Create an API Key

You need an API Key with Compute Node permissions to register and operate a Node on the Dispersed Network.

Step 1: Sign In to the Console

1. Open your browser and navigate to the Dispersed Console
2. Click Sign in with OTOY and use your OTOY account credentials

If this is your first sign-in, you’ll see “Authorize Dispersed to use your account?” — click Authorize to proceed.

Don’t have an OTOY account? Create one here.

Step 2: Create the API Key

1. Navigate to API Keys in the sidebar
2. Click Create API Key
3. Configure your key:

Field	Value
Name	Something identifiable (e.g., “My RTX5090 Rig”)
Preset	Select Compute Node
Expiration	Optional — leave blank for no expiration
Allowed IPs	Optional — restrict to specific IPs for added security

4. Click Create

Step 3: Save Your Credentials

After creation, you’ll see your API Key details:

• public_key — starts with pk_
• secret_key — starts with sk_

Copy both keys now and store them securely. The secret_key is only shown once and cannot be retrieved later.

Using Your API Key

For Node Operators

When running the dispersed client, pass your keys as command line arguments. The client handles all authentication internally — you don’t need to implement HMAC signatures yourself.

First time registration:

dispersed --pubkey=pk_your_public_key --secretkey=sk_your_secret_key --register

After registration:

dispersed --pubkey=pk_your_public_key --secretkey=sk_your_secret_key

For Programmatic API Access

If you’re building your own API client or scripts, requests require HMAC signature authentication with four headers:

• X-API-Key — Your public key
• X-Time — Current timestamp in milliseconds
• X-Nonce — Random 32-byte hex string
• X-Signature — HMAC-SHA256 signature

For implementation details and code examples, see Authenticate Requests.

What’s Next?

With your API Key ready, proceed to Register Your Node to connect your machine to the network.