Cloudflare API keys
Cloudflare API credentials belong in configuration, not in a commit. This page covers where to create one, what it looks like, and how APIKeyConnect stores it without ever being able to read it.
The facts
- Category
- Cloud Services
- API host
api.cloudflare.com- Key format
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx- Env variable
CLOUDFLARE- Sensitivity
- High
- Create a key
- https://dash.cloudflare.com/profile/api-tokens — Click "Create Token". This is the user token page — account-scoped tokens live under Manage Account → API Tokens.
- Documentation
- https://developers.cloudflare.com/api/
A leaked key here bills you and can read or write account data. Treat it like a password: server-side only, rotated on staff changes.
Kinds of Cloudflare key
Global API Key
API Token
How APIKeyConnect stores it
The key is encrypted in your browser with AES-256-GCM, under a key derived from your master password with PBKDF2-SHA-256 at 600,000 iterations. The password never leaves your device, and the server holds ciphertext it has no way to open.
What the server can see — and what this design does not protect against — is written out in full on the security page. That section exists because a page with no limits section is marketing.
Questions
Where do I get a Cloudflare API key?
Cloudflare issues keys from https://dash.cloudflare.com/profile/api-tokens. Click "Create Token". This is the user token page — account-scoped tokens live under Manage Account → API Tokens. Once you have it, store it in APIKeyConnect rather than in a .env file you might commit — the key is encrypted on your device with a master password we never receive.
What does a Cloudflare API key look like?
Cloudflare keys follow the pattern xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx. Knowing the shape is useful for spotting one that has been pasted into a commit, a log line, or a support ticket — the places keys leak from most often.
What environment variable should I use for Cloudflare?
Most projects use CLOUDFLARE. APIKeyConnect recognises these names, so importing an existing .env maps the value onto Cloudflare automatically instead of leaving it as an unlabelled string, and generating a .env writes it back under the same name.
How dangerous is a leaked Cloudflare key?
High sensitivity. A leaked key here bills you and can read or write account data. Treat it like a password: server-side only, rotated on staff changes.
Does Cloudflare have more than one kind of key?
Yes — Global API Key, API Token. They differ in scope, so keeping them as separate entries rather than one "the Cloudflare key" is what lets you rotate the risky one without touching the others.
Can APIKeyConnect see my Cloudflare key?
No. The key is encrypted in your browser with AES-256-GCM under a key derived from your master password (PBKDF2-SHA-256, 600,000 iterations). The password never leaves your device and the server stores ciphertext it cannot open. What the server can see is documented in full on the security page, including what this design does not protect against.