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World Monitor calls this value a license key in some desktop screens and an API key elsewhere. They refer to the same user-created value, which starts with wm_.
Checkout does not create a reusable key for you. API Starter and API Business subscribers create their own keys after signing in. Dashboard Pro and Pro Business do not include API keys; they include desktop keys instead, which work in the desktop app but not on the API. Pro subscribers can also use the signed-in web dashboard and connect supported MCP clients with OAuth.

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Create a key

  1. Open the World Monitor dashboard and sign in with the account that owns the API subscription.
  2. Select Settings in the top-right corner.
  3. Open the API Keys tab.
  4. Enter a name such as desktop or my-app, then select Create Key.
  5. Copy the complete wm_... value immediately and store it in a password manager or secret manager.
The full key is shown only once. World Monitor stores a one-way hash, not the plaintext key.

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If you can see only the prefix

The API Keys tab lists a short prefix so you can identify each key, but it cannot reveal the complete value again.
  1. Revoke the key whose full value you lost.
  2. Create a replacement.
  3. Update every app or script that used the old key.
Revocation is permanent. Applications using the old key will stop working.

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Use the key in the desktop app

In the World Monitor desktop app, open Settings → Overview, paste the complete value into License / API Key, then select Save & Close. For API requests, send the same value in the X-WorldMonitor-Key header. See the API quickstart for examples. A key from either API plan can call the Pro-gated REST routes, such as list-comtrade-flows, get-tariff-trends, get-bilateral-tariff, get-us-import-duty, get-country-products, and get-route-impact. You do not need a separate Pro subscription for them. See Authentication & Usage.

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Desktop keys

A desktop key is a wm_ key for the desktop app. It unlocks the same Pro data as signing in to the dashboard, so a self-built desktop copy can load Pro cloud data without a browser sign-in. It uses the same wm_ format as an API key; the server records that it is a desktop key when you create it. Who gets one. Pro includes 2 desktop keys and Pro Business includes 3. Free accounts cannot create them. The key is for the subscriber only: one named user, on that person’s own desktop copies. Shared or public deployments need an API plan. Where it works. The official desktop app and desktop builds you compile yourself. The key lives in the desktop app’s OS keychain. Docker self-host copies run on their own data and never call the World Monitor cloud, so a desktop key does nothing there. API Starter and API Business keys also work in the desktop app. Limits. Each account has a ceiling of 7,500 desktop-key requests per day and 120 per minute, shared across all of its desktop keys. Past the ceiling, requests return a rate-limit response until the next UTC day. Revoking and recreating a key does not reset the count. What it cannot reach. A desktop key does not work on /api/v2/ paths, shipping webhooks, the MCP endpoint, or OAuth key grants. Those need an API Starter or API Business key. Create one. Sign in at worldmonitor.app, open Settings → API Keys, enter a name such as desktop, and select Create desktop key. Copy the full value at once; it is shown only one time. Creating a key past your plan’s limit shows a message with the cap. Use it. In the desktop app, open Settings → Overview, paste the key into Desktop key, then select Save & Close. You do not need to sign in to the dashboard. If your subscription lapses. Desktop keys are denied while the subscription is not active, the same way a lapsed API key is. Nothing is revoked: when you renew, the same keys work again. Revoke. Revoke a key from the same tab. Revocation is permanent, and the desktop app using it stops loading Pro data.

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If the API Keys tab asks you to upgrade

API keys require an active API Starter or API Business subscription. A Dashboard Pro or Pro Business subscription unlocks dashboard and MCP features and includes desktop keys, but it does not include API-key creation. If you already bought an API plan, confirm that you signed in with the account that owns the subscription. If the plan is still not recognized, email support@worldmonitor.app from the purchase email address. Include the plan name and, if available, only the short key prefix—never send a complete key.