Auth Endpoints

Tier 0 — Anonymous Trial

No authentication required. The first 5–10 calls to /v1/validate are served without any API key.

When the anonymous ceiling is reached, the API returns HTTP 401 with a machine-readable registration prompt:

{
  "error": "anonymous_limit_reached",
  "message": "Register for a free API key to continue (100 calls/month, no payment required).",
  "register_url": "https://api.giltiq.de/v1/register"
}

This is not an error — it is a signal to move to Tier 1.

`POST /v1/register` — Tier 1 Registration

Create a free account and receive an API key immediately. No email verification, no password, no login step.

Request body (at least one field required):

{ "email": "you@example.com", "agent_id": null }

Field	Type	Required
`email`	`string \| null`	At least one of `email` or `agent_id`
`agent_id`	`string \| null`	At least one of `email` or `agent_id`

Response:

{
  "api_key": "gq_live_...",
  "message": "Save this key — it is only shown once."
}

Authenticating Requests

After registration, include your API key on every request using either method:

Header:

X-API-Key: gq_live_...

Bearer token:

Authorization: Bearer gq_live_...

API keys begin with gq_live_ and are 32 characters long.

Tier 2 — Paid Tier

When your monthly Tier 1 limit is reached, the API returns HTTP 402:

{
  "error": "quota_exceeded",
  "message": "Monthly free tier limit reached. Upgrade to continue.",
  "upgrade_url": "https://giltiq.de/pricing/"
}

Upgrade via Stripe checkout. Your billing email is collected there — not at registration.

After upgrading, the same API key continues to work. No re-registration required.