Authentication

Overview

Every request to the Commodity Fundamentals API must include a valid API key. You can authenticate using either a Bearer token in the Authorization header or as a query parameter.

Getting an API Key

1. Create an account at commodityfundamentals.com/signup
2. Navigate to your dashboard
3. Your API key is displayed on the dashboard home page

Your API key is a 40-character hex string that looks like this:

a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8i9j0k1l2m3n4o5p6q7r8s9t0

Bearer Token (Recommended)

Pass your API key in the Authorization header as a Bearer token. This is the recommended approach as it keeps the key out of URLs and server logs.

curl -X GET "https://commodityfundamentals.com/api/v1/commodities" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

import requests

response = requests.get(
    "https://commodityfundamentals.com/api/v1/commodities",
    headers={"Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"}
)

data = response.json()

require "net/http"
require "json"

uri = URI("https://commodityfundamentals.com/api/v1/commodities")
req = Net::HTTP::Get.new(uri)
req["Authorization"] = "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

res = Net::HTTP.start(uri.hostname, uri.port, use_ssl: true) { |http|
  http.request(req)
}

data = JSON.parse(res.body)

Query Parameter

Alternatively, pass your API key as the api_key query parameter. This is useful for quick testing but not recommended for production use.

https://commodityfundamentals.com/api/v1/commodities?api_key=YOUR_API_KEY

Authentication Errors

The API returns specific error codes for authentication problems:

API Key Security

Follow these practices to keep your API key secure:

• Never commit keys to version control. Use environment variables or secrets managers.
• Use server-side requests only. Never expose your API key in client-side JavaScript.
• Rotate keys periodically. Generate a new key and revoke the old one from your dashboard.
• Use separate keys per environment. Keep different keys for development, staging, and production.

# Store your key in an environment variable
export COMMODITY_FUNDAMENTALS_API_KEY="cf_live_a1b2c3d4..."

# Use it in your application
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $COMMODITY_FUNDAMENTALS_API_KEY" \\
  https://commodityfundamentals.com/api/v1/commodities

Rotating Keys

You can rotate your API key at any time from your dashboard. The process is:

1. Generate a new API key from your dashboard
2. Update your applications to use the new key
3. Verify the new key is working correctly
4. Revoke the old key