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The CLI authenticates with the same API key used by the Python SDK and HTTP API. Hosted private beta and self-hosted single-host appliances both use bearer API keys; only the API base URL differs.

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Environment Variables

For scripts, CI, and coding agents, prefer environment variables:
The CLI also accepts NULLSPACE_BASE_URL as a base-url alias. Use NULLSPACE_API_URL for SDK/CLI clients; VITE_NULLSPACE_API_BASE is a console build-time variable. For the self-hosted single-host appliance in localhost/no-domain mode:
For owned-domain mode:

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Login Command

For local interactive use, save an API key and endpoint with:
The command prompts for the key and writes it to ~/.nullspace/config.json. Environment variables still take precedence, so you can override the saved key or API URL per shell or per project. If you only need to update the saved key and keep the current API URL, run:

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Project .env

When a project needs its own endpoint or key, put a .env file in the current working directory:
Never commit .env files that contain real credentials.

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Config Precedence

Credential lookup order is:
  1. Explicit SDK arguments when you are using Python directly.
  2. NULLSPACE_API_KEY, NULLSPACE_API_URL, and NULLSPACE_BASE_URL.
  3. A project .env in the current working directory.
  4. ~/.config/nullspace/config.json.
  5. ~/.nullspace/config.json.
Hosted private-beta and self-hosted appliance commands require an API key. If no base URL is configured, the SDK defaults to http://localhost:3000, which is intended for local development direct API access. The appliance quickstart uses http://localhost through Caddy. To see which source won without printing any secrets, run:
It prints the resolved API URL, the winning key source (env, .env, xdg-config, legacy-config, or none), and a sha256: key fingerprint — never the key itself. Add --json for machine-readable output, including every source consulted. If the legacy ~/.nullspace/config.json exists, the command prints a one-line pointer to the blessed ~/.config/nullspace/config.json location.

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Verify Access

For raw HTTP verification: