# 1.3 How to Generate Your API Key

> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](/pro-api-docs/v2.0/llms.txt).

### **Step 1 — Create & log in to your Solscan account**

Go to solscan.io and sign up with an email address and password (or log in if you already have an account). This account is the single identity tied to your billing, API keys, and usage dashboard — there's no separate "developer account" to create.

### **Step 2 — Open API Management**

From your profile, navigate to the "API Management" section. This is where all key generation, rotation, and usage monitoring happens, for both V1 and V2 of the API.

### **Step 3 — Generate your key**

Click "**Generate Key**." The dashboard will produce a unique API key tied to your account and current plan.

### **Step 4 — Copy and secure your key**

Click "Copy API Key" to grab the string. Treat it like a password — anyone with the key can consume your CU quota. Do not commit it to public repos or client-side code.

- ***Key rotation:** If you need to invalidate a key (e.g. it leaked, or you're rotating credentials on a schedule), use "Rotate Your API Key." This is irreversible — once rotated, the old key stops working immediately and cannot be recovered. Update all running services with the new key before rotating, or you will get 401 errors mid-flight.*

### **Step 5 — Use the key in requests**

Include it in the request header as `token`, not as a query parameter or bearer token:

```bash
curl -X 'GET' \
  'https://pro-api.solscan.io/v2.0/account/transactions?account=ATLASXmbPQxBUYbxPsV97usA3fPQYEqzQBUHgiFCUsXx&limit=1' \
  -H 'accept: application/json' \
  -H 'token: {YOUR_API_KEY}'
```

### **Step 6 — Explore endpoints**

Once the key works, start from the full endpoint list in the Pro API Reference (Section 2) to test calls — the interactive reference also lets you try requests directly from the browser with your key attached.

### **Migrating from a previous API key version**

If you were on an older Pro API key (pre-v2.0), you don't need to do anything structurally different — generate a new key following Steps 1–4 above, then swap it into the `token` header of your existing requests as shown in the curl example. Old and new keys are not interchangeable; requests with a stale key will fail authentication once you've rotated.

**Common activation issue:** if your key doesn't seem to work right after subscribing, it's usually because the key hasn't been activated yet post-payment — see Section 1.4 below, or the FAQ entry "Why is my API account not activated after I made a payment?"