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Authentication

This document details how authentication works with the Lambda Cloud Python client.

Overview

The Lambda Cloud API uses API keys for authentication. These keys are used to identify and authorize your requests.

Obtaining an API Key

To obtain an API key for Lambda Cloud:

  1. Log in to your Lambda Cloud account
  2. Navigate to the API Keys page (https://cloud.lambdalabs.com/api-keys)
  3. Generate a new API key
  4. Copy and securely store the key immediately - it will only be shown once

Client Authentication

The Lambda Cloud Python client accepts your API key during initialization and handles authentication for all subsequent API calls.

from lambda_cloud import LambdaCloudClient

# Initialize with your API key
client = LambdaCloudClient(api_key="your-api-key")

# Now all operations will be authenticated automatically

Authentication Methods

The client uses Bearer token authentication by default, which includes your API key in the Authorization header for each request:

Authorization: Bearer <API-KEY>

The underlying HTTP client is configured during initialization, so you don't need to manually handle authentication details.

Security Best Practices

  1. Store API keys securely: Don't hardcode them in your scripts or commit them to version control
  2. Use environment variables: Store your API key in an environment variable and access it in your code
  3. Set appropriate permissions: If possible, use API keys with the minimum required permissions
  4. Rotate keys regularly: Generate new API keys periodically and revoke old ones
  5. Use separate keys: For different applications or environments, use different API keys

Example: Using Environment Variables

import os
from lambda_cloud import LambdaCloudClient

# Get API key from environment variable
api_key = os.environ.get("LAMBDA_API_KEY")

if not api_key:
    raise ValueError("LAMBDA_API_KEY environment variable is not set")

# Initialize client with the API key
client = LambdaCloudClient(api_key=api_key)

# Now you can use the client

Authentication Flow

sequenceDiagram
    participant User as Your Application
    participant Client as LambdaCloudClient
    participant API as Lambda Cloud API

    User->>Client: Initialize(api_key)
    Client->>Client: Store API key in headers
    User->>Client: Make API request
    Client->>API: Request with Authorization header
    API->>API: Validate API key
    API->>Client: Return response
    Client->>User: Return data