API Keys
How to use API keys with General Translation
Overview
There are two types of API keys used with General Translation:
- Production API Key: This is used to translate your content in production.
- Development API Key: This is used to translate your content in development.
The behavior between the two types of keys are different, so you should be careful to use the correct key for the environment you are in.
How to obtain
Navigate to your project dashboard on the General Translation website.
Click on the "API Keys" or "Developer Keys" tab.
Click on the "Create API Key" button.
Copy the API key and paste it into your project's .env file.
Behavior
The main difference between the two types of keys is in the persistence of translation data.
Development API Key
When using a development API key, translations are done on-demand and only memoized in memory. Translations will not be saved in any database or cache. Therefore, it is not recommended to use this key in production.
This type of key is useful for testing and development purposes.
Warning!
Development API keys are passed to the client side, to facilitate client-side translation in development. This is fine in development environments, but is a security risk in production environments. If your application is open to the internet, you should not use a development API key.
Production API Key
When using a production API key, translations are persisted in both the GT database and global CDN. This means that the translations will be viewable by anyone on the internet who visits your site.
In order to deploy your application to production, you must use a production API key with the CLI tool.
When to use which key
- Development API Key: When you are running your application locally, such as via
npm run devoryarn dev. - Production API Key: When you are running your application in production, with traffic exposed to the internet.