Zuplo

API Key Authentication

Secure Your API with API Keys

The Zuplo API Gateway protects your backend API from unauthorized access, abuse, and overload. Add API key authentication to your API in minutes.

Secure Access

Authenticate every request before it reaches your backend.

Control Costs

Set rate limits and quotas to prevent runaway usage.

Ensure Reliability

Shield your backend from overload with traffic management.

How it works

The Zuplo API Gateway sits between your clients and your backend, providing a secure layer of protection and control.

Client
Zuplo API Gateway

Customer VPC

Backend

Step-by-step tutorial

It takes only a few minutes to put Zuplo in front of your backend, adding API key authentication, and configuring your origin to trust requests from Zuplo using shared secrets.

1

Create a Route in Zuplo

First, create a new route in your Zuplo project that will proxy requests to your backend. This route will be the entry point for your API consumers.

Creating a route in Zuplo
Learn how to create routes

📄 OpenAPI native. Import your existing OpenAPI spec to instantly create routes and power your API documentation .

2

Add API Key Authentication Policy

Add the API Key Authentication policy to your route. This policy validates incoming API keys and ensures only authorized consumers can access your API.

Adding API Key Authentication policy in Zuplo
API Key Authentication docs

🔐 Leaked key? No problem. As a GitHub Secret Scanning partner, Zuplo can automatically revoke exposed keys before they can be exploited.

3

Add Set Header Policy

Add the Set Header policy to your route. This policy sets the shared secret header on requests to ensure only requests from Zuplo are accepted by your API.

Adding Set Header policy in Zuplo
Set Header Policy docs
4

Secure Your API with the Shared Secret

Configure your backend to validate the shared secret header set by Zuplo. This ensures that only requests coming through your Zuplo gateway are accepted.

python
import os
import tornado.ioloop
import tornado.web
import hmac
import hashlib

# Middleware to validate shared secret header
class ValidateSharedSecret(tornado.web.RequestHandler):
    def prepare(self):
        secret = self.request.headers.get("X-Shared-Secret")
        expected_secret = os.getenv("SHARED_SECRET")

        if not expected_secret:
            self.set_status(500)
            self.finish({"error": "Server configuration error"})
            return

        if not secret:
            self.set_status(401)
            self.finish({"error": "No secret provided"})
            return

        # Use HMAC with SHA256 for timing-safe comparison
        if not hmac.compare_digest(secret, expected_secret):
            self.set_status(401)
            self.finish({"error": "Invalid secret"})
            return

# Example handler using the shared secret middleware
class ProtectedHandler(ValidateSharedSecret):
    def get(self):
        self.write({"message": "Access granted"})

def make_app():
    return tornado.web.Application([
        (r"/protected", ProtectedHandler),
    ])

if __name__ == "__main__":
    app = make_app()
    app.listen(8888)
    tornado.ioloop.IOLoop.current().start()
5

Call Your API Through Zuplo

Now you can call your API through Zuplo using an API key. The request will be authenticated at the gateway, and securely forwarded to your backend.

Terminalbash
curl -X GET \
  'https://your-api.zuplo.dev/your-route' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY'

Ready to secure your API?

Get started with Zuplo for free and add API key authentication to your API in minutes.

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