# 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*](https://docs.hostedgraphite.com/api-guides/graphite-render-api) 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*](https://docs.hostedgraphite.com/dashboard-and-graphs/local-dashboard-integration).

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

<figure><img src="https://495119770-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FZtHmoGZNsmARIViZEdbz%2Fuploads%2Fkhicxy8Tu0oDJOk5vike%2Faccess-key-list.png?alt=media&#x26;token=4fb9983d-b552-4969-94cc-0c019bd2ca6c" 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="https://495119770-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FZtHmoGZNsmARIViZEdbz%2Fuploads%2F94oSQSHTJmowzaqmwxfa%2Fnew-access-key.png?alt=media&#x26;token=17a6bb73-f717-410b-8c8c-328d3d94eb80" 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).