# API Access

In order to use any of our APIs, you must authenticate your HTTP requests using an access key. HTTP requests using no authentication or invalid access keys will result in 401 Unauthorized.

To access our APIs using an access key you will need to:

1. Create or use an existing access policy
2. Attach a new or existing access policy to a role
3. Create or use an existing access key that is attached to a role<br>


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.bird.com/api/api-access.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.