The Movie Database Support
Support → API Support
Why would a freshly generated API Key not work
posted by swguru204STAFFMOD on August 21, 2024 at 6:32 PM
I have been cranking away trying to build a little app that utilizes the TMDb API to help me download and replace posters for better metadata control in Plex. I am not sure what TMDb’s definition of hitting the API hard would be, but I assume I got myself locked out somehow.
I noticed in the logs that I got this error on the last build of the app. *_Failed to fetch posters: {"status_code":7,"status_message":"Invalid API key: You must be granted a valid key.","success":false} *
I then went back to TMDb website and generated a new API Key thinking something broke somehow. Plopped the new API key into my code and got the same error. So I logged out of the website and tried to sign back in and was stuck in an Uh-Oh loop.
This got resolved finally and I am able to log back in, but now the new API Key is still not working.
Start of API Key shown inhttps://www.themoviedb.org/settings/api
Partially Redacted API key from https://developer.themoviedb.org/reference/intro/getting-started
](https://developer.themoviedb.org/reference/intro/getting-started%5D(https://i.postimg.cc/xdTTPwb0/Screenshot-2024-08-21-at-3-24-35-PM.png)){kind=link}
API Auth Failure message from https://developer.themoviedb.org/reference/intro/getting-started
Any assistance is really appreciated.
Reply by swguru204
on August 21, 2024 at 6:32 PM
ah boo, the images didn't post inline.
Reply by ticao2 🇧🇷 pt-BR
on August 23, 2024 at 10:19 AM
First let's check if your API Key is working.
Take a Test
Using a computer, desktop or notebook.
On some mobile devices this test may not work correctly.
In the URL below, change THE_KEY to your API Key.
https://api.themoviedb.org/3/movie/550?api_key=THE_KEY
Use this example to do a search using a new tab or window in your browser.
You will receive the basic data of the Movie Fight Club (1999)
https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/550-fight-club
If it works, your Key is OK.
When there is a problem, the TMDb Server sends a message.
Can you tell which message the server sent?
Here is a list of possible messages:
https://developer.themoviedb.org/docs/errors
If it does not work, let us know right here.