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There are two methods of authenticating with the management API: using a secret key associated with a specific environment in a project (secretKey), or using a personal access token (personalAccessToken). Both methods should only be used in a backend server, as they provide full access to the project.
There is a separate authentication strategy when making requests from your frontend application. See the Realtime guide for more information. This guide is for backend usage only.
Certain API functions work with both authentication methods, but require different arguments depending on the method used. For example, the runs.list function can be called using either a secretKey or a personalAccessToken, but the projectRef argument is required when using a personalAccessToken: 
import { configure, runs } from "@trigger.dev/sdk";

// Using secretKey authentication
configure({
  secretKey: process.env["TRIGGER_SECRET_KEY"], // starts with tr_dev_ or tr_prod_
});

function secretKeyExample() {
  return runs.list({
    limit: 10,
    status: ["COMPLETED"],
  });
}

// Using personalAccessToken authentication
configure({
  secretKey: process.env["TRIGGER_ACCESS_TOKEN"], // starts with tr_pat_
});

function personalAccessTokenExample() {
  // Notice the projectRef argument is required when using a personalAccessToken
  return runs.list("prof_1234", {
    limit: 10,
    status: ["COMPLETED"],
    projectRef: "tr_proj_1234567890",
  });
}
Consult the following table to see which endpoints support each authentication method.
EndpointSecret keyPersonal Access Token
task.trigger✅
task.batchTrigger✅
runs.list✅✅
runs.retrieve✅
runs.cancel✅
runs.replay✅
envvars.list✅✅
envvars.retrieve✅✅
envvars.upload✅✅
envvars.create✅✅
envvars.update✅✅
envvars.del✅✅
schedules.list✅
schedules.create✅
schedules.retrieve✅
schedules.update✅
schedules.activate✅
schedules.deactivate✅
schedules.del✅

​
Secret key

Secret key authentication scopes the API access to a specific environment in a project, and works with certain endpoints. You can read our API Keys guide for more information.

​
Personal Access Token (PAT)

A PAT is a token associated with a specific user, and gives access to all the orgs, projects, and environments that the user has access to. You can identify a PAT by the tr_pat_ prefix. Because a PAT does not scope access to a specific environment, you must provide the projectRef argument when using a PAT (and sometimes the environment as well). For example, when uploading environment variables using a PAT, you must provide the projectRef and environment arguments: 
import { configure, envvars } from "@trigger.dev/sdk";

configure({
  secretKey: process.env["TRIGGER_ACCESS_TOKEN"], // starts with tr_pat_
});

await envvars.upload("proj_1234", "dev", {
  variables: {
    MY_ENV_VAR: "MY_ENV_VAR_VALUE",
  },
  override: true,
});

​
Preview branch targeting

When working with preview branches, you may need to target a specific branch when making API calls. This is particularly useful for managing environment variables or other resources that are scoped to individual preview branches.
  • SDK
  • cURL
To target a specific preview branch, include the previewBranch option in your SDK configuration:
import { configure, envvars } from "@trigger.dev/sdk";

configure({
  secretKey: process.env["TRIGGER_ACCESS_TOKEN"], // starts with tr_pat_
  previewBranch: "feature-xyz",
});

await envvars.update("proj_1234", "preview", "DATABASE_URL", {
  value: "your_preview_database_url",
});
This will set the DATABASE_URL environment variable specifically for the feature-xyz preview branch.
The x-trigger-branch header is only relevant when working with the preview environment ({env} parameter set to preview). It has no effect when working with dev, staging, or prod environments.

​
SDK usage with preview branches

When using the SDK to manage preview branch environment variables, the branch targeting is handled automatically when you’re running in a preview environment with the TRIGGER_PREVIEW_BRANCH environment variable set. However, you can also specify the branch explicitly: 
import { configure, envvars } from "@trigger.dev/sdk";

configure({
  secretKey: process.env["TRIGGER_ACCESS_TOKEN"], // starts with tr_pat_
  previewBranch: "feature-xyz", // Optional: specify the branch
});

await envvars.update("proj_1234", "preview", "DATABASE_URL", {
  value: "your_preview_database_url",
});
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