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HTTP status: 401 · Title: “Authentication required”

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When it fires

The X-API-Key header is present but does not match the expected kash_(live|test)_<32 alphanumeric> shape.

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Why it happens

  • A leading or trailing whitespace character (e.g., from a copy-paste with a trailing newline).
  • The wrong env var was substituted (e.g., a Privy token or a bare UUID instead of a Kash API key).
  • Truncation by a logging or proxy layer that capped header values.

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How to fix

  • The format is kash_<env>_<32 alphanumeric> (base62 — A-Z, a-z, 0-9, no dashes or underscores after the prefix). The <env> segment is live or test.
  • live keys hit production; test keys hit staging. Don’t mix.
  • If you stored the key in an env var, double-check the substitution: echo $KASH_API_KEY | head -c 16 should print kash_live_… or kash_test_….