Authentication

After creating your API key we recommend saving it as a global environment variable.

This has the following benefits:

Prevents unauthorized access to your API key. By saving it as an environment variable, you can keep it separate from your codebase, reducing the risk of accidental exposure or leakage.
It allows you to easily switch between different API keys or update them without modifying your code.
When using our Python SDK, the command sig.init() will enable you to create a session linked to your API key.

Setting your API key as a global environment variable

Option 1: Set your environment variable via the command prompt

Open a command prompt window.
Run the following in the command prompt, replacing with your API key:
```
setx SIGTECH_API_KEY '<yourkey>'
```
Close your command prompt window.
Open a new command prompt window and validate that the environment variable has been set by running the command:
```
echo %SIGTECH_API_KEY%
```

Option 2: Set your environment variable using the control panel

Select Start and then type "environment variable" into the search box.
Select Edit environment variables for your account.
Select Environment Variables….
Select New… under your existing user variables.
Define your new variable:
1. In Variable name, enter SIGTECH_API_KEY.
2. In Variable value, enter your API key.

Option 1: Set your environment variable using zsh

Open a terminal window.
Run the following command in your terminal, replacing your key with your API key.
```
echo "export SIGTECH_API_KEY='yourkey'" >> ~/.zshrc
```
Update the shell with the new variable by running the following command:
```
source ~/.zshrc
```
Confirm that you have set your environment variable by running the following command. The value of your API key will be the resulting output.
```
echo $SIGTECH_API_KEY
```

Option 2: Set your environment variable using bash

Check that this environment variable is set correctly by running the following command in your terminal or command prompt:

import sigtech.api as sig
sig.init()