---
description: Set up authentication for the Cloudflare API by creating API tokens, retrieving API keys, or configuring Origin CA keys.
title: Get started
image: https://developers.cloudflare.com/og-docs.png
---

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> Documentation Index  
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://developers.cloudflare.com/fundamentals/llms.txt  
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Get started

Last updated Aug 25, 2026|Copy as Markdown|[View as Markdown](https://4f1c5cd2.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/fundamentals/api/get-started/index.md)|[Agent setup](https://4f1c5cd2.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/agent-setup/)

Using the Cloudflare API requires authentication so that Cloudflare knows who is making requests and what permissions you have. [Create an API token](https://4f1c5cd2.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/fundamentals/api/get-started/create-token/) to grant access to the API to perform actions.

Note

You can also authenticate with [API keys](https://4f1c5cd2.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/fundamentals/api/get-started/keys/), but these keys have [several limitations](https://4f1c5cd2.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/fundamentals/api/get-started/keys/#limitations) that make them less secure than API tokens. Whenever possible, use API tokens to interact with the Cloudflare API.

* [Create API token](https://4f1c5cd2.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/fundamentals/api/get-started/create-token/)
* [Get Global API key (legacy)](https://4f1c5cd2.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/fundamentals/api/get-started/keys/)
* [Get Origin CA keys](https://4f1c5cd2.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/fundamentals/api/get-started/ca-keys/)
* [Token formats](https://4f1c5cd2.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/fundamentals/api/get-started/token-formats/)
* [Account API tokens](https://4f1c5cd2.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/fundamentals/api/get-started/account-owned-tokens/)

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