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Vapi API Key Setup
Guide the user through obtaining and configuring a Vapi API key for the voice AI platform.
Workflow
Step 1: Request the API key
Tell the user:
To set up Vapi, open the API keys page in the Vapi Dashboard: https://dashboard.vapi.ai/org/api-keys
(Need an account? Create one at https://dashboard.vapi.ai/signup first)
If you don't have an API key yet:
- Click "Create Key"
- Name your key (e.g., "development")
- Copy the key immediately — it is only shown once
Paste your API key here when ready.
Then wait for the user's next message which should contain the API key.
Step 2: Validate and configure
Once the user provides the API key:
-
Validate the key by making a request:
curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" https://api.vapi.ai/assistant \
-H "Authorization: Bearer <the-api-key>"
-
If validation fails (non-200 response):
- Tell the user the API key appears to be invalid
- Ask them to double-check and try again
- Remind them of the URL: https://dashboard.vapi.ai/org/api-keys
-
If validation succeeds (200 response), save the API key:
Check if a .env file exists. If so, append to it. If not, create one:
VAPI_API_KEY=<the-api-key>
4. Confirm success:
Your Vapi API key is configured and stored in .env as VAPI_API_KEY.
You can now use Vapi's API to create assistants, make calls, and build voice AI agents.
Keep this key safe — do not commit it to version control.
Step 3: Verify .gitignore
Check if .gitignore exists and contains .env. If not, add it:
.env
Environment Variable
All Vapi skills expect the API key in the VAPI_API_KEY environment variable. The base URL for all API requests is:
https://api.vapi.ai
Authentication is via Bearer token:
Authorization: Bearer $VAPI_API_KEY
Additional Resources
This skills repository includes a Vapi documentation MCP server (vapi-docs) that gives your AI agent access to the full Vapi knowledge base. Use the searchDocs tool to look up anything beyond what this skill covers — advanced configuration, troubleshooting, SDK details, and more.
Auto-configured: If you cloned or installed these skills, the MCP server is already configured via .mcp.json (Claude Code), .cursor/mcp.json (Cursor), or .vscode/mcp.json (VS Code Copilot).
Manual setup: If your agent doesn't auto-detect the config, run:
claude mcp add vapi-docs -- npx -y mcp-remote https://docs.vapi.ai/_mcp/server
See the README for full setup instructions across all supported agents.
Weekly Installs
281
Repository
vapiai/skills
GitHub Stars
22
First Seen
Feb 19, 2026
Security Audits
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Installed on
cursor250
kimi-cli247
gemini-cli247
codex247
opencode247
amp247
