How to secure api key react. Jan 10, 2020 · Well it depends on the keys. From what I understand, you can't fully protect your sensitive info but only make hacker's life hard Jun 1, 2025 · Download 1M+ code from https://codegive. If you're trying to keep the API secure and out of client sight I'd consider setting up a proxy endpoint via a cloud function in firebase, or standing up a node service where you can leverage server side env variables and make your API call with the key there. Anyone can easily Dec 23, 2022 · Discover how to hide your API keys and tokens in React using environment variables with Vite and nodejs. env file, is not secure. The use of these functions requires the user to be authenticated (so that they are verified app users), and it means that there’s no private keys stored anywhere in the App. Secure API Calls with Token Authentication Client-side applications are easy targets for unauthorized API access. js and . I have mobile app created by react native and I have backend server, which can start payment session or send e-mail when we request correct endpoint and passes correct API key. 3. NET Full Stack Mar 18, 2024 · By leveraging JWT token interceptors, developers can ensure that their Angular and React applications remain secure and resilient in the face of evolving threats on the web. env files but it is not secure. Oct 28, 2021 · Learn best practices to secure your React. Why you shouldn't advertise your frontend API key: When my instructor told me to never push code to Github that had my API key on it, I wondered how it could possibly matter. Jan 17, 2023 · Using environment variables in Reactjs with Vite and nodejs Have you ever noticed that some applications have API keys, tokens, or other sensitive credentials visible in their source code? or maybe your own applications? Well, this can be dangerous and put the security of your services at risk. I want to ensure that sensitive information is handled properly to maintain se Jul 23, 2025 · Securing a Vite-powered React app involves several best practices and strategies to protect your application from threats and vulnerabilities. Aug 21, 2025 · Learn how to properly secure API keys in React applications using the Backend-for-Frontend pattern, JWT authentication, and industry-standard security practices. Given this, use security rules to protect your data and API Security in React LinkedIn Version (Professional & Educational) 🔐 Critical Security Mistake: Exposing API Keys in React Applications If you're storing API keys directly in your React 🚨 Stop exposing your API keys in React! 🚨 As a frontend framework, all your React code is visible, making it a bad practice to store keys directly in files like App. In this comprehensive guide, I‘ll share 10 best practices for building secure API keys based on my 10+ years of experience as a software engineer. Feb 23, 2024 · Learn the safest method to conceal your API key in React app. Instead of using the key directly in your file, you store it in an . Use secured API keys in your React InstantSearch app to keep your data safe. Nov 7, 2023 · While there are many ways that APIs can implement authentication, one popular choice is using secret keys as the scheme. Utilize environment variables to store and access Sep 10, 2024 · We recommend using cookies for browser-based applications, because, by default, the browser automatically handles them without exposing them to JavaScript. Which do you listen to? How can you avoid data leaks or unauthorized API access? Here are my 5 steps for writing high-quality Jul 3, 2022 · simply put - the only way to protect API keys is to store them on the backend, so your React app connects to it and request to perform specific API call. Furthermore, they access specific features, services, or data such as maps, analytics, or social media integrations. API keys, tokens, and other sensitive credentials are used to authenticate and authorize access to Sep 5, 2025 · Learn professional techniques for securing API keys in React applications using the Backend for Frontend (BFF) pattern, secrets management, and industry best practices for API security. Follow these security practices: Environment Variables: Store sensitive information, such as API keys, in environment variables rather than hardcoding them in your code. You need those to authenticate a request to a third party service (i. The key takeaway is that Netlify functions allow you to hide secrets securely for React and other frontend applications. If you must have an API key or a secret to access some resource from your app, the most secure way to handle this would be to build an orchestration layer between your app and the resource. , REACT_APP_API_KEY), but remember they will be bundled and visible. 3 Securing API Keys When working with APIs, especially third-party services, securing API keys is crucial to prevent unauthorized access and potential misuse. js to make sure that the api keys and secret are not public. Upon signing up for an Jan 8, 2025 · The React frontend encrypts the request body using the server’s public key. However, if not implemented correctly, API keys can compromise security. For environment variables checkout react native config. A few extra steps today can save you from leaks, unexpected bills, or full-on project Feb 9, 2018 · As pointed out by Claudiu Creanga, React environment variables are embedded in the build and are publicly accessible. comIn this video I show you how to store your API keys safely for your React Project, Oct 7, 2023 · Recently I was trying to work on a web project to track each user's progress on Freecodecamp platform to get / fetch their point using React Vite and Firebase just to practice ReactJs and integrate firebase to add more functionality. Jul 31, 2021 · I quick question! I have a webapp that only fetches data from an API so i dont have i backend part. env file for security, separation of cconcerns, and reusability in your coding journey. env file. Step-by-step guides, tutorials, and expert solutions for your questions. They allow different services to communicate with each other securely. Aug 20, 2023 · The objective is to establish a secure and efficient data communication channel between a React frontend and a Laravel backend. API keys are alphanumeric strings consisting of letters and numbers. By mastering these techniques, you ensure that your users can access their data confidently while guarding against unauthorized access. Aug 22, 2024 · In this comprehensive guide, you will learn industry best practices for securely accessing API keys in React applications leveraging serverless Netlify functions. From lots of blog reading, I understand that this must not be stored on github. Aug 21, 2025 · Since React is frontend-only, if I put the API key in the code, it will be visible in the browser or network tab. There are so many opinions when it comes to API route security. You call the Express server from React, the Express server pulls the API key from the . io, in the secure section of this package. An API key is just a string but a secret token for your application to contact the verification server. My goal was to secure the Api Key by preventing it from pushing it to Github. e. The fetchData function is an asynchronous function that encrypts the data using encryptData and sends it to the server using a POST request to the specified API URL. Hello, I’m building an Expo React Native app and I need to somewhere securely store a sensitive API key. Some keys are meant to be used like this, and you need to be aware that they could be used by anyone who knows your website. env files isn’t secure and show you Jun 27, 2020 · In this article, I talk about how to make your frontend API key environment specific. Therefore, you can never secure any API keys used in the frontend. init("API_KEY"); Jun 13, 2023 · Can you use secret keys in native apps? What happens with API keys in React Native? Let me show you how fast I can get to the source of your app, and how you Apr 7, 2020 · Google's documentation for using react-native-maps calls for placing your API_KEY in the AndroidManifest. According to the firebase docs: The content is considered public, including your platform-specific ID (entered in the Firebase console setup workflow) and values that are specific to your Firebase project, like your API Key, Realtime Database URL, and Storage bucket name. Every developer should know how to hide their API keys. Step-by-step guide to proper API key management and security best practices. your react app) anyone using your app can see the request that was made (with tokens, keys, etc. These keys ensure secure communication between your app and external service. js backend decrypts the request using its private key, processes it, and sends back an encrypted response. codewithania. For example, as shown below: REACT_APP_KEY = hello_world Note: The declaration should be exact, with no space in-between. Over 15 years working as a senior full-stack developer and architect, I‘ve seen many cases of accidentally leaked credentials and API keys resulting in embarrassing security incidents. The most common way of exposing your keys to the public is by hard coding them in your project source code and later committing to a remote repository such as GitHub or GitLab. […] Jul 30, 2024 · This article delves into the best practices for secure token storage in React JS, ensuring your API calls remain uncompromised. Build a backend for maximum security. How to Secure Google Maps API Key for Expo App? I'm currently working on an Expo app that utilizes the Google Maps API for displaying markers on a map. env file and keep this file only on your local machine. Store keys in environment variables (e. js. If you must use keys on frontend, ensure they have strict API restrictions (like domain or usage limits). Learn how to use API keys securely in a React app. We will cover: The risks of exposing API keys and how Netlify functions can protect against threats Alternatives like environment variables vs functions for security Real-world examples like adding authentication and processing data Your API keys, database URL, app id etc are meant to be public. a call to the Open Weather Map API). As pointed out by Claudiu Creanga, React environment variables are embedded in the build and are publicly accessible. If you know what API keys are then you also know why is it important for us to protect them from being stolen. You should really only save API keys or secrets in your backend such as Node. Sep 4, 2025 · Learn how to secure API keys in React applications using serverless functions and proxy servers. js or Express. Is there any safe way to hide the API key without creating my own backend or any other solutions? Apr 9, 2025 · Let’s talk about a critical security mistake many developers make when building React Native applications. The same backend APIs can be used to secure Blazor WebAssembly apps. Is next the best way? What's the industry standard way of handling this? Oct 6, 2019 · The best way to handle API security is to store the keys in a backend server that the application accesses, thus fully preventing the client from handling the keys directly. Discover why storing API keys in GitHub is dangerous and how to securely use a . Feb 14, 2023 · When API calls are made from the frontend (i. Hi! I 'm looking for help to understand how an important data like API key can be secured in the client side without using env variables or encryption. Step-by-step guide for frontend developers to protect sensitive credentials. Get a comprehensive answer to "what are the best practices for handling api keys in react native" on HowTo. Sep 28, 2025 · Securing your API keys isn’t optional, it’s part of building professional, production-ready apps. Find out how to pass parameters from the frontend to the backend and retrieve data securely. Mar 22, 2024 · In today’s digital landscape, security is critical, particularly when it comes to handling authentication tokens in web development. Is it safe to store the API key in firestore database, then pulling it and saving the key using expo-secure-store to the mobile device after the user has logged in to the app? Feb 21, 2025 · Configure HSTS (HTTP Strict Transport Security) in your web server settings. Sharing that project on Github would expose your key for the entire world. ). If it's a public key then that's fine you can have it in public facing stuff (since that's the idea of public keys after all), but if it's a PRIVATE key, then you absolutely need to have these server side as environment variables, and leverage them via calls to your own API. json file and pass it via {PROVIDER_GOOGLE} in the MapView component. The Node. According to the Expo documentation, I need to store the API key in the app. You can't embed these in a front end app, since those keys can let people do nefarious Dec 19, 2024 · React is a frontend library that runs entirely in the user’s browser. In a React application built Oct 18, 2021 · I recently read a lot of post and article about securing sensitive info into a React Native app. Hi all, I'm still learning React, and for my next project I'm going to build an animal adoption search website using api from petfinder. Enhance your React application’s security and performance with these insights on token management. His If you are saying that you setup an api key for your server side api in nextjs, I think you really instead should be doing authentication with your users and using a valid token as security for that API. env file and reference it. I noticed there are few AI web apps that asks users to input their OpenAI API keys and uses that to run their AI apps. My question is where do you keep your API key? Accordingly to React docs you should not store API Aug 7, 2024 · One of the most common practices to secure the API key when using ReactJS is to hide the API key using env variables. 0 and higher. We should use react-native-keys instead of react-native-config because react-native-keys gives guarantee of protected envs whereas react-native-config envs can be decompile and hack Note: We highly recommend utilizing third-party client-side API KEYS, such as Google Map or Branch. Jan 9, 2024 · 10. Using dotenv files If you need to consume some external source with a "private" api-key, either hardcode it in your React App, or . Protect your data with expert techniques in 2024. env file in the Secret Files settings of the render dashboard, the API key (rather Aug 5, 2022 · There is therefore the need to secure your API Key before pushing your code to the public repository. Explore the best practices for secure authentication token storage in React JS. The web server is correct. com Get a comprehensive answer to "how to secure api keys in a react app" on HowTo. g. Truly there isn't such a thing as securely storing secrets on the client side. As I don’t want to implement my own backend for storing the API key I came up with another solution. If API URLs are hardcoded into the code, they can easily be exposed through browser developer tools or by inspecting the network requests. This article shows how to use Identity to secure a Web API backend for SPAs such as Angular, React, and Vue apps. This can cause a lot of issues. Proof 1 Unfortunately, keeping any key in your React client, even if you are using gitignore and an . We don’t want to show the important identifier - API Key and shouldn’t store it on Git repositories. Apr 8, 2022 · I want to deploy a React app (as a static site using just react/html/css) on render which uses an API key that must stay confidential. Jun 5, 2025 · How to securely handle API keys in a frontend-only environment? Best approach: Use a backend or serverless function as a proxy to keep keys hidden. this is a cr Jan 19, 2023 · Discover how to hide your API keys and tokens in React using environment variables with Vite and nodejs. You should always secret vars to an . Feb 7, 2023 · One of the most critical point as front end developer is to secure your code on browsers so that any other person can't see your source map to hack/inject. " See full list on makeuseof. May 6, 2024 · Conclusion API calls in a React project with a Node. Now I'm storing back Expo securing api keys using firebase functions as a serverless backend. This makes it easy for: Attackers to discover backend endpoints. Bots to abuse your APIs. The best way to handle this, in my opinion, is to use a framework like next or remix that allow you to My question is, how do big websites secure their keys that even if the key is to be inspected from the source, their API access is still restricted? Note that I'm not talking about the authenticated API access but let's say, an API to display public data like newsfeed etc the authenticated API access is already self explanatory. 1st you will need a route to make a request with axios /fetch/products/id and on that route you will make another request (the one from the picture) but with server side . Jan 2, 2024 · React. Assuming they are not scams, how do they secure the api key? Specifically, I saw a gpt app that works on Google workspace and Jun 28, 2021 · In this article, you will learn how to securely access secret API keys using Netlify functions in a React app. Sorry if this question doesn't make sense, but I appreciate all the help. js backend can be properly secured by adhering to best practices and applying robust security mechanisms. API keys are an essential part of modern application development. This is often used to store secret keys, for example, API Keys. org and secure the keys obtained from the API provider. How do you all approach react security? Is there’s a checklist of things you follow that are specific to react to boost its security? Or do you just focus on high level security practices that are generic across all frameworks and languages and apply them to react as well? Apr 23, 2024 · I'm currently working on a React Native project using Expo and need guidance on securely storing keys and public URLs. Timestamps Mar 9, 2024 · When it comes to developing web applications, especially those that interact with external APIs, handling sensitive information like API keys is a critical aspect. Aug 6, 2017 · Is there anyway to secure an API key when using it on a React javascript file ? For example; emailjs. I’m going to explain why storing API keys in . This could be a serverless function (e. My question is, how secure is this approach? Sep 16, 2020 · One way is to use an API Key however where would you put the API-Key on the react side? Yes, you could create an API Key Middleware and use it to authenticate the request. This comprehensive guide provides insights into ensuring uncompromised API calls and enhancing the security of your React applications. Get started now! Nov 29, 2020 · My API returns a private key that I can't just store in a variable directly within my code. js applications and protect them from vulnerabilities with this comprehensive guide. These features work only with react-scripts@0. Users to bypass restrictions or business logic. I actually found a brief tutorial on YouTube that uses next. com. 👋 Become 1% better at . To make this practical, you'll set up an app that makes an API call to Newsapi. 5. Create a . IM. However, whether I stored the API key through either the Environment Variables settings or in a . env file and makes its own request to whatever third party API, then the Express server returns the results to your React app. env file in your root directory and make an env variable using the prefix REACT_APP. Apr 20, 2018 · You need to make a request with your server side language and use the api key on server instead of client. I also use cursor AI as my code editor to generate the react native code. Netlify provides rich features that help you easily deploy Single Page Applications built using frameworks like React, Vue and Angular amon Mar 14, 2022 · What Are API Keys? Third-party keys in React Native refer to External API key setup in React-Native or authentication tokens provided by services or platforms outside your app. Does anyone know better way to secure the api keys ? Feb 7, 2024 · Learn the safest methods to hide API keys in React projects, preventing unauthorized access and financial loss. env file (bad idea, not secure), or set up a proxy backend that will connect to the external resource acting like a proxy (good idea). Aug 9, 2023 · Implementing robust authentication and authorization mechanisms in your React Native apps is pivotal for creating secure and trustworthy user experiences. Exposing secret keys directly to a client application however can create security risks, so how can client applications based on libraries like React securely access SaaS services? Jun 17, 2024 · In this example: We import the crypto library to handle encryption. using AWS Lambda or Google Cloud Functions) which can forward the request with the required API key or secret. Nov 23, 2024 · In this tutorial, we will explore the importance of securing your React application and provide a hands-on guide on how to do it using API keys and Webpack encrypted. Get a comprehensive answer to "how to secure api keys in a react native application" on HowTo. env Files: Keeping Secrets Safe and Your App Flexible In the bustling realm of React development, protecting sensitive information and adapting to different environments is crucial … Get a comprehensive answer to "how do i secure api keys in a react native app" on HowTo. Protect the security of your services. Jun 15, 2020 · Have you ever wondered how to avoid publishing your secret keys when you make your code public on places like Github? This guide focuses on helping you protect your secret keys in create-react-app. Replace 'YOUR_ENCRYPTION_KEY' with your actual encryption key Hi guys, I have some api keys in my app like geocode api key. Now I am storing keys in . Is there any workaround to secure Secret Key or Is it possible to access the OpenAI through another way from frontend (React js), so that OpenAI will know that valid users are accessing the platform? novaphil September 7, 2023, 3:51pm 2 How do I secure API keys in react native? If you must have an API key or a secret to access some resource from your app, the most secure way to handle this would be to build an orchestration layer between your app and the resource. In this article, I will take you through the steps to take to hide your API Key when publishing your code on a public repository. Jan 16, 2024 · Sensitive information such as API keys, database credentials, or other configuration settings should never be hard-coded into your React app. May 8, 2023 · Want to make sure your API keys are safe and sound when working with React? Jessica Joseph’s got you covered! She will show you the best ways to hide your API keys, from using environment variables to building your own back-end proxy server. Sep 29, 2025 · Learn how to implement the Backend-for-Frontend (BFF) pattern in React to secure API keys. The encryptData function encrypts the data using AES encryption with a provided encryption key. Dec 5, 2024 · "Learn essential strategies to secure API keys in React applications to prevent unauthorized access and data breaches. Get a comprehensive answer to "how to secure api keys in a react application" on HowTo. By incorporating industry best practices for API security and May 26, 2025 · Master React authentication with this comprehensive guide. If you make a call from the frontend, then anyone opening the page can see the API key (just look at the Network tab in the Chrome dev tools). Dec 9, 2019 · In this article, I want to write how to store and hide your important variable such as API keys in a React Application. Dive into secure token storage and learn how Feb 25, 2019 · Create-React-App allows you to set environment variables. xml file. Sep 10, 2023 · However, it is imperative to keep API keys private to ensure the security, cost control, and data privacy of your application. I am NOT talking about an AWS key. This is for a client-safe key that you would need to use for Google maps or Stripe, for example. com/5c0e60f okay, let's dive into securing api keys in a react native expo application using firebase. Learn step-by-step how to secure your applications and implement user authentication in React. . env file to source control (Github, Gitlab Sep 7, 2023 · But I am only concerned about the security issue of using a Secret Key on the Front End. io Regarding a good way to store API keys, I use google cloud functions to pull down any private API keys. ⭐ Sign up for my Full Stack Developer Course: https://www. You don’t commit this . #s Get a comprehensive answer to "how to secure api keys in a frontend application" on HowTo. Feb 13, 2023 · A guide on how to save API KEYS in a new . Try following the setup guide on rnfirebase. v5ykgghezk1g9vnc1kzd1fvlqkl8uuye6qjzo10blw0ve