Cohere API keys
Cohere 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
- AI & Machine Learning
- API host
api.cohere.ai- Key format
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx- Env variable
COHERE- Sensitivity
- Medium
- Create a key
- https://dashboard.cohere.com/api-keys
- Documentation
- https://docs.cohere.com/reference/
A leaked key here is mostly a billing and quota problem rather than a data one — still worth rotating, rarely an emergency.
Kinds of Cohere key
Standard API Key
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 Cohere API key?
Cohere issues keys from https://dashboard.cohere.com/api-keys. 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 Cohere API key look like?
Cohere 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 Cohere?
Most projects use COHERE. APIKeyConnect recognises these names, so importing an existing .env maps the value onto Cohere 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 Cohere key?
Medium sensitivity. A leaked key here is mostly a billing and quota problem rather than a data one — still worth rotating, rarely an emergency.
Can APIKeyConnect see my Cohere 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.