Run API Authentication

The Run API (agents-run-api) has three authentication modes depending on your environment configuration:

Development Mode

When ENVIRONMENT=development:

• No API key required
• Must include scope headers:
  • x-inkeep-tenant-id
  • x-inkeep-project-id
  • x-inkeep-agent-id

curl -H "x-inkeep-tenant-id: tenant-123" \
     -H "x-inkeep-project-id: project-456" \
     -H "x-inkeep-agent-id: agent-789" \
     https://localhost:3003/v1/chat/completions

Standard Mode

When ENVIRONMENT≠development and INKEEP_AGENTS_RUN_API_BYPASS_SECRET is not set:

• Use API keys created from the Manage UI
• No additional headers required (scope encoded in key)

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_abc123..." \
  https://localhost:3003/v1/chat/completions

Bypass Mode

When ENVIRONMENT≠development and INKEEP_AGENTS_RUN_API_BYPASS_SECRET is set:

Option 1: Bypass Secret

• Use the bypass secret as token
• Must include scope headers

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_BYPASS_SECRET" \
     -H "x-inkeep-tenant-id: tenant-123" \
     -H "x-inkeep-project-id: project-456" \
     -H "x-inkeep-agent-id: agent-789" \
     https://run-api.example.com/chat/completions

Option 2: Standard API Keys remain valid

• Use API keys from the Manage UI

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_xyz789..." \
  https://run-api.example.com/chat/completions

Running Multiple Instances

You can run multiple Run API instances with different auth configurations. If you're deploying Inkeep Agents to production, it is common to only expose the deployment of Run API in standard mode and all other services remain internal.

# Instance 1: Port 3003 with bypass secret (intended for internal purposes)
PORT=3003 INKEEP_AGENTS_RUN_API_BYPASS_SECRET=secret123 pnpm dev

# Instance 2: Port 3004 without bypass secret (intended for external purposes)
PORT=3004 pnpm dev

Security Best Practices

1. Production: Always use Standard API keys
2. Bypass Secret: Use for internal services only
3. API Keys: Rotate regularly and set expiration dates