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Managing Short-Lived API Keys in Deepgram

Managing API keys efficiently is crucial for establishing secure and effective connections to Deepgram's speech-to-text API. Implementing short-lived API keys is a robust method to enhance security, particularly for in-browser applications. This article will guide you through key considerations when using short-lived API keys.

Understanding API Key Management

When designing your system to handle short-lived API keys, it's essential to consider the lifecycle of these keys — from creation, active use, to deletion. Here's a basic run-through of the actions:

  1. Creating API Keys: Generate API keys for user sessions and associate them with user profiles to track usage.
  2. Using API Keys: Establish a secure connection using the API key. Ensure API keys are never exposed in client-side code.
  3. Deleting API Keys: After successfully establishing a connection, delete the API key to prevent unauthorized reuse.

Additional Considerations:

  • Tracking Usage: By associating API keys with users, you can monitor and detect any suspicious activity.
  • Setting Expiration: Assign a short expiration to API keys (e.g., 10 seconds) to limit potential misuse.
  • Rate Limiting: Implement rate limiting to safeguard against abuse of API calls.

Conclusion

By implementing short-lived keys with these considerations, you can maintain a secure connection environment for your Deepgram integrations. Remember, owing to no automatic expiration policy in Deepgram, manual cleanup is crucial.

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