How do I log in from a server or a terminal?

Use the device-code flow. Request a code, approve it in a browser on any device, and your client polls until it receives the API key. Nobody has to paste a secret into the terminal.

Can I get the API key back if I lose it?

No. It is returned once on the authorized response and never again, so write it to your config or keychain immediately and issue a new key if it is lost.

CLI and device login

Getting a key onto a machine that has no browser, without copying and pasting a secret around.

The CLI package is not published yet

@makeaivideo/cli is built and tested but is not on npm, so there is nothing to install today. The device-code endpoints it uses are live now, and everything on this page works with plain curl. This page will get install and command docs when the package ships.

Device-code flow

Standard RFC 8628. The machine asks for a code, a human approves it in a browser somewhere else, and the machine collects the key. These two endpoints are the only unauthenticated ones in the API.

1. Start a login

curl

curl -X POST https://app.makeaivideo.ai/api/v1/auth/device \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{ "client_name": "my-laptop" }'

200 — field shape

{
  "data": {
    "device_code": "...",
    "user_code": "....-....",
    "verification_uri": "https://app.makeaivideo.ai/device",
    "verification_uri_complete": "https://app.makeaivideo.ai/device?code=...",
    "expires_in": <seconds>,
    "interval": <seconds between polls>
  },
  "error": null,
  "meta": { ... }
}

Show the user user_code and send them to verification_uri. If they are on the same machine, verification_uri_complete skips the typing.

2. Poll for approval

Poll every interval seconds until the code expires.

curl

curl -X POST https://app.makeaivideo.ai/api/v1/auth/device/token \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{ "device_code": "..." }'

status	What to do
pending	Nobody has approved it yet. Keep polling at the given interval.
slow_down	You are polling too fast. Back off, then continue.
authorized	Approved. api_key is present, once. Store it now.
denied	The user rejected the request. Stop.
expired	The code timed out. Start a new device login.

3. Store the key

authorized — field shape

{
  "data": {
    "status": "authorized",
    "api_key": "mav_...",
    "api_key_id": <integer>
  },
  "error": null,
  "meta": { ... }
}

api_key is returned once and never again. Write it to your config or keychain on receipt. From there it is an ordinary bearer key, as described in Authentication.

CLI questions

Is there a MakeAIVideo CLI?: It is built but not yet published to npm, so there is nothing to install today. The device-code endpoints it uses are live, and this page shows the same flow with curl.
How do I log in from a server or a terminal?: Use the device-code flow. Request a code, approve it in a browser on any device, and your client polls until it receives the API key. Nobody has to paste a secret into the terminal.
Can I get the API key back if I lose it?: No. It is returned once on the authorized response and never again, so write it to your config or keychain immediately and issue a new key if it is lost.