I need to access a free API service through RapidAPI but I’m stuck on the authentication part. When I visit their website manually, everything works fine. I can log in using my Google account through OAuth2 and the system automatically fills in the X-RapidAPI-Key header for me.
The problem is I want to do this whole process from my application code instead of using a web browser. I’m thinking there must be some REST endpoint I can call that will handle the OAuth2 flow and return the API key I need.
I tried looking through their documentation but couldn’t find the specific API endpoints for programmatic authentication. Has anyone figured out how to get these authentication tokens directly through HTTP requests? I’m specifically trying to use their flight search service but I assume the auth process is the same for all their APIs.
Just to be clear, I understand how OAuth2 works in general. My question is specifically about RapidAPI’s implementation and what URLs or endpoints I should be calling to get the X-RapidAPI-Key without going through their web interface.
I hit this same confusion when I started using RapidAPI six months ago. The OAuth2 login on their site is just for managing your account - it’s got nothing to do with API authentication. Here’s what actually happens: once you create an account (doesn’t matter if it’s Google OAuth or whatever), RapidAPI gives you a permanent API key that never changes. You’ll find it in your dashboard under ‘My Apps’ or when you subscribe to an API. It’s just a long string of letters and numbers that you drop into your X-RapidAPI-Key header. I wasted hours trying to reverse engineer their OAuth flow before I figured out you just copy the key once and use it forever in your code.
RapidAPI does not provide an endpoint for retrieving the API key programmatically, as it is designed to ensure security. The X-RapidAPI-Key is essentially an account identifier that is assigned upon sign-up, rather than a temporary token generated via OAuth. To obtain your API key, you need to log into the RapidAPI web interface, subscribe to the desired flight search API, and copy your API key from the dashboard. This key is static and does not expire. Then, include this key in the X-RapidAPI-Key header for each API request. In my experience, RapidAPI maintains a consistent model where a single key is utilized across various projects.
you’re overcomplicating this - x-rapidapi-key isn’t oauth generated. it’s just a static key from your account dashboard. i thought i needed to automate the login flow too, but nope. just hardcode the key and you’re set.