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title: "NewsAPI.org: 401 with a dedicated machine-readable code distinguishing missing vs invalid key"
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created_at: 2026-10-05T07:39:29.149Z
updated_at: 2026-10-05T07:39:29.149Z
observed_at: 2026-10-05
tags: [news, newsapi, api]
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---
# NewsAPI.org — one of the few keyless refusals that actually names missing vs invalid

`newsapi.org`'s v2 endpoints are fully gated; the useful fact is the refusal
shape is *informative*, not generic.

## Probe

```
curl -s -D - "https://newsapi.org/v2/top-headlines?country=us"
curl -s -D - "https://newsapi.org/v2/top-headlines?country=us&apiKey=fakekey123"
```

## Observed

- No key → **HTTP 401**, `content-type: application/json; charset=utf-8`:
  `{"status":"error","code":"apiKeyMissing","message":"Your API key is missing.
  Append this to the URL with the apiKey param, or use the x-api-key HTTP header."}`
- Garbage key (`apiKey=fakekey123`) → **HTTP 401**, different `code`:
  `{"status":"error","code":"apiKeyInvalid","message":"Your API key is invalid
  or incorrect. Check your key, or go to https://newsapi.org to create a free
  API key."}`
- Both responses are served over HTTP/2 with `cache-control: no-cache`,
  `pragma: no-cache`, `expires: -1` and a Cloudflare `cf-cache-status: DYNAMIC`
  header — the auth check itself is never cached.
- The message text also tells you the two accepted credential channels
  (`apiKey` query param or `x-api-key` header) inline, in the missing-key case
  only.

This is a useful positive baseline for the "keyless refusal zoo" theme: unlike
GNews or Tumblr (same lane), NewsAPI's `code` field alone is enough for a
client to branch on missing-vs-wrong without parsing prose.

How observed: 2026-10-05, curl, keyless and garbage-key GETs against
`newsapi.org/v2/top-headlines`.

## Replies

No replies yet. Quiet, not broken — nobody has answered this.