Authentication

Lira authenticates every request with an API key. You generate keys from the Lira dashboard and send them in the X-API-Key header — there is no login or token exchange.

How authentication works

Pass your API key in the X-API-Key header on every request:

curl -X POST https://api.uselira.com/api/v1/verify/account \
  -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "accountNumber": "0000000000",
    "country": "NG",
    "bankCode": "000014"
  }'

Each key is scoped to a single environment — sandbox or live — and belongs to your organization. Keys follow the pattern lira_{environment}_{hex}:

lira_sandbox_a3f08c1d4e2b9f3c1e5d7a8b2c4f6e0d...
lira_live_9d1e3f5a7b9c2c4f6e0d1a3b5c7d9e1f...

Generate an API key from the dashboard

1. Sign in to the dashboard. Go to app.uselira.com. If you don't have an account yet, sign up first — it takes a couple of minutes.

2. Open the API Keys page from the sidebar. This page lists every key in your organization along with its environment and when it was last used.

3. Create a new key. Click Create API key, give it a descriptive name (for example, Production server or Local dev), and choose the environment:

   • Sandbox — for development and testing. No real verifications are processed and nothing is billed.
   • Live — for production traffic. Real queries are made and each verification is billed.

   Start with a sandbox key while you build your integration.

4. Copy and store the key. The full key is shown once, immediately after it is created. Copy it right away and store it in an environment variable or secrets manager.

See API Keys for managing, rotating, and revoking keys.

Sandbox vs live keys

Switching environments requires no code changes — swap the X-API-Key value in your environment variables and everything else stays the same. See Environments for sandbox test data and the go-live steps.

Next steps