> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.quiva.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# API keys for MCP
> Create the key your MCP client authenticates with, and scope it correctly
An MCP client authenticates as a Quiva API key — there's no separate credential type for MCP. This page covers what matters for that specific use; for everything else (rotation, storage, incident response) see the full [API Keys](/essentials/security/api-keys) reference.
## Creating a key
Open **Settings** from your user menu, then the **API keys** tab.
Click **Add**. Name it for what's using it — "Claude Code", "Cursor — laptop" — since the name and last four characters are all you'll have to identify it later.
The key is shown once, with **Copy** and **Download Credentials** buttons. Put it straight into your client's config or a secret store — see [Connect a client](/developers/mcp/remote-setup).
## Scope and expiry
The Settings screen creates a **user-scoped** key: your MCP client acts with your own role and permissions. That's the right choice for a personal coding tool. An **account-scoped** key (root/admin only, created through the API) is rarely what you want for MCP — it broadens the blast radius of a leaked key for no benefit here.
A key created in Settings expires after **90 days**; the dialog has no expiry option. A key with a different lifetime can only be created through the API (`POST /accounts/api-key` with `expiry_days`). A shared CI or automation credential that calls Quiva through MCP should get its own key, not a personal one you might delete without warning.
## Restricted keys
A **restricted key** (the `msr-` prefix) is pinned to a fixed list of HTTP method/path pairs, and refuses anything outside it. This is the safer choice for an MCP client that only ever needs one area of the platform.
The catch: the restriction is enforced on the underlying HTTP call, not on the MCP tool name. A restricted key has to allow every endpoint the tools you'll use actually call — not just the ones that look obviously related.
A single tool can call more than one endpoint behind the scenes — a reference or validation tool that also fetches examples, say — so the obvious "this tool needs that one path" mapping isn't always complete. If a call fails with `403` straight from the API (as opposed to a role-based refusal — see [Connect a client](/developers/mcp/remote-setup) for that case), the most likely cause is a restricted key missing one of the endpoints its tool needs. Use an unrestricted key during development, watch which paths your session actually calls, then narrow to a restricted key once you know the full list.
A restricted key has no downloadable credentials file — use the key value itself.
## Rotating and revoking
There's no in-place rotation: create the replacement key, update your MCP client's configuration to use it, confirm the connection still works, then delete the old key. **Settings → API keys → Delete Key** revokes a key immediately — anything using it stops working at once, so deploy the replacement first.
**Treat this key like a password.** It authenticates as you (or, for an account-scoped key, as your account) for every tool your MCP client calls, including writes. Never paste it into a shared config file, a chat message or a public repository.
Prefixes, expiry emails, downloading credentials, and what to do if a key is compromised