PLATFORM / ARCHITECTURE
API Key Authentication
TraceFlux uses scoped API keys to authenticate ingestion and control plane operations—so teams can onboard collectors, automate governed workflows, and audit access without shared admin tokens.
Example: authenticated API call
bearercurl -X GET https://api.traceflux.io/v1/incidents?env=prod \ -H "Authorization: Bearer TF_CP_xxxxxxxxxxxxx" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json"
One key per collector, per environment, per automation runner.
Rotation workflows minimize downtime; revocation stops compromised access immediately.
WHY IT MATTERS
Authentication that scales with hybrid operations.
Enterprise buyers don’t just ask “can you authenticate?” — they ask if you can contain blast radius, prove who did what, and rotate safely across distributed systems.
Least privilege by default
Issue ingestion-only keys, read-only keys, or narrowly scoped service keys—no shared admin tokens.
Rotation without downtime
Overlapping key validity + staged rollout patterns keep collectors and services online during rotation.
Audit-ready access
Key usage is traceable across incidents, approvals, and replay executions for defensible governance.
TOKEN MODEL
Separate ingestion from control plane.
TraceFlux uses different key types so telemetry ingestion stays fast and safe while operational controls remain governed.
Ingestion Keys
WRITE-ONLYHigh-throughput telemetry ingestion. Tenant-scoped and optimized for collectors.
- Flow / BGP / DNS / metrics ingestion
- Backpressure-friendly
- No control-plane permissions
Control Plane Keys
READ/WRITEOperator API access for incidents, alerts, approvals, and querying.
- Explicit permissions
- Environment scoping
- Works with RBAC policies
Service Keys
AUTOMATIONKeys for replay runners and governed automation services with strict scopes and expiry.
- Short-lived recommended
- Approval-bound execution
- Action logging + parity traces
LIFECYCLE
Create → scope → rotate → revoke.
Treat API keys like production credentials: narrow scopes, short lifetimes when possible, and predictable rotation playbooks.
Generate keys per service or team—never share a single global token.
Attach permissions for specific APIs, environments, and tenants.
Issue a new key, roll deploys, then retire the old key after verification.
Instantly disable a key and block further actions. Audit retains the history.
Use staged rotation for distributed collectors: issue a new key, update one region/POP at a time, verify last-used signals, then revoke the old key after stable ingestion.
OPERATOR EXPERIENCE
A keys view that ops teams trust.
Clear metadata (scope, last used, expiry) and immediate actions (rotate, revoke) reduce credential risk.
SECURITY GUARDRAILS
Built for safe automation and auditability.
Authentication is only useful if it supports governance: scoped access, controlled execution, and an audit trail you can defend.
Keys map to clear action boundaries (read incidents, write approvals, ingest only).
Prefer short-lived service keys for automation and replay runners.
Separate keys by environment: production vs. staging vs. lab.
Rate limits + ingestion backpressure prevent runaway clients from destabilizing ingestion.
Immediate shutdown path for compromised keys—no waiting on deploy pipelines.
Every key action is attributable and reviewable (who/what/when/where).
Never embed keys in client-side code. Use server-side collectors, secure secret stores, and environment-scoped credentials.
FAQ
Common questions.
This is the short list buyers ask in security reviews and production readiness checks.
Yes. TraceFlux keys are designed to be tenant-aware and environment-scoped so production access can’t leak into staging (and vice versa).
Issue a replacement key, deploy it in parallel, validate last-used signals, then revoke the previous key. For collectors, stagger rollout by region/POP to avoid ingestion gaps.
Yes. API keys work alongside RBAC policies: the key authenticates the caller, and RBAC authorizes the action.
SSO is typically handled for human access; API keys remain the standard for machines. TraceFlux’s roadmap supports enterprise identity integration while keeping machine auth token-based.
Validate your auth model on real telemetry.
We’ll walk through ingestion keys, control plane scopes, rotation playbooks, and audit traces using your environment.