> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.tastelabs.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Authentication

> Authenticate requests with an API key

Every request to the Taste Engine Design API is authenticated with an API key sent in the `X-API-Key` header.

```bash theme={null}
curl https://api.tastelabs.com/design/me \
  -H "X-API-Key: your-api-key"
```

Create an API key directly in the [Engine dashboard](https://engine.tastelabs.com/app/api-keys).

## Expiration

An API key can carry an optional expiry date. Expired keys return `401 UNAUTHORIZED`.

## Optional authentication

`GET /design/submissions/{id}/result` and `GET /design/submissions/{id}/download` are authenticated endpoints. They accept unauthenticated requests as a narrow carve-out for extractions that have been explicitly made public: a request without a key sees those and nothing else.

<Tip>
  Create and manage your keys in the [Engine dashboard](https://engine.tastelabs.com/app/api-keys).
</Tip>