UNunkeyed
keys

Delete API keys

Changed on

Delete API keys from user accounts or for cleanup purposes.

Use this for user-requested key revocation, account deletion workflows, or cleaning up unused keys. Keys are immediately invalidated. Two modes: soft delete (default, preserves audit records) and permanent delete.

Important: For temporary access control, use updateKey with enabled: false instead of deletion.

Required Permissions

Your credential must have one of the following permissions:

  • api.*.delete_key (to delete keys in any API)
  • api.<api_id>.delete_key (to delete keys in a specific API)
  • unkey:v1:<workspace_id>:keyspaces/*/keys/*#delete_key (to delete keys in any keyspace)
  • unkey:v1:<workspace_id>:keyspaces/<keyspace_id>/keys/*#delete_key (to delete keys in a specific keyspace)
  • unkey:v1:<workspace_id>:keyspaces/<keyspace_id>/keys/<key_id>#delete_key (to delete a specific key)
post/v2/keys.deleteKey

Request

  • Base URL
    https://api.unkey.com
  • URL
    https://api.unkey.com/v2/keys.deleteKey
  • Auth
    HTTP bearer

Request body

keyIdstring required

Specifies which key to delete using the database identifier returned from createKey. Do not confuse this with the actual API key string that users include in requests. Deletion immediately invalidates the key, causing all future verification attempts to fail with code=NOT_FOUND. Key deletion triggers cache invalidation across all regions but may take up to 30 seconds to fully propagate.

permanentboolean

Controls deletion behavior between recoverable soft-deletion and irreversible permanent erasure. Soft deletion (default) preserves key data for potential recovery through direct database operations. Permanent deletion completely removes all traces including hash values and metadata with no recovery option.

Use permanent deletion only for regulatory compliance (GDPR), resolving hash collisions, or when reusing identical key strings. Permanent deletion cannot be undone and may affect analytics data that references the deleted key. Most applications should use soft deletion to maintain audit trails and prevent accidental data loss.

Example request

{
  "keyId": "key_2cGKbMxRyIzhCxo1Idjz8q"
}

Response

Key deleted successfully. Verification fails immediately with up to 30-second edge propagation.

dataEmptyResponse required

Empty response object by design. A successful response indicates this operation was successfully executed.

Example response

{
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  }
}

Changes