# Give your agent API access.  Without giving away your keys.

One command. Your agent can call any API. Your users approve each permission. Credentials never leave the server.

## Install Keychains

Install the CLI globally, or use npx to run it directly.

```terminal
npm i -g keychains
```

## Call any API

Just prefix `curl` with `keychains`. The only change vs. a classic curl call: replace hard-coded credentials with template variables.

`{{OAUTH*_TOKEN}}` — OAuth1 or OAuth2 access/refresh/request token (provider auto-detected from URL)

↳`OAUTH2_ACCESS_TOKEN`

↳`OAUTH2_REFRESH_TOKEN`

↳`OAUTH1_ACCESS_TOKEN`

↳`OAUTH1_REQUEST_TOKEN`

`{{ANY_NAME}}` — Any non-OAUTH* string is treated as an API key name (eg {{STRIPE_PRIVATE_KEY}})

```terminal
keychains curl https://api.github.com/user/repos \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer {{GITHUB_TOKEN}}"

> 200 OK — 42 repositories
```

## How the permission flow works

With wildcard tokens, permissions are approved on the fly. Here's what happens the first time your agent needs a new scope:

Your agent calls an API

```terminal
$keychains curl https://api.github.com/user/repos
```

403

First call? Keychains asks for permission

Scope not yet approved: `github::repo`

Approve at: https://keychains.dev/approve/pr_a1b2...

Your user approves — one click

**Permission Request**  
my-agent wants access to:  
github::repo  
Read & write repositories  
**Deny**  **Approve**

Same call again — it just works

```terminal
$keychains curl https://api.github.com/user/repos
```

200 OK — 42 repositories

Replay

New scope needed

User approves

Access granted

## Go further

Now that you have the basics, explore what else Keychains can do.

[Delegating credentials to sub-agents](/content/docs/delegation/index.html)  
Give sub-agents or VMs temporary, scoped access derived from your permissions. Perfect for agentic workflows that spawn workers.

[Pre-approved permission tokens](/content/docs/permissions/index.html)  
Know exactly which APIs you need? Create scoped permissions with predefined scopes — no back-and-forth approval needed.

[What if my SSH key is stolen? Or my tokens?](/content/docs/security/index.html)  
Understand the threat model, automatic invalidation mechanisms, and what to do if credentials are compromised.