API keys

An API key lets a tool read your company's CostCrunch data without signing in through a browser. It's what the AI assistant setup, scripts, and CI use.

A key:

• Can only read. Anything that would change data is refused.
• Belongs to one company and sees what you see there. If you belong to several companies, make a key in each one you need.
• Acts as you. If you leave the company, the key stops working.
• Works until you revoke it. Keys don't expire on their own.

Create a key

1. In CostCrunch, open Settings → API (under Connections).
2. Click Create key and name it after where you'll use it, like Claude on my laptop or Monthly spend report.
3. Copy the key. It's only shown once: CostCrunch keeps a fingerprint of it, not the key itself.

After you create a key, the setup steps on that page include it, ready to copy.

You can have up to 10 keys at a time. Each person sees and manages only their own.

Use a key

Keep keys safe

• Treat a key like a password. Don't paste it into chats, tickets, or shared documents, and don't commit it to a code repository.
• Prefer environment variables or a secrets manager over writing the key into code.
• Use one key per place you use it, so you can revoke one without breaking the rest.

Revoke a key

In Settings → API, click Revoke next to the key. Anything using it stops working within a minute. Revoke right away if a key may have been exposed, then create a new one.

Settings → API also shows when each key was last used, which helps you spot keys nobody needs any more.