RapidAPI authentication fails in Postman with invalid key message

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1

Issue with API authentication through RapidAPI

I’m new to working with APIs and decided to try out RapidAPI for my learning project. However, I keep running into authentication problems when testing my requests.

When I test the API call in Postman, it keeps telling me that my API key is invalid, but I’m confident that the key itself is correct. The browser console shows a 404 status error from the server.

Here’s my setup: I have a credentials file that stores my key:

const SECRET_KEY = "abc123xyz789";

export {SECRET_KEY};

My main JavaScript file imports this key and makes the API call:

import {SECRET_KEY} from './credentials';

fetch("https://weatherapi-com.p.rapidapi.com/current.json?q=Paris&units=metric", {
    "method": "GET",
    "headers": {
        "x-rapidapi-key": SECRET_KEY,
        "x-rapidapi-host": "weatherapi-com.p.rapidapi.com"
    }
})
.then(data => data.json())
.then(data => {
    console.log(data);
    console.log(data.current);
})
.catch(error => {
    console.error(error);
});

I’m running this through Live Server in VS Code. Has anyone encountered similar authentication issues with RapidAPI? What could be causing this problem?

2

Yeah, CORS is part of it, but check your RapidAPI subscription too. You need to be subscribed to the specific weather API plan you’re using - not just have a valid key. I’ve been burned by this before. Had my key working perfectly for one API, then couldn’t figure out why another kept throwing auth errors. Turns out I never actually subscribed to the second one. Also, grab the exact endpoint URL from your RapidAPI dashboard. Some APIs have weird variations in their base URLs that’ll give you 404s.

3

i see what ur saying! it sounds like a CORS thing if u’re testing it on a live server. RapidAPI does block direct browser calls for security. try testing ur API key in Postman first, then maybe switch to a backend or a CORS proxy while deving.

4

Same thing happened to me with RapidAPI. You’re hitting CORS restrictions because you’re running the fetch directly from your browser through Live Server. RapidAPI blocks direct browser requests for security reasons. I ran into this exact issue and had to set up a simple Node.js backend to handle the API calls. You could also use Netlify Functions if you want serverless. That 404 you’re seeing? It’s probably the browser getting blocked, not your API key being wrong. Test your headers and endpoint in Postman first to make sure your credentials work, then build a backend solution.