Guide

How to get a Databento API key

Databento API keys start with db- and are created in the web portal.

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About 5 minutes 3 steps Checked October 2026

Before you start

  • An email address

Create your Databento API key

  1. 1

    Sign up

    Create an account at databento.com; new accounts receive free data credits.

  2. 2

    Open API keys

    In the portal go to API keys (databento.com/portal/keys).

  3. 3

    Create and copy a key

    Create a key and save it as DATABENTO_API_KEY.

Test the key

Before wiring the key into a strategy, make one request by hand. It separates “the key is wrong” from “my code is wrong”.

curl -s -u "$DATABENTO_API_KEY:" "https://hist.databento.com/v0/metadata.list_datasets"
A JSON list of dataset codes means the key works.

Keep the credentials safe

  • Store values in a password manager or a git-ignored .env, never in code or notebooks you share.
  • In an AlgoGP project you can still add them under APIs & keys (encrypted at rest) and read them with strategy_runtime.secrets.get("DATABENTO_API_KEY").
  • Give each bot its own credential so you can revoke one without stopping the others.
DATABENTO_API_KEY=paste-your-value-here
.env for local runs

Design and backtest your Databento strategy first

AlgoGP turns an idea into Python and tests it on years of history before you connect it to Databento. The exported code keeps the broker behind four small adapter methods.

  • AI copilot writes and revises the rules
  • Backtests with realistic costs
  • Exported Python ready to wire to Databento
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How the Databento API works

AlgoGP is not affiliated with Databento. Menus get renamed from time to time; if a label differs, the official documentation has the current path.