Ragflow Authentication

generated: '2026-08-27'
method: searched
source: https://ragflow.io/docs/acquire_ragflow_api_key + https://ragflow.io/docs/http_api_reference
docs: https://ragflow.io/docs/acquire_ragflow_api_key
api: ragflow-http-api
summary: >-
  A single authentication scheme covers the entire RAGFlow surface: a tenant-scoped API key presented as
  an HTTP bearer token. There is no OAuth 2.0, no OpenID Connect, no mutual TLS, no signed requests and
  no scope system. The same key authenticates the HTTP API, the Python SDK and the MCP server.
schemes:
- id: bearerApiKey
  type: http
  scheme: bearer
  in: header
  name: Authorization
  format: 'Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_KEY>'
  applies_to: all 95 documented operations except GET /api/v1/system/healthz
  description: >-
    A RAGFlow API key issued per tenant from the RAGFlow UI (avatar in the top-right corner -> API).
    The reference presents this header on every request example in the document.
  rotation: >-
    Keys are created and revoked from the same UI page. No rotation policy, expiry or grace period is
    documented, and there is no API to mint or revoke a key.
  expiry: not documented
  scopes: []
  scope_model: none
unauthenticated_operations:
- operation: GET /api/v1/system/healthz
  note: >-
    Verified live on 2026-08-27 — https://cloud.ragflow.io/api/v1/system/healthz returns HTTP 200 with
    {"db":"ok","doc_engine":"ok","redis":"ok","status":"ok","storage":"ok"} without any Authorization
    header.
oauth2: false
openid_connect: false
mutual_tls: false
webhook_signing: not applicable — RAGFlow publishes no webhooks
failure_behaviour:
  missing_or_invalid_key:
    http_status: 401
    body: '{"code":401,"data":null,"message":"<Unauthorized ''401: Unauthorized'' >"}'
    observed_at: https://cloud.ragflow.io/api/v1/datasets?page=1&page_size=1
    observed_on: '2026-08-27'
    www_authenticate_header: false
  handler_level:
    code: 109
    message: no authorization
  insufficient_permission:
    code: 108
    message: tenant lacks permission for the named datasets
  not_owner:
    code: 103
    message: Only owner of canvas authorized for this operation.
availability:
  self_hosted: >-
    Any RAGFlow deployment can issue API keys — this is the full-capability path, and the reason the
    API surface is documented against http://{address}/api/v1.
  cloud:
    free: false
    free_note: >-
      The RAGFlow Cloud pricing page states "API key not available" on the Free plan. A Cloud evaluator
      cannot call the API without paying, which is the single largest onboarding friction on this
      provider.
    starter: true
    pro: true
    enterprise: true
multi_tenancy:
  model: >-
    A key is bound to one tenant. The MCP server's self-host mode holds one key and therefore sees one
    tenant's datasets; host mode requires each client to present its own key so each sees its own.
gaps:
- No scopes — a key that can read a dataset can also delete every dataset, chat assistant and agent in
  the tenant. There is no read-only key.
- No key expiry, no documented rotation policy, and no programmatic key management.
- No WWW-Authenticate header on 401, so a client cannot discover the scheme from a challenge.
- No OAuth or OIDC, so RAGFlow cannot participate in a delegated-consent agent flow.