# Access Keys

Contents**:**

* [What can I use an Access Key for?](#what-can-i-use-an-access-key-for)
* [Access Key List](#access-key-list)
* [Using an Access Key](#using-an-access-key)
* [Create an Access Key](#create-an-access-key)
* [Editing an Access Key](#editing-an-access-key)
* [Deleting an Access Key](#deleting-an-access-key)
* [Troubleshooting](#troubleshooting)

### [What can I use an Access Key for?](#what-can-i-use-an-access-key-for)

An [Access Key](https://www.hostedgraphite.com/app/sharing/) can help you use different Graphite plugins using Hosted Graphite Data, such as:

* **Tasseo**\
  A real-time Graphite dashboard. Also available within Hosted Graphite - follow the Tasseo link at the top, or grab it from the [Tasseo GitHub page](https://github.com/obfuscurity/tasseo)
* **Graphene**\
  For an alternative real-time Graphite Dashboard, see the [Graphene GitHub page](https://github.com/jondot/graphene)
* **Seyren**\
  An alerting dashboard for Graphite. See the [Seyren GitHub page](https://github.com/scobal/seyren)
* **The Graphite Render API**\
  The [*Graphite Render API*](/api-guides/graphite-render-api.md) allows you to create images of your graph data. It’s a really comprehensive way to render the data collected by Hosted Graphite.
* **Local Dashboard Instance**\
  Add Hosted Graphite as a [data source](http://docs.grafana.org/features/datasources/graphite/) to your local/self-hosted dashboard installation to render your metrics. You can find a detailed guide [*here*](/dashboard-and-graphs/local-dashboard-integration.md).

### [Access Key List](#access-key-list)

<figure><img src="/files/4YJzFXLiPL7abGegvaC4" alt=""><figcaption><p>Your list of access keys, found in Access => Sharing</p></figcaption></figure>

### [Using an Access Key](#using-an-access-key)

The created access key will be listed in the table as shown in the image above. Simply copy and append the key to your Hosted Graphite URL (e.g: <https://www.hostedgraphite.com/YOUR-UID/ACCESS-KEY/graphite/>) to use it in your external application, as per its documentation.

### [Create an Access Key](#create-an-access-key)

Click the “Add Access Key” button to do the obvious.

<figure><img src="/files/h76hDefhnSOshsAIsE3u" alt="" width="375"><figcaption><p>Graphite access key</p></figcaption></figure>

* **Access Key Name**\
  Creating an Access Key requires that you name the key. This has no connection to the key itself, it’s just a handy reminder of why you added it. E.g. to connect to an external dashboard like Tasseo, or to an alerting system such as Seyren.
* **Optional - Add An IP Whitelist**\
  It’s not necessary for you to add a whitelist, but this will add an **extra level of protection** if your key is leaked, and you want to ensure that data is only coming from servers you control. The whitelist accepts comma-separated IP addresses in the standard format (XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX). Only team managers and account owners will see the Access Key list or have the option to create keys.
* **Type - Dashboard or Graphite**\
  Unless you’re specifically using an Access Key to share a dashboard, the option you want to pick is **Graphite**. This gives external applications access to Graphite’s data.

### [Editing an Access Key](#editing-an-access-key)

Clicking the wrench / Edit icon to bring up the Edit Access Key dialog. There is also an option here to Whitelist an IP if needed:

### [Deleting an Access Key](#deleting-an-access-key)

Hit the trash can icon to bring up the Delete Access Key dialog and simply hit the “Yes, Delete” button to purge the Access Key from the system.

### [Troubleshooting](#troubleshooting)

* **When I visit the Access Key URL I get a ‘403 Forbidden’ error**\
  The access key enables access to the read-only parts of Hosted Graphite that allow you to retrieve data, and anything else returns a 403. If you add ‘/render/’ to the end of the created URL, you’ll see a blank graph image showing a red “No Data”.
* **I still get a 403 error at the ‘/render/’ URL**\
  Remove any whitelisted IP addresses you have added to the access key, and try again. If you still have trouble accessing the URL, [contact us](mailto:support%40hostedgraphite.com).


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.hostedgraphite.com/account-management/access-keys.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.