Authentication

All requests to the geocodeme.net API require authentication via an API key sent in the X-Api-Key HTTP header.

Obtaining Your API Key

1. Navigate to geocodeme.net and sign up or log in
2. Go to Dashboard → API Keys
3. Click Create Key and give it a descriptive name
4. Copy the generated key: your key is shown only once at creation time. Store it in a .env file or a secrets manager. Add .env to your .gitignore to avoid accidentally committing secrets to version control.

info

Don't have an account yet? Create one at geocodeme.net

API Key Format

API keys use the gm_ prefix followed by 32 random URL-safe characters, for example:

gm_EXAMPLE00KEY00ONLY00aaabbbcccd

(The example above is not a real key; replace it with your own.)

This gives a total length of 35 characters (3-character prefix gm_ + 32 random characters).

Using Your API Key

Include your API key in the X-Api-Key header with every request:

curl -H "X-Api-Key: gm_YOUR_API_KEY" \
  "https://api.geocodeme.net/v1/geocode?q=Paris"

See the Quickstart for full working examples in cURL, Python, JavaScript, and PHP.

Rate Limits

Each plan tier has different request limits:

Plan	Requests/second	Credit quota
Free	1	3,000 / day
Startup	10	150,000 / month
Growth	15	500,000 / month
Pro	25	1,500,000 / month

See current pricing for plan details.

When you exceed your per-second rate limit, the API returns a 429 status with the RATE_LIMIT_EXCEEDED error code; when your monthly quota is exhausted, it returns 429 with QUOTA_EXCEEDED. See Rate Limiting for details on headers and retry strategies.

Security Best Practices

• Never expose your key in client-side code. API keys in JavaScript bundles, mobile apps, or public repositories can be extracted by anyone. Always proxy requests through your backend.
• Use the GEOCODEME_API_KEY environment variable. This is the recommended name used across all code examples. Store your key in this variable and read it at runtime. Never hardcode keys in source files.
• Add .env to .gitignore. If you store your key in a .env file, ensure it is excluded from version control. For Next.js projects, use .env.local instead (it is gitignored by default).
• Rotate immediately if compromised. If you suspect a key has been leaked, revoke it in the Dashboard and create a new one.