api/keys) route can only be accessed using the master key. For security reasons, we recommend using regular API keys for all other routes.

[To learn more about keys and security, refer to our security tutorial.](/resources/self_hosting/security/basic_security)