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Pastepile

API keys

API keys are optional and free. The Pastepile API works fine without one. A key just raises your per-minute rate limit and gives us a per-caller handle so we can revoke abusive clients without blocking everyone else.

  • Keyless: 30 paste creates / hour / IP.
  • With a key: 300 paste creates / hour / key.
  • Read endpoints stay generous either way.
  • No sign-up. We store only the hash of the key. If you lose the key, generate another.
  • Generation cap: 5 new keys / day / IP. Revocation cap: 20 attempts / hour / IP.
  • Keys are independent. Generating a new one does not revoke any old key. Use the revocation secret shown at generation to revoke.

Generate a key

Only you see this. Helps you tell keys apart later.

Subscribers: linking your Pro access key upgrades this API key to the pro plan (never-expiring pastes, 25 MB uploads, 4x rate limits). If your subscription ends, the key automatically returns to free.

Revoke a key

Paste the revocation secret (rvk_...) you saved when you generated the key. Once revoked the key is rejected on the next API request. We do not reveal whether the secret was wrong or unknown.

Lost the revocation secret too? Contact the operator with the key prefix and we can revoke it for you.