API Key
FactSet's API key authentication mechanism is implemented following the basic HTTP authentication scheme, where the username is specified as the FactSet username-serial and the password is the API key. These values will be shown when an API key is generated.
The workflow of API key authentication is as follows:
Register with FactSet to obtain FactSet Username and Serial.
Generate the API key by following the steps under 'Creating an API Key' section below.
Construct the HTTP Authorization header as per the Basic HTTP Authentication Scheme with username-serial as username and API key as the password.
Authorization: Basic dXNlcm5hbWUtc2VyaWFsOlhYWFhYWFhYWFhYWFhYWFhYWFhYWFhYWFhYWA==
Encode this value using Base64 encoding into a sequence of US-ASCII characters
The Authorization header needs to be included with all API requests
Creating an API key
1. Login to the Developer Portal.
2. Navigate to the API Authentication page (Profile > API Authentication).
3. Click the "Create" button and select 'API Key' as the authentication credential and click 'Next'.
4. Enter the necessary details and then click the "Submit" button.
Name - give your API key a brief description.
Account - select the account (username-serial) with which you would make API requests. If you are not sure which account to choose then please reach out to your FactSet account team.
Machine Account: A machine account is a serial number for a non-interactive user. Generally, the entitlements to APIs that are used for production processes are tied to a machine account. So, if your API is licensed under a machine account then choose that machine username-serial under 'Account' dropdown.
Individual Account: If your API entitlements are associated with your individual account then choose individual username-serial under 'Account' dropdown.
IP Range - enter one or more IP address ranges that contain all possible Internet-facing IP addresses for the machines that will initiate requests to FactSet APIs.
From IP & To IP: Enter the IP range you have whitelisted with FactSet. By default, the 'From IP' & 'To IP' contains the Internet-facing IP address of the computer using the Developer Portal.
Click the "Add" button to add multiple IP address ranges.
Click the 'X' to remove an IP address range.
Tip:
Whitelists/ Proxies: Any HTTPS inspection points such as Firewalls, Web Proxies, or Content Filters should add the FactSet URL: https://*.factset.com to their exception list. Traffic to these addresses should not be scanned or blocked.
5. Upon success, you will be able to access your API key. Use the 'copy' option to copy the generated API key somewhere safe, as it won't be displayed again. Then click 'Done'.
Note: For security reasons, do not share your API key or passwords with anyone, including FactSet.
Updating an API key
1. Login to the Developer Portal.
2. Navigate to the API Authentication page (Profile > API Authentication)
3. From the list of auth credentials, select the API key you want to change.
4. You can make changes to the Name or IP range sections. Click the 'Submit' button to save the changes.
Deleting an API key
1. Login to the Developer Portal.
2. Navigate to the API Authentication page (Profile > API Authentication).
3. From the table, find the API key you want to delete and click the 'Delete' option against it.
4. Confirm delete and the API key will be removed from the list.
- Creating an API key
- Updating an API key
- Deleting an API key