---
id: blog-api-key-rotation
slug: api-key-rotation
date: 2026-06-18
title: "API Key Rotation: How We Secure Your API Keys"
summary: "Rotating API keys shouldn't cause service interruption for production AI. Learn how LLM Gateway enables secure key rotation for both providers and the gateway."
categories: ["Guides", "Engineering"]
image:
  src: "/blog/api-key-rotation.png"
  alt: "Secure API key rotation with LLM Gateway"
  width: 1536
  height: 1024
---

Security policies are clear: API keys must be rotated periodically. Whether it is a compliance requirement (like SOC 2), a routine policy (like rotating credentials every 90 days), or an emergency response to a compromised secret, keys eventually have to change.

But in most traditional setups, rotating API keys is a stressful event. It usually involves a high-wire act: generating a new key, updating environment variables across multiple microservices, redeploying containers, and timing the revocation of the old key to prevent throwing 401 Unauthorized errors to your users.

When your application integrates directly with multiple LLM providers (OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, etc.), this operational complexity is multiplied by the number of providers you use.

Here is how **LLM Gateway** simplifies API key rotation into a painless, secure process—both for your backend LLM provider credentials and the keys your applications use to call the gateway.

---

## What is API Key Rotation?

**API key rotation** is the security practice of systematically replacing authentication credentials (API keys) on a scheduled basis or in response to a suspected breach. In AI applications, key rotation ensures that access to underlying AI models remains secure without disrupting production services or causing query interruptions.

---

## Why API Key Rotation Matters for AI Apps

According to the [GitGuardian State of Secrets Sprawl Report](https://www.gitguardian.com/state-of-secrets-sprawl), credentials leaked in public repositories increased by 112% year-over-year, with AI provider keys (like OpenAI and Anthropic) becoming high-value targets for attackers looking to siphon credits or scrape training data.

Furthermore, compliance standards like SOC 2 and ISO 27001 mandate periodic credential rotation—typically every 90 days—to limit the blast radius of any potential leak. (We recently wrote about our own [SOC 2 Type II compliance journey](/blog/soc2-type-ii), where credential security and audit logs are key requirements.)

> "Credentials are the front door to your AI workloads. If rotating a key requires a coordinated deployment, teams will delay it, increasing exposure. Security teams need tools that make rotation a non-event."
> — _Alex Miller, Principal Security Engineer_

---

## Comparing Manual vs. Gateway Rotation

| Rotation Aspect   | Direct Provider SDKs (Manual)                      | LLM Gateway (BYOK)                                |
| :---------------- | :------------------------------------------------- | :------------------------------------------------ |
| **Provider Keys** | Requires code redeployments in every microservice. | Single-click dashboard update; zero code changes. |
| **Gateway Keys**  | Not applicable (no gateway layer).                 | Double-key roll with concurrent active keys.      |
| **Downtime Risk** | High (timing mismatch during propagation).         | None (both keys active during transition).        |
| **Automation**    | Complex custom scripting.                          | Native TTL (Time-to-Live) expiration.             |

---

## 1. Rotating Provider Keys (BYOK) with Zero Code Changes

If you bring your own keys (BYOK) to LLM Gateway, your applications do not authenticate with the provider directly. Instead, your apps call LLM Gateway, and the gateway authenticates with the provider using the keys stored in your organization settings.

Normally, rotating an Anthropic or OpenAI key means:

1. Generating a new key in the provider console.
2. Updating the environment variable in every service calling that provider.
3. Redeploying those services.
4. Deleting the old key.

If you have 10 microservices calling Anthropic, you have to deploy all 10. If you miss one, that service goes down when the old key is deleted.

**With LLM Gateway, the process is consolidated:**

1. Generate the new key in the provider console.
2. Go to your LLM Gateway **Provider Keys** dashboard.
3. Replace the existing key and click **Save**.

```text
[ Your App ] ---> ( Same Gateway Key ) ---> [ LLM Gateway ] ---> ( Rotating Provider Keys ) ---> [ LLM Providers ]
                                                                 *Updated once in dashboard*
                                                                 *No app redeployments needed*
```

The gateway immediately begins using the new credential for all subsequent requests. Your application code, configuration, and deployments remain completely untouched.

---

## 2. Rotating Gateway Keys: The "Double-Key Roll" Pattern

If you need to rotate the API key your application uses to connect to LLM Gateway (e.g. `llmgtwy_...`), you cannot avoid updating your application configuration. However, you _can_ avoid service interruption.

LLM Gateway supports **multiple concurrent active keys** per project. This enables a seamless transition path known as the "Double-Key Roll" pattern.

```markdown
1. Generate New Key (Both old and new keys active)
2. Deploy Config Update (Traffic begins shifting to new key)
3. Monitor Logs (Verify 100% of traffic is on new key)
4. Deactivate & Delete Old Key (Secure transition complete)
```

### Step 1: Create a new API Key

Navigate to the **API Keys** section of your LLM Gateway dashboard. Click **Create API Key** to generate a new key (e.g., `llmgtwy_production_v2`).

At this point, **both the old and the new keys are active and valid**.

### Step 2: Update your environments

Update the environment variables in your application configurations or secret manager (e.g. AWS Secrets Manager, HashiCorp Vault, Vercel) with the new key.

```diff
- LLM_GATEWAY_API_KEY=llmgtwy_old_key_prod
+ LLM_GATEWAY_API_KEY=llmgtwy_new_key_prod
```

Redeploy or restart your services. Because the old key is still active, any requests sent by services that have not yet restarted will succeed. Any requests sent by newly started services using the new key will also succeed.

### Step 3: Verify traffic propagation

In your LLM Gateway dashboard, inspect the **API Keys** list. You can monitor the usage and request logs associated with each key.

Wait until the request logs show that 100% of your production traffic has shifted to the new key.

### Step 4: Revoke the old key

Once you are confident no services are calling the gateway with the old key, click **Disable** on the old key in the dashboard. This temporarily deactivates the key.

Monitor your system for a brief window. If any legacy cron job or forgotten service fails, you can re-enable the old key instantly with one click. If everything remains quiet, click **Delete** to permanently revoke it.

---

## Leveling Up Security: Automatic Key Expiration (TTL)

Manual rotation is a chore, and chores get forgotten. For non-production workloads, the best way to handle key rotation is to automate it using **Time-to-Live (TTL)**.

When creating an API key in LLM Gateway, you can configure an optional expiration window (minutes, hours, or days). Once that window passes, the gateway automatically disables the key.

This is highly recommended for:

- **CI/CD pipelines:** Generate a key that expires in 1 hour for your integration testing suite.
- **External contractors:** Issue a key that expires in 30 days.
- **Staging / Development environments:** Set development keys to expire every 90 days to force regular rotation.

If an expired key needs to be reactivated, you can do so in the UI by explicitly setting a new expiration date.

## Best Practices for Secure AI Key Management

To keep your AI infrastructure secure, follow these principles:

1. **Use Project-Specific Keys:** Never use a single API key for both development and production. Create separate projects in LLM Gateway and assign dedicated keys to each environment.
2. **Apply IAM Rules:** Narrow the scope of your keys. If a service only needs to run translation tasks using `gemini-2.5-flash`, configure an IAM rule on that key denying access to all other models. If the key is leaked, the exposure is limited.
3. **Set Recurring Budgets:** Configure a spend limit (e.g., `$10 / day` or `$500 / month`) directly on the API key. If a developer runs an infinite loop or a key is compromised, the gateway will block requests before you receive a surprise bill.
4. **Audit Key Activity:** Check the **Audit Logs** to see who created, modified, or deleted keys, and watch the **Security Events** log for key authentication failures or rate limit violations.

---

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Why should you rotate API keys?

Rotating API keys regularly limits the window of opportunity for attackers if a key is silently leaked. It is also a core security control required to achieve and maintain compliance certifications like SOC 2 Type II or ISO 27001.

### Can I rotate provider keys without redeploying my app?

Yes. When using LLM Gateway in Bring Your Own Key (BYOK) mode, you update your OpenAI or Anthropic key once in the LLM Gateway dashboard. Since your applications only talk to the gateway, they require no code changes or redeployments.

### How do I automate key rotation?

You can use short-lived API keys with a configured Time-to-Live (TTL) expiration. In LLM Gateway, you can set keys to automatically expire after a set number of minutes, hours, or days—ideal for CI/CD runs, staging environments, or external contractors.

---

## Start Securing Your AI Pipeline

LLM Gateway sits at the intersection of your application and your model providers, giving you a centralized control plane for auth, billing, and routing.

If you are currently managing raw provider keys across multiple servers, migration is a two-line change.

- **[Try LLM Gateway free](https://llmgateway.io/signup)** — Create a free account in under 60 seconds
- **[Read the API Keys & IAM Rules Documentation](https://docs.llmgateway.io/features/api-keys)** — Learn how to secure your endpoints
- **[Learn about our SOC 2 Type II compliance](/blog/soc2-type-ii)** — Read the announcement and download the report
