Env And Keys Setup

---
name: env-and-keys-setup
description: Set up an AI agent's API keys and .env file — which keys the agent needs, simple key vs OAuth, cost models, and the four security rules that keep credentials safe. Use when asked to set up API keys, create a .env file, connect an agent to WordPress or Gemini or Tavily, understand tokens vs keys, work out why social publishing is so hard, handle a leaked key, or someone says 'the agent can't reach my tools'. For the folder around .env, see agent-folder-scaffold. For WordPress specifically, see wordpress-api-connector.
metadata:
  version: 1.0.0
---

# Env and keys setup

An agent is only useful if it can reach your tools. Two ideas do all the work:
an **API** is the language two pieces of software speak, and an **API key** is
the password proving your agent may use the service — generated once, pasted
into `.env`, used silently forever after.

The distinction that saves days of frustration: **there are two kinds of key,
and one is much harder.**

## Before you start

| Input | Why |
| --- | --- |
| Which agent you are building | You get the keys for THIS agent first, not all 17 at once |
| The agent's .env + .gitignore, already created together | Keys need somewhere safe before the first one is generated |
| Billing awareness per tool | Free tier, pre-pay credits, or subscription — know which before connecting |

## Step 1 — Know the two kinds of key

| Type | What it is | Used by |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Simple API key** (easy) | A single secret string. Generate, paste, done | Gemini, ElevenLabs, Heygen, KIE, Higgsfield, Suno, Tavily, Firecrawl, OpenAI, Claude |
| **OAuth token** (harder) | Permission to act *as you* on your account: build a small developer app, approve permissions, token expires and refreshes | LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Gmail — **this is why social publishing is the hardest part** |

For LinkedIn and Instagram, use a bridge service rather than fighting raw OAuth —
the course's own recommendation.

## Step 2 — Know the three ways you pay

**Free tier** (a monthly allowance, then stop or pay) · **pre-pay credits** (load
money, pay per generation — common for image and video) · **subscription** (flat
fee). Always know which one a tool uses *before* you connect it — pre-pay and
pay-per-use keys can drain fast.

## Step 3 — Pull only your agent's stack

The starter stacks, from the playbook:

| Agent | Keys you need |
| --- | --- |
| SEO agent | WordPress + Google AI Studio + Tavily + Firecrawl + Semrush + Claude |
| LinkedIn agent | Claude + a publishing bridge + Google AI Studio for images |
| Reel/video agent | Claude + Firecrawl + ElevenLabs + Heygen/Higgsfield + Suno/KIE + a publishing bridge |
| Research agent | Claude + Tavily + Firecrawl + Apify + Perplexity |
| Bulk ads creative | Claude + KIE/Higgsfield/Google AI Studio for images at volume |

## Step 4 — Build the .env

One private file, every key, labelled by group:

```
# ---- Publishing ----
WP_SITE_URL=https://yourdomain.com
WP_APPLICATION_PASSWORD=xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx
# ---- Media ----
GOOGLE_AI_STUDIO_API_KEY=AIza...
ELEVENLABS_API_KEY=...
# ---- Research ----
TAVILY_API_KEY=tvly-...
FIRECRAWL_API_KEY=fc-...
# ---- Brain ----
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-...
```

Generate a key, paste it, label it. Scripts load it with an env loader — **never
a value hardcoded in a skill file**, because skills get shared and copied; `.env`
does not.

## Step 5 — Enforce the four security rules

1. **Never share the .env file.** Not in a screenshot, not in a group, not on
   public GitHub. It is in `.gitignore` from birth.
2. **One key per tool, named so you recognise it.**
3. **Rotate every few months; revoke instantly if one leaks.**
4. **Watch spend.** Set billing limits and alerts on pre-pay and pay-per-use keys.

## Output

```
# Key setup: <agent>

Stack: <keys for THIS agent only>
| Key | Kind (simple/OAuth) | Cost model | In .env as | Billing alert set? |
.env: labelled by group ✓ · .gitignore first line ✓ · nothing hardcoded ✓
OAuth needs: <none / bridge chosen for LinkedIn-Instagram>
Rotation date: <a few months out, in the calendar>
```

## When it breaks

| What you see | What it means | The fix |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Agent "can't reach" a tool | Key missing, mislabelled, or not loaded from .env | Check the exact variable name the script expects |
| Days lost on LinkedIn/Instagram | Fighting raw OAuth | Use a bridge — that is the course's own answer |
| A key appears in a screenshot or repo | Rule 1 broken | Revoke and regenerate NOW; rotation is instant on a leak |
| Surprise bill from an image tool | Pre-pay/pay-per-use unwatched | Billing limits and alerts, rule 4 |
| Key works locally, fails for teammate | Key hardcoded in a shared skill file | Keys live only in .env; the skill reads the variable |
| 17 tabs of signups, no agent | Collecting keys before building | This agent's stack only; the next agent earns its own keys |
| Token stopped working after weeks | OAuth expiry — they refresh by design | Expected behaviour; the bridge or refresh flow handles it |

Never "test quickly" by pasting a key directly into a prompt, a skill file, or a
chat. Every one of those surfaces is shareable, and a shared key is a leaked key.

## Rules

- **Keys live in .env and nowhere else**, because skills get shared and copied
  and .env does not.
- **This agent's stack only**, because 17 keys before one working agent is
  procrastination with extra billing risk.
- **Know the cost model before connecting**, because pre-pay drains silently and
  rule 4 exists for a reason.
- **Leak means revoke now**, because rotation on schedule is hygiene but
  rotation on leak is an emergency.
- **Bridge over raw OAuth for social**, because the course's honest position is
  that OAuth apps are the hardest part and marketers shouldn't fight them alone.

## Related skills

- **agent-folder-scaffold** — creates .env and .gitignore together, before keys.
- **wordpress-api-connector** — the WordPress application password, step by step.
- **token-budgeter** — the other kind of token: usage, not passwords.
- **claude-md-writer** — the driver never contains a key, only the variable name.