🔑 API Keys Setup Guide

Everything a VA needs: which key goes where, how to get each one, and how to prove it works.

⬇️ Download this guide (PDF) Download the API keys setup guide as a PDF, or read the full guide below. Or press Ctrl+P / ⌘P for a clean printed copy.

⚡ Walkthrough — do this, in this order

For administrators and VAs wiring providers into the admin panel — the order to do it in.

Sign in to the Admin Panel. Open https://zaarhub.com/admin-panel.html and sign in as an administrator.

Find the card for your provider. Use Where each control lives in the Admin Panel to jump to the card that owns the key you have.

Get the key from the provider. Follow the provider's block below to the exact screen where the key is generated, and copy it.

Paste it into the panel — not a file. Credentials belong in the admin panel (the database), never in code and never in server-wide environment variables. Enter the key in that provider's card and save.

Test the capability, not just the save. Trigger the feature that uses the key (a search, an email, a payment) and confirm it works end to end.

Check availability flags. Providers marked Required must be configured before launch; Optional ones enrich results but degrade gracefully when absent.

Leave the rest unconfigured if you like. An unconfigured optional provider must log and skip — never break the page.

See the result. Every capability you switched on is reachable from a UI control in the admin panel, and a real request proves it works.

✅ You're done when: every required key is entered in the admin panel, and a real call through each configured capability succeeds.

This page mirrors the platform's live provider table (available_providers) — 24 providers at the time of generation — and every provider has its own section with a stable anchor you can deep-link to (#provider-<key>).
Generated 2026-09-21 14:45 from

SELECT key, name, description, requires_base_url, field_label, field_help, requires_metadata, icon FROM available_providers ORDER BY name;

— 24 rows.

How keys are stored (read this once)

All keys are pasted in one place: the Admin Panel (admin-panel.html), card 🔑 Provider API Keys. Every provider has its own block.
Every key can be named. Type a name in the “Name this key” field (e.g. Primary, Test account), paste the key next to it, then press ＋ Add key. You can store several keys for the same service — each one appears on its own line with its name and masked value.
Exactly one key per service is the Default (blue badge) — that is the one the platform uses. Press Set as default on another line to switch. Delete one key with Delete on its line; the other keys for that service stay.
Keys are saved per tenant, encrypted at rest, and always displayed masked (first 4 + last 4 characters). Nobody — including you after saving — can read a key back out of the panel.
The provider badge shows the state at a glance: Not set or N keys. The Test button on a key line tests the default key for that service and prints the real API answer at the bottom of the card.
Where a provider needs more than the key itself, the block grows an extra input field and the label on that field tells you what it wants — Base URL for most providers, Search Engine ID (Google Custom Search), or DataForSEO login (account email) for DataForSEO, whose second credential is the account email rather than a web address. Don't skip it — the integration will not work without it.
Stuck on where to create one? Every provider block has a “How do I get this key? →” link that jumps straight to that provider's section on this page.
Never put a real key in a ticket, chat, email or screenshot. If a key leaks, rotate it in the provider's console and paste the new one.

🗺 Where each control lives in the Admin Panel

What you want to do	Where it is
Paste / name / test / delete an API key	Admin Panel → 🔑 Provider API Keys card (each block has its own Name this key + Paste API key + ＋ Add key)
Choose which email service a directory sends with, verify it and send a test email	Admin Panel → ✉️ Email / SMTP card (details below)
Save the Google Places key and populate businesses	Admin Panel → 🔍 Discovery / Populate (ZaarHub Admin → Populate Businesses tab)
Review/approve what a search found before it enters the directory	ZaarHub Admin → Populate Businesses → 2 · Queue — review, then add (details below)
Connect Stripe / PayPal so customers can pay	Admin Panel → 💳 Payment Gateways card (details below)
Ad slots, submission queue, B2B toggles, plan/branding settings	Admin Panel nav bar (top of the panel links every card)

The panel's nav bar reaches every admin card, so nothing is hidden on an unlinked page. The same nav links back here.

✉️ Email / SMTP card — how to configure it

Email settings are per directory. The card sits directly under Provider API Keys in admin-panel.html.

Pick the directory in the first dropdown.
Pick the transport in the Transport field. The list is read live from the email service itself, so it always matches what the server can actually send with — today smtp, mailgun, sendgrid, sendiio. The badge next to the directory dropdown shows the service status and the same list.
SMTP → fill SMTP host, SMTP port (587), SMTP username, SMTP password and Encryption (STARTTLS / SSL / None).
Mailgun / SendGrid / Sendiio → leave the SMTP fields as they are; the API key those transports need is the one you saved in the Provider API Keys card above (Mailgun, SendGrid, Sendiio).
Fill From name, From email and (optional) Reply-to, then press Save settings. The card shows ✓ Saved (transport: …) when it lands.
The password is write-only: the card shows write-only on the field and never displays a saved password. Leave it blank and save to keep the stored one.
Press Verify credentials (real check) — this performs a real SMTP login / real API credential call and prints the service's own answer (ok, skipped or error plus detail) in the box below. A canned “success” is never shown.
Put your own address in Send a real test email to… and press Send test email. {"status":"sent"} in the box means mail actually left the server; “skipped / directory_not_configured” means the save above did not land.

💳 Payment Gateways card — Stripe & PayPal

Customers pay through Stripe and/or PayPal. The card sits under Provider API Keys in admin-panel.html and writes the payment_providers settings. Two values are needed per gateway: the API key that creates the checkout, and the webhook verification value that proves an incoming “payment complete” message really came from the gateway.

Why the second value is mandatory: the webhook endpoint is public (the gateway has to reach it without a login). Without a verification value the server cannot tell a real payment notice from a forged one, so it refuses every event instead of marking orders paid. That is why the card — and the API behind it — will not let you switch a gateway to Active until the verification value is stored.

Stripe. In Stripe → Developers → API keys copy the Secret key (sk_live_… or sk_test_…). Paste it into API key / client credentials.
Stripe — webhook. Go to Stripe → Developers → Webhooks → Add endpoint. In Endpoint URL paste the address the card shows (the line under the form: <your-domain>/api/v1/webhooks/stripe). Under Events to send tick checkout.session.completed and checkout.session.expired. Save, then press Reveal next to Signing secret and copy the whsec_… value into Webhook signing secret.
PayPal. In PayPal → Apps & Credentials open your app (Live or Sandbox) and put Client ID and Secret into the card joined by a colon: client_id:secret in API key / client credentials.
PayPal — webhook. Still in the app, scroll to Webhooks → Add Webhook, set the Webhook URL to the address the card shows (<your-domain>/api/v1/webhooks/paypal) and tick PAYMENT.CAPTURE.COMPLETED and CHECKOUT.ORDER.APPROVED. After saving, copy the Webhook ID of that webhook into PayPal Webhook ID (PayPal has no signing secret; it verifies each event server-side against this ID).
Set Environment: Test / sandbox while you are testing (sandbox keys and the sandbox webhook), Live for real customers. Sandbox and live are different worlds — a sandbox webhook is never accepted in Live.
Set Status to Active and press Save gateway. The row at the top of the card must show credentials saved and webhook verifiable. If you try to activate without the verification value the card refuses and tells you which value is missing.
Send a real test payment and check the row list: webhook verifiable plus the checkout session flipping to completed is the proof it works end to end. Rejected events are stored too — they are the fastest way to see a wrong signing secret.
Both fields are write-only: they are encrypted at rest and never shown again. Leave a field blank and save to keep the stored value.

One gateway is enough to sell; the checkout form uses whichever gateway is Active. Deleting a gateway stops new checkouts but never deletes past orders.

🔎 Discovery queue — review before adding

Google Places results are never dumped straight into the directory. They land in a queue you review first (ZaarHub Admin → Populate Businesses).

Pick the Directory and the City, then pick a category — the search query is filled in for you as <category> <city>. You can still edit the query.
Press Search & add to queue. The rows appear in 2 · Queue — review, then add; the counts line shows in queue · franchise · already listed.
Each row shows the business name, address, rating/review count, its auto-mapped category (change it in the row's Category dropdown at any time), and its badges: Franchise (big chain) and Already listed (duplicate of a business already in that directory).
Franchise and already-listed rows are unticked by default. Select all eligible ticks everything else; tick a franchise row yourself if it really is a local business you want.
Press ＋ Add selected to directory. The status line reports added / skipped and then re-reads the directory to confirm the businesses are really there. Clear queue empties the rows that are still waiting.
Reloading the page is safe — the queue is stored server-side per directory and comes back exactly as you left it.

🚀 Start here — VA checklist

Work top to bottom. After every save, click Test on that row and confirm it reports the key as configured before moving on.

Get admin access. Log into the Admin Panel at admin-panel.html with the admin account (not a business/portal account).
Open the key card. Find the card titled 🔑 Provider API Keys (use the panel nav bar to jump to it). It lists every provider below with a live Not set / N keys badge. Name each key in the “Name this key” field before you press ＋ Add key — names are how you tell two accounts of the same service apart.
Google Places first — it is the one that is actually broken right now. Create a Google Maps Platform → Places API key and paste it (see Google Places). This unblocks Populate / business discovery.
AI drafting. Paste a DeepSeek key (the default AI provider) or an OpenAI / Anthropic key. Without one of these, AI blog/content drafting cannot run.
System email. If the directory sends newsletters, notifications or receipts, paste Mailgun, SendGrid or Sendiio — then open the ✉️ Email / SMTP card, pick that transport for the directory and press Verify credentials, then Send test email (steps). SMTP needs no provider key at all: just host/username/password on the same card.
Card payments. If the directory takes card payments or pays out, paste the Stripe secret key.
SMS. If the directory texts customers, paste the Twilio credentials (and complete carrier/A2P registration).
Captured leads → CRM. For CoreSwift, paste only the csk_… key — the hub URL is preconfigured. (Advanced: paste a Base URL too if you run a self-hosted CoreSwift.)
Optionals. Add BrightLocal / Yext / Uberall / SerpAPI / Google Custom Search / Bing / Telnyx / GrooveSell / SAM.gov / USAspending only if the client actually uses them.
Verify. Click Test on every configured key line (it calls GET /api/v1/admin/provider-keys/<provider>/test and prints the real API answer), press Verify credentials + Send test email on the Email/SMTP card, then run one real end-to-end action per feature: one Populate search (queue → add selected), one AI draft, one test email, one test payment, one test SMS.

🗂 Which key do I need for X?

If the goal is…	You must have	Nice-to-have / alternate
Populate businesses / discovery & business search	Google Places (required)	BrightLocal, Yext, Uberall, SerpAPI, Google Custom Search, Bing
Sending system email (newsletters, notifications, receipts)	One email transport: Mailgun or SendGrid or Sendiio (SMTP also works)	The other email providers, Letterman, Mintbird
Card payments / payouts (checkout, subscriptions, paid placement)	Stripe (required for card payments)	GrooveSell (alternate checkout platform)
AI drafting (blogs, articles, AI keyword/question generation)	DeepSeek (the default AI provider) or OpenAI or Anthropic	The other two AI providers, Nexweave
SMS & voice messaging, call tracking	Twilio (required for SMS/call tracking)	Telnyx (alternate messaging provider)
Captured leads → CRM (enquiries, bookings, claimed listings)	CoreSwift CRM (key)	—
Federal contracting / spending data	— (optional data feeds)	SAM.gov, USAspending

Only one provider is needed per row unless stated. Providers marked Optional can stay empty without breaking anything else.

🔑 Which Google key for which job — there are TWO

Google issues a key per API, and using the wrong one is the most common mistake we see. The two that matter here are not interchangeable.

🔒 Places API (New) — the SERVER key. Powers business search, discovery and the data-enrichment cycle. Those calls are made by the server, so this key must be restricted by server IP address in the Google Cloud console — never by website referrer. The console may list the API as Places API or Places API (New): enable the Places API, and if both names appear, both.

🗺️ Maps JavaScript API — the BROWSER key. Only needed if a map is drawn on a page in the visitor's browser. That key travels to the browser and is visible in the page source, so it must be restricted by website / HTTP referrer to your own domains (*.zaarhub.com plus any custom domains). It cannot do the server-side search job.

🚫 Do not use one “master” key with both APIs enabled. It is convenient and it is the least safe option: a key that must work from both a browser and a server cannot be tightened to either, so one leak exposes everything. Create two keys, each restricted properly, and never a combined one.

Where each key goes

Places API (New) — server key: Admin Panel → 🔑 Provider API Keys → Google Places row → “Paste API key” → ＋ Add key (or ZaarHub Admin → Populate → “Google Places API Key” → Save Key — both write the same stored key).
Maps JavaScript API — browser key: the directory's SEO settings → “Google Maps API Key” field. ZaarHub's public maps use Leaflet/OpenStreetMap and need no Google key at all — set this only if a page renders a Google map.
Scope: a key saved at network level is inherited by every city in that network, so paste the ZaarHub key once — a standalone directory keeps its own. Pick the scope in the row's Scope dropdown before adding the key.
Changing a key: you do not need the old value — paste the new one. Keys are encrypted at rest and shown masked (first 4 + last 4); an empty field never means “no key” — the row says when a key is stored and when it last changed.
Never paste a key into a chat, a ticket, a document or a code file. Enter it in the panel. If a key has been shared, rotate it.

If it still fails — symptom → fix

The provided API key is invalid → wrong type of key (most often a Maps JavaScript key in the Places field) or the key was deleted/regenerated. Create a Places API (New) key and paste it.
… not authorized to use this service / API not enabled → the Places API is not enabled on that project, or the key's API restrictions exclude it. Enable the API and add it to the key's allowed APIs.
Requests from referrer … are blocked on a server-side search → the key is restricted by website referrer instead of the server's IP. Switch to IP addresses.
This IP, site or mobile application is not authorized… when a map loads → the browser key is IP-restricted or your domain is missing. Switch it to HTTP referrers and add *.zaarhub.com plus each custom domain.
Search works but the map is blank → the browser key is missing or wrong; set Google Maps API Key in SEO settings.

Deep-link to this section with #google-two-keys. The same guidance, written for administrators, is in the Admin Guide — section 19. ↑ Back to top

📋 All 24 providers at a glance

	Provider	Key (anchor)	Need	What it is
🧠	Anthropic (Claude)	`anthropic`	Optional	Claude models for long-form AI content
🅱️	Bing Web Search	`bing`	Optional	Bing Web Search API (Azure Cognitive Services)
⭐	BrightLocal	`brightlocal`	Optional	Citation building + local rank grid
crm	CoreSwift CRM	`coreswift`	Optional	Push captured leads (directory enquiries, booking requests, claimed listings) into your CoreSwift CRM. Connect with a personal API key (csk_...) from CoreSwift Integration Center.
🔑	DataForSEO	`dataforseo`	Optional	Keyword ideas + search volume for the Blog/QA keyword tool. Needs BOTH the DataForSEO account email (login) and the API password.
🧠	DeepSeek	`deepseek`	Recommended	DeepSeek LLM API
🔍	Google Custom Search	`google_cse`	Optional	Programmable Search Engine JSON API
🗺️	Google Places	`google_places`	Required	Local business data API — listings, reviews, citations
🛒	GrooveSell	`groovesell`	Optional	Checkout, affiliate and upsell platform
newspaper	Letterman	`letterman`	Optional	Newsletter content delivery
✉️	Mailgun	`mailgun`	Optional	Transactional + campaign email
📧	Mintbird	`mintbird`	Optional	Cold-email outreach + warmup automation
video	Nexweave	`nexweave`	Optional	Personalized video/image generation
🤖	OpenAI	`openai`	Optional	GPT models for AI copy, summaries and drafts
shield	SAM.gov	`sam_gov`	Optional	Federal contracting opportunities
✉️	SendGrid	`sendgrid`	Optional	Transactional + campaign email
mail	Sendiio	`sendiio`	Optional	Email/SMS campaign delivery
🔎	SerpAPI	`serpapi`	Optional	Google/Bing SERP scraping for rank tracking
💳	Stripe	`stripe`	Required	Card payments, subscriptions, invoices and payouts
phone	Telnyx	`telnyx`	Optional	SMS/Voice API
📞	Twilio	`twilio`	Required	SMS + voice messaging
dollar-sign	USAspending	`usaspending`	Optional	Federal spending data
📍	Uberall	`uberall`	Optional	Listings management + local SEO
🗺️	Yext	`yext`	Optional	Listings sync + knowledge graph

Discovery & Listings

🅱️ Bing Web Search Optional bing

Bing Web Search API (Azure Cognitive Services)

1. What it powers

Content Research → Bing Search API integration.
Alternate search/discovery source.

2. How to get the key

Sign in to the Azure Portal.
Create a Bing Search resource under Cognitive Services (Bing Search v7) — this requires the Azure subscription to have a payment method attached.
Open the new resource and go to Keys and Endpoint.
Copy Key 1 (either key works).

3. Where to paste it

Admin Panel → card 🔑 Provider API Keys → Bing Web Search row → “Paste API key” → Save.

4. Required or optional — and what breaks without it

Optional. Note that Microsoft has been retiring Bing Search API tiers, so confirm the resource type is still offered in the Azure region you pick before buying anything.

5. Cost & plan notes

Azure bills per transaction for the Bing Search resource; a free/low-cost tier may be offered depending on region and offer. A credit card is required to create the resource. Verify on the Azure pricing page.

6. How to verify it

Click Test on the row (GET /api/v1/admin/provider-keys/bing/test).

Deep-link to this section with #provider-bing. ↑ Back to top

⭐ BrightLocal Optional brightlocal

Citation building + local rank grid

1. What it powers

Scraper/discovery source (brightlocal) in the Scraper provider list.
Citation building and local rank-grid data.

2. How to get the key

Sign in to app.brightlocal.com.
Open the account/profile area and go to the API / integrations settings (BrightLocal exposes API access from the account settings area).
Generate an API key for the account and copy it to a password manager.

3. Where to paste it

Admin Panel → card 🔑 Provider API Keys → BrightLocal row → “Paste API key” → Save.

4. Required or optional — and what breaks without it

Optional. It is an alternate discovery/citation source alongside Google Places — leave it empty if you don't have a BrightLocal plan.

5. Cost & plan notes

BrightLocal is a paid subscription product with no meaningful free tier; API access comes with the plan. Check their pricing page for current plans.

6. How to verify it

Click Test on the row (GET /api/v1/admin/provider-keys/brightlocal/test) and confirm it reports the key is configured with the masked preview.

Deep-link to this section with #provider-brightlocal. ↑ Back to top

🔑 DataForSEO Optional dataforseo

Keyword ideas and search volume for the Blog/QA keyword tool

1. What it powers

The Blog & QA keyword tool when the keyword source is set to DataForSEO (POST /api/v1/blog-qa/fetch-keywords with source: "dataforseo").
Nothing else — every other feature keeps working without it.

2. How to get the credentials

Sign in at app.dataforseo.com.
Open API Access (dashboard). It shows your login — which is the email address on the account — and your API password.
Copy both. DataForSEO uses HTTP Basic auth, so the pair is used as login:api password. This is a separate password from the one you sign in with, and it can be regenerated on that page.

3. Where to paste it

Admin Panel → card 🔑 Provider API Keys → DataForSEO row:

Paste API key field → the API password from the API Access page (stored encrypted at rest).
the extra field, labelled “DataForSEO login (account email)” → your account email. It is not a web address, even though it travels in the same column as the other providers' Base URLs.
press ＋ Add key.

4. Required or optional — and what breaks without it

Optional. Without it, choosing the DataForSEO keyword source returns “DataForSEO is not configured…” and suggests the other keyword sources (AI-generated or AnswerThePublic).

5. Cost & plan notes

DataForSEO is prepaid pay-as-you-go: you buy account balance and each keyword request draws from it. There is a minimum top-up and no free tier, so confirm the client wants paid keyword data before buying balance.

6. How to verify it

The Test button (GET /api/v1/admin/provider-keys/dataforseo/test) only proves the key is stored — it returns the masked preview and does not call DataForSEO, so it cannot tell a wrong pair from a right one.

To prove the credentials really work, run a keyword fetch with source: "dataforseo". A wrong login / API password (or an empty account balance) comes back as DataForSEO refused the request (HTTP 401) — regenerate the API password on the API Access page and paste it again. A working pair returns keyword rows instead of that error.

Deep-link to this section with #provider-dataforseo. ↑ Back to top

🔍 Google Custom Search Optional google_cse

Programmable Search Engine JSON API

1. What it powers

Content Research → Google Custom Search integration (Programmable Search Engine JSON API).
Alternate search/discovery source.

2. How to get the key

Sign in to Google Cloud Console and pick (or create) a project.
Go to APIs & Services → Library, search for Custom Search API and click Enable.
Go to APIs & Services → Credentials → Create credentials → API key and copy it.
Create the search engine itself at programmablesearchengine.google.com (Add / Create a Programmable Search Engine).
Open the engine's Setup / overview and copy its Search engine ID — this is the cx value.

3. Where to paste it

Two values go in. Admin Panel → card 🔑 Provider API Keys → Google Custom Search row: paste the API key into “Paste API key” and the Programmable Search Engine ID into the extra field labelled “Search Engine ID (cx)” → Save.

Extra field: this provider also needs “Search Engine ID (cx)” — paste it into the extra input on its row, not into the key field.

4. Required or optional — and what breaks without it

Optional. This provider is one of the few that needs two values — the API key and the cx Search Engine ID. A key without the cx will not work.

5. Cost & plan notes

The Custom Search API is free up to a daily query quota, then billed per 1,000 queries; the Programmable Search Engine itself is free. Check the current quota on the Google Cloud Custom Search pricing page.

6. How to verify it

Click Test on the row (GET /api/v1/admin/provider-keys/google_cse/test) and confirm the masked key preview comes back.

Deep-link to this section with #provider-google_cse. ↑ Back to top

🗺️ Google Places Required google_places

Local business data API — listings, reviews, citations

⚠ The key currently stored is INVALID. Google replies 400 The provided API key is invalid. for search?query=dental&city=palm-bay. This key must be replaced by a fresh Google Maps Platform → Places API key created with the steps above. Until then, business discovery is broken.

1. What it powers

ZaarHub Admin → Populate tab → Search Places — the city + category + radius business search that finds businesses and publishes them to the directory.
Place autocomplete and place details lookups when adding a business by hand.
Business enrichment in the Data Company module (phone, website, hours, reviews).
The scraper/discovery source list as the google_places source.

2. How to get the key

Sign in to Google Cloud Console with the Google account that owns (or will own) the billing.
Create a project (or pick an existing one) for this directory — e.g. Multi-Directory Places.
Enable billing on that project. Google Maps Platform keys are free-tier-with-credit-card: you must attach a card, you get a recurring free credit, and usage above it is billed per request.
Go to APIs & Services → Library, search for Places API and click Enable (enable Places API (New) too if it is offered — the search uses the Places endpoints).
Go to APIs & Services → Credentials → Create credentials → API key.
(Recommended) Click Edit API key and add an Application restriction of IP addresses — and enter the server's IP (this key is used server-side for the Populate search and enrichment; it must not be restricted by website referrer) — plus an API restriction limited to the Places API. This limits the damage if the key leaks. A Maps JavaScript key is a different key for maps drawn in the browser — see Which Google key for which job.
Copy the key — it starts with AIza…. Never paste it into a ticket, chat or email.

3. Where to paste it

Admin Panel (admin-panel.html) → card 🔑 Provider API Keys → the Google Places row → paste into the “Paste API key” field → Save. The same key can also be pasted from ZaarHub Admin (zaarhub-admin.html) → Populate tab → “Google Places API Key” field → Save Key. Both write the same stored key.

4. Required or optional — and what breaks without it

Required for Populate / discovery. Without a valid key the Populate search and place details return nothing and the Data Company enrichment cannot resolve a provider.

5. Cost & plan notes

Google Maps Platform requires a billing account with a credit card. A recurring monthly free credit is applied, then requests are billed pay-as-you-go. See the current credit and per-request rates on Google's Maps Platform pricing page — do not rely on remembered numbers.

6. How to verify it

On the Google Places row click Test → GET /api/v1/admin/provider-keys/<provider>/test returns the masked key preview, never the raw key. For a real end-to-end check open ZaarHub Admin → Populate → Test Key, which actually calls Google Autocomplete (POST /api/v1/zaarhub/admin/provider-keys/google-places/test) and fails loudly if the key is invalid.

Deep-link to this section with #provider-google_places. ↑ Back to top

🔎 SerpAPI Optional serpapi

Google/Bing SERP scraping for rank tracking

1. What it powers

Content Research → search integration (SerpAPI — the recommended SERP option in content-research.html).
SERP scraping for rank tracking / discovery.

2. How to get the key

Sign up / sign in at serpapi.com.
Open Dashboard → your API Key panel.
Copy the key shown there.

3. Where to paste it

Admin Panel → card 🔑 Provider API Keys → SerpAPI row → “Paste API key” → Save. It can also be added from the Content Research page's integration form.

4. Required or optional — and what breaks without it

Optional — only needed if you want SERP/rank data in Content Research.

5. Cost & plan notes

SerpAPI offers a free plan with a limited monthly search allowance, then paid plans. See their pricing page for current limits.

6. How to verify it

Click Test on the row (GET /api/v1/admin/provider-keys/serpapi/test).

Deep-link to this section with #provider-serpapi. ↑ Back to top

📍 Uberall Optional uberall

Listings management + local SEO

1. What it powers

Listings management and local SEO data.
Scraper/discovery source (uberall) in the Scraper provider list.

2. How to get the key

Sign in to your Uberall account (uberall.com → login).
In the dashboard, open the API / integrations settings and create an API key (Uberall issues keys per account/location group).
Copy the key.

3. Where to paste it

Admin Panel → card 🔑 Provider API Keys → Uberall row → “Paste API key” → Save.

4. Required or optional — and what breaks without it

Optional. Alternate listings/SEO source; not needed for the core Populate flow.

5. Cost & plan notes

Uberall is a paid listings-management platform; API access requires an Uberall plan. Check with the client whether one exists.

6. How to verify it

Click Test on the row (GET /api/v1/admin/provider-keys/uberall/test).

Deep-link to this section with #provider-uberall. ↑ Back to top

🗺️ Yext Optional yext

Listings sync + knowledge graph

1. What it powers

Listings sync and knowledge-graph data.
Scraper/discovery source (yext) in the Scraper provider list.

2. How to get the key

Sign in to your Yext account (yext.com → sign in).
Open the account settings / developer area and create an API key (Yext issues API keys tied to the account).
Copy the key.

3. Where to paste it

Admin Panel → card 🔑 Provider API Keys → Yext row → “Paste API key” → Save.

4. Required or optional — and what breaks without it

Optional. Only useful if the client already runs listings through Yext.

5. Cost & plan notes

Yext is an enterprise subscription platform — API access requires a Yext contract. Confirm with the client whether an account exists before pursuing this.

6. How to verify it

Click Test on the row (GET /api/v1/admin/provider-keys/yext/test) and confirm the configured/masked response.

Deep-link to this section with #provider-yext. ↑ Back to top

AI & Content

🧠 Anthropic (Claude) Optional anthropic

Claude models for long-form AI content

1. What it powers

AI content drafting — Claude is selectable as the drafting model (blog_generator.rs provider switch).
Content Research → content-drafting integration option.

2. How to get the key

Sign in at dashboard.anthropic.com.
Open API Keys and click Create Key.
Copy the key (sk-ant-…) — it is shown once.
Add credit under Billing before use.

3. Where to paste it

Admin Panel → card 🔑 Provider API Keys → Anthropic (Claude) row → “Paste API key” → Save.

4. Required or optional — and what breaks without it

Optional — a third AI drafting option alongside DeepSeek and OpenAI.

5. Cost & plan notes

Pay-as-you-go with prepaid credits; a credit card is required. See Anthropic's pricing page for current model rates.

6. How to verify it

Click Test on the row (GET /api/v1/admin/provider-keys/anthropic/test).

Deep-link to this section with #provider-anthropic. ↑ Back to top

🧠 DeepSeek Recommended deepseek

DeepSeek LLM API

1. What it powers

The default AI drafting provider. The blog generator defaults llm_provider to deepseek, so blog drafts, article copy and AI keyword/question generation run through DeepSeek unless a different provider is selected.
AI blog + content drafting via blog_generator.rs (call_llm_json).

2. How to get the key

Sign up / sign in at platform.deepseek.com.
Open API Keys in the left nav and click Create new API key.
Copy the key immediately (sk-…) — some consoles only show it once.
Top up the account balance: the DeepSeek API is prepaid, so a funded balance is required before any call succeeds.

3. Where to paste it

Admin Panel → card 🔑 Provider API Keys → DeepSeek row → “Paste API key” → Save.

4. Required or optional — and what breaks without it

Recommended — set this first if you use AI drafting, because it is the default provider. Without any AI provider key, blog generation and AI content drafting fail.

5. Cost & plan notes

Pay-as-you-go, prepaid balance; a credit card is needed to top up. Per-token pricing is set by DeepSeek — check their pricing page for current rates.

6. How to verify it

Click Test on the row (GET /api/v1/admin/provider-keys/deepseek/test), then run a short draft in the blog generator to confirm real output.

Deep-link to this section with #provider-deepseek. ↑ Back to top

newspaper Letterman Optional letterman

Newsletter content delivery

1. What it powers

Newsletter content delivery.

2. How to get the key

In the provider's dashboard, open Settings → API Keys (or Integrations) and create a key.
Copy the key to a password manager.

3. Where to paste it

Admin Panel → card 🔑 Provider API Keys → Letterman row → “Paste API key” → Save.

4. Required or optional — and what breaks without it

Optional. Only configure if the client's newsletter flow actually uses Letterman.

5. Cost & plan notes

Vendor-run pricing — confirm with the client whether a Letterman account exists and what it costs.

6. How to verify it

Click Test on the row (GET /api/v1/admin/provider-keys/letterman/test).

Deep-link to this section with #provider-letterman. ↑ Back to top

📧 Mintbird Optional mintbird

Cold-email outreach + warmup automation

1. What it powers

Cold-email outreach and warmup automation.

2. How to get the key

In the provider's dashboard, open Settings → API Keys / Integrations and generate a key.
Copy it.

3. Where to paste it

Admin Panel → card 🔑 Provider API Keys → Mintbird row → “Paste API key” → Save.

4. Required or optional — and what breaks without it

Optional — outreach automation only.

5. Cost & plan notes

Vendor-run pricing; check the client's account before configuring.

6. How to verify it

Click Test on the row (GET /api/v1/admin/provider-keys/mintbird/test).

Deep-link to this section with #provider-mintbird. ↑ Back to top

video Nexweave Optional nexweave

Personalized video/image generation

1. What it powers

Personalized video / image generation.

2. How to get the key

In the provider's dashboard, open Settings → API / Integrations and create an API key.
Copy it.

3. Where to paste it

Admin Panel → card 🔑 Provider API Keys → Nexweave row → “Paste API key” → Save.

4. Required or optional — and what breaks without it

Optional — personalized media only.

5. Cost & plan notes

Vendor-run pricing; confirm an account exists before configuring.

6. How to verify it

Click Test on the row (GET /api/v1/admin/provider-keys/nexweave/test).

Deep-link to this section with #provider-nexweave. ↑ Back to top

🤖 OpenAI Optional openai

GPT models for AI copy, summaries and drafts

1. What it powers

AI blog + content drafting (blog_generator.rs → call_openai / call_llm_json) when OpenAI is the selected provider.
AI copy, summaries and drafts elsewhere in the app.
Fallback AI keyword/question generation for keyword research.

2. How to get the key

Sign up / sign in at platform.openai.com.
Open API keys (under your account / dashboard) and click Create new secret key.
Name it (e.g. multi-directory export) and copy the sk-… value — it is shown only once.
Add a payment method and credit under Billing so requests are not rejected.

3. Where to paste it

Admin Panel → card 🔑 Provider API Keys → OpenAI row → “Paste API key” → Save.

4. Required or optional — and what breaks without it

Optional — an alternative to (or addition to) DeepSeek. Only one AI provider key is required for AI drafting to work.

5. Cost & plan notes

Pay-as-you-go with prepaid credits; a credit card is required. Rate/price details live on OpenAI's pricing page.

6. How to verify it

Click Test on the row (GET /api/v1/admin/provider-keys/openai/test), then generate a short draft with OpenAI selected.

Deep-link to this section with #provider-openai. ↑ Back to top

Email

✉️ Mailgun Optional mailgun

Transactional + campaign email

1. What it powers

Transactional + campaign email delivery.
One of the selectable per-directory email transports for the in-house email service on 127.0.0.1:3456 (the directory's transport can be SMTP, Mailgun, SendGrid or Sendiio — the choice is stored per directory and read at send time).
System mail: newsletter sends, notifications and receipts routed through the email service.

2. How to get the key

Sign in at app.mailgun.com (create an account if the client has none).
Add and verify the sending domain, then add the DNS records Mailgun gives you — delivery will not work until the domain shows as verified.
Open Settings → API Keys and create (or copy) an API key.
Copy the key and keep it in a password manager.

3. Where to paste it

Admin Panel → card 🔑 Provider API Keys → Mailgun row → “Paste API key” → Save. Then, per directory, set the email transport to Mailgun in the directory's email settings so the email service actually uses it.

4. Required or optional — and what breaks without it

Optional as a provider, required as a transport choice: if a directory's email transport is set to Mailgun, this key must be present or that directory's system email will not send. (SMTP is the default transport, so nothing breaks until you deliberately switch.)

5. Cost & plan notes

Mailgun has a free tier for low monthly volume, then paid plans; a card is required for higher tiers and some verification. Check app.mailgun.com pricing for current limits.

6. How to verify it

Click Test on the row (GET /api/v1/admin/provider-keys/mailgun/test) for the masked key preview, then send a real test email through the directory (newsletter test send) to confirm the transport works end to end.

Deep-link to this section with #provider-mailgun. ↑ Back to top

✉️ SendGrid Optional sendgrid

Transactional + campaign email

1. What it powers

Transactional + campaign email delivery.
One of the selectable per-directory email transports for the in-house email service on 127.0.0.1:3456.
System mail: newsletter sends, notifications and receipts routed through the email service.

2. How to get the key

Sign in at app.sendgrid.com (create an account if needed).
Complete Sender Authentication (verify the sending domain and add the DNS records SendGrid provides).
Open Settings → API Keys → Create API Key.
Give it a name and grant at least the Mail Send permission (a restricted key is safer than full access).
Copy the key (SG.…) immediately — SendGrid shows it once.

3. Where to paste it

Admin Panel → card 🔑 Provider API Keys → SendGrid row → “Paste API key” → Save. Then set the directory's email transport to SendGrid in its email settings.

4. Required or optional — and what breaks without it

Optional as a provider, required as a transport choice: if a directory's transport is SendGrid, this key must exist or that directory's system email will not send.

5. Cost & plan notes

SendGrid has a free tier for low monthly volume, then paid plans; paid tiers need a card. Check app.sendgrid.com pricing for current limits.

6. How to verify it

Click Test on the row (GET /api/v1/admin/provider-keys/sendgrid/test), then send a test email through the directory to confirm the transport.

Deep-link to this section with #provider-sendgrid. ↑ Back to top

mail Sendiio Optional sendiio

Email/SMS campaign delivery

1. What it powers

Email / SMS campaign delivery.
One of the selectable per-directory email transports for the in-house email service on 127.0.0.1:3456.

2. How to get the key

Sign in to the Sendiio dashboard.
Open Settings → API / Integrations and generate an API key (Sendiio exposes API access from the account settings).
Copy the key.

3. Where to paste it

Admin Panel → card 🔑 Provider API Keys → Sendiio row → “Paste API key” → Save. Then set the directory's email transport to Sendiio in its email settings.

4. Required or optional — and what breaks without it

Optional as a provider, required as a transport choice: if a directory's transport is Sendiio, this key must exist or that directory's system email will not send.

5. Cost & plan notes

Sendiio is a paid subscription product. Confirm the plan/pricing in the Sendiio dashboard before choosing it as a transport.

6. How to verify it

Click Test on the row (GET /api/v1/admin/provider-keys/sendiio/test).

Deep-link to this section with #provider-sendiio. ↑ Back to top

Payments

🛒 GrooveSell Optional groovesell

Checkout, affiliate and upsell platform

1. What it powers

Checkout, affiliate and upsell platform — an alternate checkout provider.

2. How to get the key

Sign in to the GrooveSell dashboard.
Open Settings → API / Integrations and copy (or generate) the API key for the account.

3. Where to paste it

Admin Panel → card 🔑 Provider API Keys → GrooveSell row → “Paste API key” → Save.

4. Required or optional — and what breaks without it

Optional — only if the client sells through GrooveSell instead of Stripe.

5. Cost & plan notes

Vendor-run pricing (checkout platforms usually charge per transaction rather than a flat API fee). Confirm with the client.

6. How to verify it

Click Test on the row (GET /api/v1/admin/provider-keys/groovesell/test).

Deep-link to this section with #provider-groovesell. ↑ Back to top

💳 Stripe Required stripe

Card payments, subscriptions, invoices and payouts

1. What it powers

Card payments at checkout (checkout_handler.rs resolves the active provider stripe and stores its credentials as the active payment provider).
Subscriptions, invoices and payouts.
Marketplace / listing upgrades and any paid placement flow that goes through checkout.

2. How to get the key

Create or sign in to an account at dashboard.stripe.com.
Complete the business/identity verification so payouts can be enabled (Stripe needs business details and a bank account — this is more than just a credit card).
Open Developers → API keys (in Test mode first if you want to dry-run).
Copy the Secret key (sk_live_… for live, sk_test_… for testing). The publishable key (pk_…) is not the one you paste here.
(Recommended) Use a restricted key scoped to the payment endpoints instead of the full secret key.

3. Where to paste it

Admin Panel → card 🔑 Provider API Keys → Stripe row → “Paste API key” → Save (paste the secret key).

4. Required or optional — and what breaks without it

Required if the directory takes card payments or pays out. Without it, checkout fails and paid placements cannot be charged. Payments are simply unavailable if you never enable them.

5. Cost & plan notes

No monthly fee; Stripe charges a per-transaction fee and holds the funds. Live keys require a verified Stripe account with bank details. Check Stripe's pricing page for current rates.

6. How to verify it

Click Test on the row (GET /api/v1/admin/provider-keys/stripe/test) to confirm the masked key, then run a real test-mode checkout end to end before switching to live keys.

Deep-link to this section with #provider-stripe. ↑ Back to top

SMS & Voice

phone Telnyx Optional telnyx

SMS/Voice API

1. What it powers

SMS / voice API — an alternate messaging provider to Twilio.

2. How to get the key

Sign in at portal.telnyx.com.
Open API Keys and click Create API Key.
Copy the key (shown once) and buy the number you will send from.

3. Where to paste it

Admin Panel → card 🔑 Provider API Keys → Telnyx row → “Paste API key” → Save.

4. Required or optional — and what breaks without it

Optional — use instead of Twilio if the client already runs Telnyx. Do not configure both unless you intend to.

5. Cost & plan notes

Pay-as-you-go with a card on file; check portal.telnyx.com pricing for current rates.

6. How to verify it

Click Test on the row (GET /api/v1/admin/provider-keys/telnyx/test).

Deep-link to this section with #provider-telnyx. ↑ Back to top

📞 Twilio Required twilio

SMS + voice messaging

1. What it powers

SMS and voice messaging.
Call-tracking numbers (the twilio_numbers records power call tracking).
Phone-number intelligence / lookups (the Contact Intelligence module calls the Twilio Lookups API).

2. How to get the key

Create or sign in to an account at console.twilio.com.
Complete phone/identity verification — carriers require a verified sender before you can send SMS.
Open Account → API keys & tokens and create a Standard API key.
Copy the SID and the Secret (the secret is shown once) — and note your Account SID from the console home.
Buy (or port) the phone number you will send from, and if you are messaging US numbers, complete the required A2P 10DLC brand/campaign registration or your messages will be blocked.

3. Where to paste it

Admin Panel → card 🔑 Provider API Keys → Twilio row → “Paste API key” → Save. Paste the credential the app expects for Twilio (API key secret / auth token as documented by the integration).

4. Required or optional — and what breaks without it

Required for SMS/voice and call tracking. Without it, no text messages send and call-tracking number provisioning fails. Everything else works fine without it.

5. Cost & plan notes

Pay-as-you-go: a trial credit is included and a credit card is required to upgrade to sending at volume. A2P registration may have its own fees. Check console.twilio.com pricing for current rates.

6. How to verify it

Click Test on the row (GET /api/v1/admin/provider-keys/twilio/test), then send one real SMS to a phone you control.

Deep-link to this section with #provider-twilio. ↑ Back to top

CRM & Federal Data

crm CoreSwift CRM Optional coreswift

Push captured leads (directory enquiries, booking requests, claimed listings, loyalty members) into your CoreSwift CRM. Connect with a personal API key (csk_...) from CoreSwift Integration Center.

1. What it powers

Every lead this directory captures is pushed into your CoreSwift CRM as a contact: directory enquiries/submissions, visitor booking requests, claimed listings and loyalty members (native integration — coreswift::push_lead_to_coreswift).
The Integrations panel (view id integrations) → CoreSwift card → Connect.
Capture never breaks when CoreSwift is not connected: the lead is kept locally and nothing is pushed.

2. How to get the key

Sign in to CoreSwift and open the Integration Center.
Generate a personal API key — CoreSwift keys start with csk_.
Nothing else: the hub URL is resolved for you (provider_keys.base_url → preset → default). Only for a self-hosted CoreSwift do you also paste a base URL.

3. Where to paste it

Business Portal → 🔌 Integrations (view id integrations) → CoreSwift CRM card → paste the csk_… key and press Connect. The same key can be pasted in the Admin Panel → card 🔑 Provider API Keys → CoreSwift CRM row. Either way the credential is stored per tenant (BYOK) and is never echoed back in full — reads show a masked preview.

No extra field required: the key alone is enough. A Base URL input is shown only while the key is not stored, for self-hosted CoreSwift instances — leave it empty for the standard hub.

4. Required or optional — and what breaks without it

Optional — but this is the CRM the whole directory flows into. With no key, captures still succeed locally; the leads simply never reach CoreSwift. With a key, every captured lead lands in your CoreSwift account as a contact tagged with source:multidirectory (source app multidirectory).

5. Cost & plan notes

Internal/first-party product — there is no per-call API fee. Licensing is handled separately.

6. How to verify it

Press Test connection on the card (POST /api/v1/provider-keys/coreswift/test) — it calls the hub live and reports how many lists it can see; GET /api/v1/integrations/coreswift/status tells you whether a key is stored, and GET /api/v1/integrations/coreswift/lists proxies the hub's list picker. Then capture one real lead (submit a business enquiry) and confirm the contact appears in CoreSwift.

Deep-link to this section with #provider-coreswift. ↑ Back to top

shield SAM.gov Optional sam_gov

Federal contracting opportunities

1. What it powers

Federal contracting opportunities data (SAM.gov listings).

2. How to get the key

Sign in at sam.gov with a registered account (registration is free but requires identity verification, which can take time).
Open your Account Details and use the API key section (the “Get API Key” action) to request/rotate your key.
Copy the key from the account page.

3. Where to paste it

Admin Panel → card 🔑 Provider API Keys → SAM.gov row → “Paste API key” → Save.

4. Required or optional — and what breaks without it

Optional — only relevant if the directory surfaces federal contracting opportunities.

5. Cost & plan notes

Free — SAM.gov API keys are issued to registered users at no charge.

6. How to verify it

Click Test on the row (GET /api/v1/admin/provider-keys/sam_gov/test).

Deep-link to this section with #provider-sam_gov. ↑ Back to top

dollar-sign USAspending Optional usaspending

Federal spending data

1. What it powers

Federal spending data (USAspending).

2. How to get the key

The USAspending data API (api.usaspending.gov) is public and does not require a key for normal use.
If you want a registered key for higher rate limits, request one from the USAspending API documentation/registration page.
Paste the issued key if you were given one.

3. Where to paste it

Admin Panel → card 🔑 Provider API Keys → USAspending row → “Paste API key” → Save. Leave it empty if you are using the public API unauthenticated.

4. Required or optional — and what breaks without it

Optional / usually unnecessary — the public API works without a key, so this row can stay empty.

5. Cost & plan notes

Free / public data.

6. How to verify it

Click Test on the row (GET /api/v1/admin/provider-keys/usaspending/test) if a key was entered.

Deep-link to this section with #provider-usaspending. ↑ Back to top

Some parts of the app read credentials that are not listed in the 24-row provider catalogue above, so they do not appear as rows in the Provider API Keys card. Don't hunt for them in the panel:

Yelp — business data. Read from the provider-keys store / YELP_API_KEY environment variable by the Data Company module, but Yelp is not a row in available_providers.
AnswerThePublic — keyword research (the blog Q&A / keyword fetcher). It reads a provider_keys row directly and is not listed in the availability catalogue, so it is not pasteable from this card. (Its cousin DataForSEO is now a row — see its section above.)
Gemini — selectable inside the blog generator's model routing, but likewise not a row in this table.
SMTP — host/port/username/password live in each directory's own email settings, not in the provider keys card.

If you need one of these, tell the developer — they are configured outside the VA-facing panel on purpose.

Section anchors are stable and safe to deep-link: #provider-<provider_key> for a provider, #start-here, #quick-map, #all-providers. This page is generated from the live available_providers table — if a provider is added there, it must be given a section here (the generator refuses to build otherwise).

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