EdgeFinder Authentication: Magic Link & API Key Setup

Authenticate with EdgeFinder using a magic link email flow or by setting your API key manually via environment variable or config file.

EdgeFinder supports two ways to authenticate: a magic link flow that saves your API key automatically, and a manual method where you supply the key yourself. Both approaches store credentials in ~/.edgefinder/config.json with permissions set to 0600, so only your user account can read the file. This page covers both methods, how to check your account status, and how to clear your credentials.

Method 1: Magic link (recommended)

The magic link flow handles everything for you — it sends an email, waits for you to click the link, and saves your API key automatically.

1. Run the login command

   edgefinder login
   
2. Enter your email

   EdgeFinder prompts you for your email address. Enter the address associated with your EdgeFinder account.

3. Click the link in your inbox

   Check your email and click the magic link. EdgeFinder polls in the background and saves your API key as soon as you authenticate.

   The login session expires after 10 minutes. If the link expires before you click it, run edgefinder login again.

4. Confirm your subscription

   After authentication, EdgeFinder checks your subscription. If you don’t have a paid plan yet, it offers to open the subscription page in your browser.

   CLI access requires an active Starter ($20/mo), Pro ($50/mo), or Ultimate ($150/mo) subscription.

Method 2: Manual API key

If you already have an API key — for example, when configuring the MCP server or a CI environment — you can provide it directly instead of going through the magic link flow.

Get your API key from chat.edgefinder.io/settings/integrations.

Environment variable

Set EDGEFINDER_API_KEY in your shell. This takes precedence over the config file.

export EDGEFINDER_API_KEY=ef_live_...

To make it permanent, add the line to your shell profile (e.g., ~/.bashrc, ~/.zshrc).

Config file

Save the key to ~/.edgefinder/config.json using the config set command:

edgefinder config set api-key ef_live_...

API keys must start with ef_live_. The CLI rejects keys with any other prefix.

MCP server

When running EdgeFinder as an MCP server, pass the key as an environment variable in your client config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "edgefinder": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@edgefinder/cli", "mcp"],
      "env": {
        "EDGEFINDER_API_KEY": "ef_live_..."
      }
    }
  }
}

Check your account status

Run edgefinder status to see your current plan, subscription state, and whether you have active access:

edgefinder status

Example output:

Plan:           pro
Status:         active
Access:         Yes (active subscription)
Unlimited:      No

Add --json to get machine-readable output:

edgefinder status --json

Verify your config

Use edgefinder config show to see what credentials are currently stored and where:

edgefinder config show

API Key:     ef_live_abc123...
Base URL:    https://chat.edgefinder.io
Config file: /home/you/.edgefinder/config.json

The API key is always truncated in output for security.

Log out

To remove your credentials from the config file:

edgefinder logout

This deletes the API key from ~/.edgefinder/config.json. If you set the key via the EDGEFINDER_API_KEY environment variable, unset it separately:

unset EDGEFINDER_API_KEY

Error reference

Error	Meaning	Fix
401 Unauthorized	Your API key is invalid or has expired	Run edgefinder login to get a new key
403 Forbidden	Your plan limit has been reached	Upgrade your subscription or wait for the next billing cycle

If you see a 403 error, your current plan’s usage limit is exhausted. Visit chat.edgefinder.io/subscription to upgrade.