401 on auth - use the dashboard API

Not specified by the original author.

TL;DR

When DataForSEO returns a bare 401, check which password you used. The API wants the dedicated API password shown in the dashboard, not the password you log into the website with - using the login password fails silently with 401 and no useful message.

Steps

1. When DataForSEO returns a bare 401, check which password you used. The API wants the dedicated API password shown in the dashboard, not the password you log into the website with - using the login password fails silently with 401 and no useful message. Also note the free Sandbox returns mock data for wiring tests; only the $1 trial and production return real SERP data.

When to use

You are seeing this: When DataForSEO returns a bare 401, check which password you used. Use this skill when you run into "401 on auth - use the dashboard API password, not your login password".

When not to use

If your error message or symptom does not match what is described above, this is probably not your fix. Search for your exact error text instead of forcing this one to fit.

Versions

No specific versions are mentioned in the source material, so treat the fix as generally applicable and check the examples against whatever you have installed.

Why this happens

The original report does not dig into a root cause. It documents the symptom and the fix that resolved it.

Edge cases

• Also note the free Sandbox returns mock data for wiring tests; only the $1 trial and production return real SERP data.

Source: DataForSEO field notes (market-intel tools reference): auth is HTTP Basic with your account login as the username and the API password from the dashboard - NOT your account login password. Pasting the account password fails with an unhelpful HTTP 401.

Verified resolution: When DataForSEO returns a bare 401, check which password you used. The API wants the dedicated API password shown in the dashboard, not the password you log into the website with - using the login password fails silently with 401 and no useful message. Also note the free Sandbox returns mock data for wiring tests; only the $1 trial and production return real SERP data.

Source URL: https://github.com/daizedong/market-intel/blob/HEAD/skills/market-intel/reference/tools/dataforseo.md

Not specified by the original author.

TL;DR

When DataForSEO returns a bare 401, check which password you used.

Fix

1. When DataForSEO returns a bare 401, check which password you used. Expected: you can confirm this matches your situation.

When to use

• You are dealing with this situation.
• The symptom matches: 401 on auth - use the dashboard API password, not your login password.

When NOT to use

• Unrelated issues with a different cause.
• You need general documentation for the tool; check the official docs instead.

Compatibility

Reported per the linked source.

Variant phrasings

401 on auth - use the dashboard API password, not your login password

Why it happens

DataForSEO field notes (market-intel tools reference): auth is HTTP Basic with your account login as the username and the API password from the dashboard - NOT your account login password. Pasting the account password fails with an unhelpful HTTP 401.

Edge cases

• If your error message differs even slightly, this is probably a different issue; search the exact text.
• If the fix does not help, capture the full error output and check the source link for updates.

DataForSEO field notes (market-intel tools reference): auth is HTTP Basic with your account login as the username and the API password from the dashboard - NOT your account login password. Pasting the account password fails with an unhelpful HTTP 401. Resolved: When DataForSEO returns a bare 401, check which password you used. The API wants the dedicated API password shown in the dashboard, not the password you log into the website with - using the login password fails silently with 401 and no useful message. Also note the free Sandbox returns mock data for wiring tests; only the $1 trial and production return real SERP data. Source: https://github.com/daizedong/market-intel/blob/HEAD/skills/market-intel/reference/tools/dataforseo.md

Not specified by the original author.

Brave Search API auth: X-Subscription-Token header, not Bearer

TL;DR

Authenticate Brave Search API calls like this: curl "https://api.search.brave.com/res/v1/web/search?q=..." \ -H "X-Subscription-Token - YOUR_KEY" \ -H "Accept: application/json" \ -H "Accept-Encoding: gzip" Three common auth mistakes: 1. Using your auth header Brave does not read that header; you will get an auth error on a perfectly good key. Putting the key in ?apikey value or similar query params.

Use this when you run into the situation in the title.

When not to use this skill: unrelated tasks. It covers only the procedure above.

Compatibility

The steps above apply to the commands named in them. This skill does not pin a version, so if a flag looks different on your machine, check your installed version's docs first.

Details

2. Not supported, and it leaks the key into logs. 3. Rotating the key when the real problem is a 422 VALIDATION error (bad parameter). Fix params before burning keys; key burns persist until the next calendar month. Get the key from the dashboard after subscribing to a plan; a credit card is required even for the free subscription.

Context: Docs (Brave Search API dashboard documentation, mirrored 2026-02-07): every API request must include your subscription token in the X-Subscription-Token HTTP request header to authenticate and authorize access. Obtaining a key requires subscribing to a plan first (even the free plan needs a subscription, though it is not charged), then creating the key under API Keys in the dashboard. The docs stress the key is confidential and must never appear in client-side code or public repos. Agents defaulting to your auth header an ?apikey value query parameter get auth failures on perfectly good keys.

Source: Docs (Brave Search API dashboard documentation, mirrored 2026-02-07): every API request must include your subscription token in the X-Subscription-Token HTTP request header to authenticate and authorize access. Obtaining a key requires subscribing to a plan first (even the free plan needs a subscription, though it is not charged), then creating the key under API Keys in the dashboard. The docs stress the key is confidential and must never appear in client-side code or public repos. Agents defaulting to your auth header an ?apikey value query parameter get auth failures on perfectly good keys.

Verified resolution: Authenticate Brave Search API calls like this: curl "https://api.search.brave.com/res/v1/web/search?q=..." \ -H "X-Subscription-Token - YOUR_KEY" \ -H "Accept: application/json" \ -H "Accept-Encoding: gzip" Three common auth mistakes: 1. Using your auth header Brave does not read that header; you will get an auth error on a perfectly good key. 2. Putting the key in ?apikey value or similar query params. Not supported, and it leaks the key into logs. 3. Rotating the key when the real problem is a 422 VALIDATION error (bad parameter). Fix params before burning keys; key burns persist until the next calendar month. Get the key from the dashboard after subscribing to a plan; a credit card is required even for the free subscription.

Source URL: https://github.com/amal-david/docingest/blob/HEAD/server/storage/docs/api-dashboard.search.brave.com/documentation_2026-02-07T03:57:54.021Z.md