---
title: "Get an API key"
description: "The CompanyRegistryAPI.com free API needs no key. A Coragrid API key unlocks the full Coragrid API and the cgd command line with the same permanent IDs."
url: "https://companyregistryapi.com/api-key"
---

# Start without a key. Add one for the full platform.

> The CompanyRegistryAPI.com free API needs no key and no account. A Coragrid API key unlocks the public Coragrid API behind it: search by description, higher limits and the cgd command line. Companies keep their permanent IDs and field names, so what you stored stays valid; the transport differs, with bearer authentication and search as a QUERY request with a JSON body, as the Coragrid OpenAPI document describes.

## CompanyRegistryAPI.com free API: no key

- Search by the start of a name or a business ID
- Company profile and current officers with their sources
- 60 requests per minute per client address
- 35 countries
- Attribution: “Powered by Coragrid”

[Read the docs](https://companyregistryapi.com/api.md)

## Full Coragrid API: with a Coragrid API key

- Search by description with structured filters
- Resolve names and domains to permanent IDs
- Batch reads and document metadata where rights allow
- Limits set per key, shown by `cgd auth status`
- The cgd command line and terminal interface

[Request a key](https://coragrid.com/request-access)

## How to get a key

1. **Request access**: Coragrid issues keys and their scopes on request at [coragrid.com/request-access](https://coragrid.com/request-access). There is no sign-up form on this site, and this site never asks for a key.
2. **Keep it out of chats and files**: Store the key with `cgd auth login`, which keeps it in the operating system keyring. Automation gets `CORAGRID_API_KEY` injected into the process environment from a secret store at run time. Never write the key to a shell profile or another file, and never paste it into a conversation with an agent.
3. **Check it, then call**: `cgd auth status` prints the scopes and limits of the key. Lookups need `companies:read`; search by description also needs `search:semantic`.

## First calls with a key

```bash
# cgd 0.2 or later; the key stays in the OS keyring
cgd auth login

# The scopes and limits of your key
cgd --json auth status

cgd --json companies search \
  --query "industrial robotics in Finland" --limit 5
```

```bash
# The scopes and limits of your key
curl "https://api.coragrid.com/v1/me" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $CORAGRID_API_KEY"

# An id from the search results
id=<company_id>
curl "https://api.coragrid.com/v1/companies/$id" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $CORAGRID_API_KEY"
```

---

*This is a markdown version of [https://companyregistryapi.com/api-key](https://companyregistryapi.com/api-key) for AI/LLM consumption.*