How to set the api key when running locally?

TL;DR

Fix: Collaborator rafaelsideguide: set USEDBAUTHENTICATION=false in .env and use any string as the API key; follow the self-host guide.

The error

[Self-Host] Question: how to set the API key when running Firecrawl locally / what value to use in client SDKs and integrations like Dify.

Fix

1. Collaborator rafaelsideguide: set USEDBAUTHENTICATION=false in .env and use any string as the API key; follow the self-host guide.

Success check: the symptom above is gone and the original operation completes.

When to use

• You hit this exact symptom in firecrawl.
• You want the verified fix without digging through the thread.

When not to use

• A different error in firecrawl, even a similar-looking one.
• General firecrawl setup or credential questions.

Compatibility

• Firecrawl (firecrawl/firecrawl)

Variant phrasings

• How to fix "how to set the api key when running locally?" in firecrawl
• firecrawl: how to set the api key when running locally?

Source

• https://github.com/firecrawl/firecrawl/issues/557

In gh:firecrawl/firecrawl#557 (https://github.com/firecrawl/firecrawl/issues/557), the question was: [Self-Host] Question: how to set the API key when running Firecrawl locally / what value to use in client SDKs and integrations like Dify. The verified resolution: Collaborator rafaelsideguide: set USEDBAUTHENTICATION=false in .env and use any string as the API key; follow the self-host guide. Lesson: local Firecrawl needs no real key - any string works once DB authentication is disabled, but it must match what clients send or you get 401 Unauthorized.