Authentication

web3market-kit uses API keys for authentication. Authentication is required for deploying to remote chains, browsing templates, AI contract review, marketplace publishing, and AI chat. Local development features work without it.

Getting an API Key

Create an account

Generate a key

Go to Dashboard > Plan & API and click New Key. Your key looks like:

wm_sk_live_a1b2c3d4e5f6a7b8c9d0e1f2a3b4c5d6

Copy it immediately — it is only shown once.

Authenticate via the CLI

w3m auth wm_sk_live_your_key_here

The CLI validates the key against the API, stores it in ~/.web3market/credentials.json, and displays your account info.

Key Format

Prefix	Purpose
`wm_sk_live_`	Production keys
`wm_sk_test_`	Test keys

Keys are 48 characters long (prefix + 32 hex characters).

Credential Storage

The CLI stores your API key in ~/.web3market/credentials.json in your home directory (not in your project). This file is created by w3m auth and read automatically by all CLI commands that require authentication.

{
  "apiKey": "wm_sk_live_..."
}

You can also set the key as an environment variable:

WEB3MARKET_API_KEY=wm_sk_live_your_key_here

The CLI checks the environment variable first, then falls back to the credentials file.

⚠️

Do not commit API keys to version control. The credentials file is in your home directory, not in your project.

CLI Commands

Command	Description
`w3m auth <key>`	Validate and store an API key
`w3m auth --status`	Show current auth status (name, email, tier, masked key)
`w3m auth --logout`	Delete stored credentials

What Requires Authentication

Feature	API key	AI provider	Plan
Create a project (`w3m new`)	No	No	Free
Start dev environment (`w3m dev`)	No	No	Free
Deploy locally (Anvil)	No	No	Free
Run tests (`w3m test`)	No	No	Free
Security audit (`w3m audit`)	No	No	Free
Interactive workspace (`w3m`)	No	No	Free
Auto-fix (`w3m fix`)	No	Yes	Free
AI Chat (`w3m chat`)	Yes	Yes	Free
AI contract review (`w3m audit --ai`)	Yes	No	Pro
Deploy to testnet (`w3m deploy --chain sepolia`)	Yes	No	Free
Deploy to mainnet (`w3m deploy --chain ethereum`)	Yes	No	Pro
Browse templates (`w3m templates`)	Yes	No	Free
Publish (`w3m publish`)	Yes	No	Pro

AI provider means your own Anthropic (Claude) or OpenAI (GPT) key, configured via w3m ai setup.

All local development features work without authentication. An API key is needed for deploying to remote chains, browsing templates, AI chat, and marketplace publishing.

API Key Authentication

All API requests include the key in the X-API-Key header:

curl https://api.web3.market/api/auth/me \
  -H "X-API-Key: wm_sk_live_your_key_here" \
  -H "Accept: application/json"

See the API Reference for endpoint details and rate limits.

Index Overview