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Overview

Screen Answerer uses API key authentication to secure access to its endpoints. All API requests require a valid Gemini API key to process questions and images.

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API key requirements

You must provide your own Google Gemini API key to use Screen Answerer. The API key must be in the correct format:
  • Format: AIza[0-9A-Za-z_-]{35}
  • Example: AIzaSyDxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Get your free Gemini API key from Google AI Studio

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Providing your API key

You can pass your API key in two ways: Include the X-API-Key header in your request: 
curl -X POST http://localhost:3000/process_question \
  -H "X-API-Key: AIzaSyDxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx" \
  -F "[email protected]"

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Option 2: Request body

Include the apiKey field in your request body: 
curl -X POST http://localhost:3000/process_question_with_key \
  -F "apiKey=AIzaSyDxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx" \
  -F "question=What is 2+2?"

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API key validation

Screen Answerer performs validation on your API key:

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Format validation

The API checks that your key matches the expected Gemini API key format. If the format is invalid, you’ll receive: 
{
  "error": "Invalid API key format",
  "message": "Please provide a valid Gemini API key"
}
This validation occurs on the /process_question_with_key endpoint at server.js:402

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Authentication errors

If your API key is rejected by Google’s Gemini API during processing, you’ll receive: 
{
  "error": "API key error",
  "message": "Invalid API key provided. Please check your API key and try again."
}
This error is returned with HTTP status code 401 Unauthorized.

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Security best practices

Never commit your API key to version control or expose it in client-side code
  • Store your API key in environment variables
  • Use the X-API-Key header method for cleaner separation
  • Rotate your API key periodically
  • Monitor your Google Cloud quota usage

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Missing API key

If you don’t provide an API key, the API will return: 
{
  "error": "API key is required"
}
This error is returned with HTTP status code 400 Bad Request.

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