> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://doc.antgst.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://doc.antgst.com/introduction/authentication.md).
# Authentication
**API Key**
ANT APIs use API keys for authentication. An API key is a token that a client provides when making API calls. The key should be sent as a request body named `authSecret`
```http
POST /user/account/balance HTTP/1.1
Host: api.antgst.com
Content-Type: application/json
{
"authSecret": "YOUR_API_KEY"
}
```
### 📘How do I get my API Key?
### **old:**
Log in to ANT Dashboard > SecurityCenter>AccessKeyManage and you will find it on that page.
click
### new:
### Test with cURL
[cURL](https://curl.se/) is a command-line tool and library for transferring data with URLs. Here is an example of how to retrieve your account balance authenticated with your API key:
```shell
curl --location --request POST 'https://api.antgst.com/user/account/balance'
--header 'Content-Type: application/json'
--data '{"authSecret": "YOUR_API_KEY"}'
```
It returns a response with HTTP status `200` if succeeded. Here is an example of the response body:
```json
{
"msg": "SUCCESS",
"code": 200,
"result": {
"smsBalance": -18.383,
"voipBalance": 0.0,
"currency": "CNY"
}
}
```
Otherwise, if the API key is invalid. Here is an example of the response body:
```json
{
"msg": "auth secret error!",
"code": -22
}
```
