Notion API key

Where the key comes from

A Notion API key is not a setting inside a page. It is the secret Notion shows when you create an internal integration. The page for that is My integrations. You name the integration, choose the workspace, and copy the secret. Notion's authentication guide says to send that secret as a Bearer token on requests to the API.

The secret is a credential. Put it in an environment variable on the server that calls the API. Do not paste it into a Notion page, a screenshot, a chat, or a public repository. If it leaks, revoke it on the integration page and create a new one.

Why a key still cannot read your pages

Creating the secret does not grant access to every page. You share each database or page with the integration, using the same share menu you would use for a person. Until you do that, API calls return no content for that page. That share step is the usual reason a new key 'does not work.'

Internal integrations are for one workspace. A public integration, the kind another product asks you to install, uses OAuth instead of a secret you paste. If a tool asks you to paste an internal secret into its website, treat that as a reason to stop and use its official connection instead.

How to set it up

1. Open My integrations. Create an internal integration in the workspace that owns the database.
2. Copy the secret once. Store it in the server environment. Close the page.
3. Share the database. On the database, open Share and invite the integration. Capabilities follow what you allowed when you created it.
4. Call the API. Send Authorization: Bearer and the secret. The authentication reference documents the header.