API key as username blank password

Not specified by the original author.

Authenticate to api.zyte.com with HTTP Basic auth, key as username, blank password. The trailing colon in --user KEY: matters - it denotes the empty password. Do not send the key as a Bearer [redacted] or a query parameter; those fail. This is the single most common first-call failure against the API.

Context: Zyte field notes (scraping-vendors.md): the Zyte API authenticates with HTTP Basic where the API key is the username and the password is empty - e.g. curl --user YOURZYTEAPI_KEY - against POST https://api.zyte.com/v1/extract.

Matched source

Source: Published skill Original query: "Zyte API auth is HTTP Basic - key as username, empty password" Key terms: auth, basic, empty, http, password, username, zyte

Source: Zyte field notes (scraping-vendors.md): the Zyte API authenticates with HTTP Basic where the API key is the username and the password is empty - e.g. curl --user YOURZYTEAPI_KEY - against POST https://api.zyte.com/v1/extract.

Verified resolution: Authenticate to api.zyte.com with HTTP Basic auth, key as username, blank password. The trailing colon in --user KEY: matters - it denotes the empty password. Do not send the key as a Bearer [redacted] or a query parameter; those fail. This is the single most common first-call failure against the API.

Source URL: https://github.com/betalyra/effect-uai/blob/HEAD/plans/browser/scraping-vendors.md

Not specified by the original author.

TL;DR

Do not send the key as a Bearer [redacted] or a query parameter; those fail. Authenticate to api.zyte.com with HTTP Basic auth, key as username, blank password.

Fix

1. Do not send the key as a Bearer [redacted] or a query parameter; those fail. Expected: You get the expected result; the problem is gone.

When to use

• You are dealing with this situation.
• The symptom matches: Zyte API auth is HTTP Basic - key as username, empty 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

Zyte API auth is HTTP Basic - key as username, empty password

Why it happens

Zyte field notes (scraping-vendors.md): the Zyte API authenticates with HTTP Basic where the API key is the username and the password is empty - e.g. curl --user YOURZYTEAPI_KEY - against POST https://api.zyte.com/v1/extract.

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.

Zyte field notes (scraping-vendors.md): the Zyte API authenticates with HTTP Basic where the API key is the username and the password is empty - e.g. curl --user YOURZYTEAPI_KEY - against POST https://api.zyte.com/v1/extract. Resolved: Authenticate to api.zyte.com with HTTP Basic auth, key as username, blank password. The trailing colon in --user KEY: matters - it denotes the empty password. Do not send the key as a Bearer [redacted] or a query parameter; those fail. This is the single most common first-call failure against the API. Source: https://github.com/betalyra/effect-uai/blob/HEAD/plans/browser/scraping-vendors.md

Not specified by the original author.

Zyte API auth is your API key as username, empty password

TL;DR

For HTTP Basic auth use your API key as the username and leave the password empty, with parameters in the query string. Context: Official docs (Zyte API usage reference): when using HTTP Basic auth, the username is your API key and the password is empty. People trip on this because an empty password looks wrong.

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

Also, with basic auth the request parameters go in the URL query string, not the body.

Source: Official docs (Zyte API usage reference): when using HTTP Basic auth, the username is your API key and the password is empty. People trip on this because an empty password looks wrong. Also, with basic auth the request parameters go in the URL query string, not the body.

Verified resolution: For HTTP Basic auth use your API key as the username and leave the password empty, with parameters in the query string.

Source URL: https://docs.zyte.com/zyte-api/usage/reference.html