Skip to main content

Overview

API keys provide secure programmatic access to the GDELT Cloud Developer API — the /api/v2/* surface: Events, Stories, Entities, summaries, geo discovery, and cursor pagination.
API keys require API access on the active organization. Keys are scoped to the organization that creates them.
Event and story list endpoints default to a rolling 7-day window, not to all of history; other families differ and the declared default is on each parameter in the API reference. Narrow with a date window and any of the filters in the parameter reference, whose legal values are in the value reference.

Generating an API Key

1

Navigate to API Keys

Switch to the workspace the key should belong to, then go to gdeltcloud.com/api-keys.
2

Create a new key

Click Create New Key and give it a descriptive name (e.g. “Production”, “Dev Environment”).
3

Copy your key immediately

Your API key is shown only once. Copy it now and store it securely.
Keys use the format: gdelt_sk_<64-hex-chars>Example: gdelt_sk_a1b2c3d4... (64 hex characters after the prefix)
4

Store securely

Use environment variables or a secrets manager. Never commit keys to version control.

Using Your API Key

Include the key as a Bearer token in the Authorization header:
v1 is retired. Every /api/v1/* path returns 410 Gone naming its v2 replacement — in the error message, in details.replacement, and in an RFC 8594 Link header — so a client that still calls one gets told where to go rather than a silent failure. /api/v2/events?family=conflict and ?family=cameoplus are strict supersets of the two event routes: same events, stable ids, a documented cursor, and the metric fields v1 never exposed.

Metering

Every REST and MCP data call consumes Query Units against your account’s allowance. Discovery calls (/api/v2/meta/*, and the MCP _tool_list / _tool_get tools) are not metered. Briefs meter separately and never draw down Query Units. Responses carry your current usage in headers, and the API tells you when a limit binds rather than degrading quietly — every metering and entitlement error, with its code and what to do about it, is in the error reference.

Revoking a Key

Go to gdeltcloud.com/api-keys, find the key, and click Revoke. Revoked keys return HTTP 401 immediately.
You can generate multiple API keys, such as one per environment. Each key consumes the quota of its organization. Owners and admins can review and export organization usage by feature, member, and API key.
Keys belong to the workspace that created them, and a request is metered against that workspace.