Getting 401 error when connecting to RapidAPI using httr in R

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1

I keep running into a 401 status error when trying to connect to RapidAPI endpoints using the httr library in R. Here’s my current code:

library(httr)

api_endpoint <- "https://weather-forecast.p.rapidapi.com/v1/current"
params <- list(location = "https://example-weather-site.com/forecast/2023/05/15/weather-update")

api_call <- VERB("GET", 
                api_endpoint, 
                add_headers(x_rapidapi_key = "my-secret-key", 
                           x_rapidapi_host = "weather-forecast.p.rapidapi.com"), 
                query = params, 
                content_type("application/octet-stream"))

print(content(api_call, "text"))

The same 401 error happens with different RapidAPI services I’ve tested. I’m pretty sure my API key is correct, but something must be wrong with how I’m setting up the headers or making the request. Has anyone faced this before? Any ideas what might be causing the authentication to fail?

2

check if ur api key’s still active in the rapidapi dashboard - mine died without warning once. also, drop the content_type line since you’re doing get, not post. half the time it’s just copy-paste errors with hidden characters in the key.

3

Your location parameter looks off - you’re passing a full URL when most weather APIs just want city names or lat/lon coordinates. Try location = "New York" first and see if that fixes the auth error. APIs sometimes throw 401s when they can’t parse the request, even with valid credentials. Check the RapidAPI docs for that endpoint to see what location format they want. I’ve seen malformed parameters break authentication before the API even checks your key.

4

I encountered a similar issue recently. It’s crucial to ensure that the headers are formatted correctly; make sure to use “X-RapidAPI-Key” and “X-RapidAPI-Host” with the exact capitalization. Additionally, when you make GET requests, avoid using the content_type function, as it may lead to conflicts. Lastly, ensure there are no extra spaces in your API key, as this is a common mistake that often causes authentication to fail.

5

You’re mixing auth debugging with actual data analysis. Every 401 error sends you back to manually tweaking headers and parameters.

I learned this the hard way after wasting hours fighting R API calls. The real problem isn’t just auth headers or parameter formatting - it’s handling all this complexity inside your analysis code.

Now I separate API integration from R analysis completely. I build an automation workflow that handles RapidAPI auth, parameter formatting, and error handling. It validates location parameters, manages auth headers, and deals with rate limits automatically.

When clean data comes back, it goes straight into my R environment or gets saved to a data source R connects to. No more debugging HTTP status codes during analysis.

Set this up with proper error handling and parameter validation using Latenode. Build it once and never deal with 401 errors again: https://latenode.com

6

Yeah, R gets messy fast when you’re dealing with API auth and error handling. You end up manually debugging headers and HTTP calls constantly.

I used to waste hours on this stuff until I started automating it. Now I handle API integrations through automation workflows instead of writing custom code every time.

For RapidAPI, I set up auth once in an automation platform, then just trigger the workflow when I need data. No more 401 errors since the headers are configured right from the start. I can add retry logic and error notifications without cluttering my R scripts.

The workflow grabs the API data and either pushes it straight to my R environment or saves it to a database that R connects to. Way cleaner than mixing API calls with analysis code.

You can build this with Latenode pretty easily. Set it up once and you’re done with auth headaches: https://latenode.com

7

Had the exact same issue a few months ago - it was the VERB function screwing things up. Switch to GET() instead of VERB(“GET”) since it handles RapidAPI requests way better. Also ditch that content_type line entirely - you’re not sending body data anyway. Your headers look good, but check if your subscription’s still active for that endpoint. Some RapidAPI services have usage limits that’ll throw 401s even with valid keys. One more thing - you’re passing a URL as the location parameter, but most weather APIs expect city names or coordinates instead.