Credentials Overview

Vela uses two types of credentials, each for a different purpose. Both are generated exclusively in the Vela dashboard.

Credential types

Credential	Format	Scope	Used for
Client secret	`vela_cs_...`	Account-level	Managing apps, schemas, notification rules
API key	`vela_live_...`	App-level	Ingesting events

Used with the Management Client to authenticate account-level operations. Passed as a Bearer token in the Authorization header.

const client = new VelaManagementClient(process.env.VELA_CLIENT_SECRET);

Used with the Ingest Client to send events. Passed in the x-api-key header. Each app has its own API key.

const ingest = new VelaIngestClient(process.env.VELA_API_KEY);

Never commit credentials to source control. Use environment variables or your CI/CD secret store.

Learn how to generate and manage client secrets.

Learn how API keys are created and rotated.

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