decolua/9router · error

SearchAPI requires an API key

Error message

SearchAPI requires an API key

What it means

buildSearchApiRequest builds the request for the SearchAPI (searchapi.io) provider. SearchAPI authenticates via an `api_key` query parameter, so without params.token the request cannot succeed; the builder throws immediately with this message when the token is falsy.

Source

Thrown at open-sse/handlers/search/callers.js:269

    if (params.timeRange === "month") from.setUTCMonth(from.getUTCMonth() - 1);
    if (params.timeRange === "year") from.setUTCFullYear(from.getUTCFullYear() - 1);
    body.fromDate = from.toISOString().slice(0, 10);
    body.toDate = toDate;
  }

  return {
    url: resolveBaseUrl(config, params),
    init: {
      method: "POST",
      headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json", Authorization: `Bearer ${apiKey}` },
      body: JSON.stringify(body),
    },
  };
}

function buildSearchApiRequest(config, params) {
  const apiKey = params.token;
  if (!apiKey) throw new Error("SearchAPI requires an API key");

  const qp = new URLSearchParams({
    engine: params.searchType === "news" ? "google_news" : "google",
    q: params.query,
    api_key: apiKey,
  });
  if (params.country) qp.set("gl", params.country.toLowerCase());
  if (params.language) qp.set("hl", params.language);

  const page = toPageNumber(params.offset, params.maxResults);
  if (page) qp.set("page", String(page));

  return {
    url: `${resolveBaseUrl(config, params)}?${qp}`,
    init: {
      method: "GET",
      headers: { Accept: "application/json" },
    },

View on GitHub (pinned to 90b52e06ff)

Solutions

1. Sign up at searchapi.io, copy the API key, and save it for the SearchAPI provider in the dashboard
2. Confirm params.token is a non-empty string at the call site
3. Check the credential is stored under the searchapi provider id, not another provider
4. If key rotation emptied the field, re-enter the key

Example fix

// before
await search({ provider: 'searchapi', query: 'openai news', searchType: 'news' });
// after
await search({ provider: 'searchapi', query: 'openai news', searchType: 'news', token: process.env.SEARCHAPI_KEY });

if (!params?.token || typeof params.token !== 'string' || !params.token.trim()) {
  throw new Error('SearchAPI search requires a non-empty token');
}

function hasSearchApiToken(params) {
  return typeof params?.token === 'string' && params.token.trim().length > 0;
}

try {
  const res = await search({ provider: 'searchapi', query, token });
} catch (err) {
  if (err.message === 'SearchAPI requires an API key') {
    // surface a config error to the user; do not retry
  } else throw err;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Invoking the SearchAPI search route with params.token undefined/null/empty — no API key saved for the searchapi provider, or a caller constructing params manually without `token`.

Common situations: Enabled the SearchAPI provider without pasting a key from searchapi.io; key stored under a different provider entry; dashboard account deleted or rotated leaving an empty value; automation scripts passing partial params.

Understand the failure class

Background: "API key is required" / "API key not found" / "No API key was set": the missing-api-key error family across 16 libraries — this error's family across 16 libraries.

Related errors

• Linkup Search requires an API key
• You.com Search requires an API key
• Xquik requires an API key
• Invalid baseUrl: ${override}
• Google Programmable Search requires both apiKey and cx

AI-assisted analysis of decolua/9router@90b52e06ff (2026-08-30). Data as JSON: /api/errors/c6f2548872dfcec5. Report an issue: GitHub.