PayPal API keys
PayPal 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
- Payment & Financial
- API host
api-m.paypal.com- Key format
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx- Env variable
PAYPAL- Sensitivity
- Critical
- Create a key
- https://developer.paypal.com/dashboard/applications/live — Open or create an app, then copy the Client ID and click Secret → Show. Use the Sandbox tab for test credentials.
- Documentation
- https://developer.paypal.com/api/rest/
A leaked key here can move money, delete data, or impersonate your organisation. Rotate immediately if one is ever exposed, and never let one reach a client bundle.
Kinds of PayPal key
Client ID
Secret
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 PayPal API key?
PayPal issues keys from https://developer.paypal.com/dashboard/applications/live. Open or create an app, then copy the Client ID and click Secret → Show. Use the Sandbox tab for test credentials. 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 PayPal API key look like?
PayPal 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 PayPal?
Most projects use PAYPAL. APIKeyConnect recognises these names, so importing an existing .env maps the value onto PayPal 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 PayPal key?
Critical sensitivity. A leaked key here can move money, delete data, or impersonate your organisation. Rotate immediately if one is ever exposed, and never let one reach a client bundle.
Does PayPal have more than one kind of key?
Yes — Client ID, Secret. They differ in scope, so keeping them as separate entries rather than one "the PayPal key" is what lets you rotate the risky one without touching the others.
Can APIKeyConnect see my PayPal 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.