# Manage program settings and your API key

> Edit your program's terms after launch and find, copy, or regenerate the per-program API key that authenticates your tracking integration.

Everything you configured in the [setup wizard](/brand/quickstart/setup-program) stays editable after launch, and the same Settings page holds the API key that every server-side [tracking call](/api-reference/overview) authenticates with. This guide shows where each setting lives, how to change terms safely, and how to rotate the key without breaking tracking.

<PageMeta
  items={[
    { label: 'Who this is for', value: 'Advertisers and agent developers' },
    { label: 'Time required', value: '5 minutes' },
    { label: 'Prerequisites', value: 'An affiliate program created in the setup wizard' },
    { label: 'Outcome', value: 'You can change program terms after launch and rotate your API key with zero tracking downtime' },
  ]}
/>

## What lives in Settings

Open your brand workspace and select **Settings** in the left menu. The page is organized as a checklist of sections:

![Program Settings — the left rail lists Business Profile, Approval mode, Commission, Branding, Tracking & Integrations, Share Program, and the Developer API Key section](/docs/brand/settings.png)

| Section | What you edit there |
|---------|--------------------|
| **Business Profile** | Program name, marketplace handle, website URL, logo |
| **Approval mode** | How partner applications are handled — manual review or auto-accept |
| **Commission** | Default commission type, rate, and hold period |
| **Branding** | How your program page looks to partners in the marketplace |
| **Tracking & Integrations** | Status of click, lead (signup), and payment tracking |
| **Share Program** | A shareable link for recruiting partners |
| **API Key** (under **Developer**) | The per-program secret key for server-side tracking calls |

## Step 1: Edit program terms after launch

Programs evolve — rates get adjusted, branding gets refreshed, approval policies tighten or loosen. None of this requires recreating the program.

1. Select **Settings** in the left menu of your brand workspace.
2. Choose the section you want to change: **Commission** for the default rate and hold period, **Approval mode** to switch between manual review and auto-accept, **Business Profile** for the program name, website, and logo, or **Branding** for your marketplace page.
3. Make the change and save the section.

:::tip

The **Commission** section sets your program-wide default. To pay different rates to different sets of partners, [organize partners into groups](/brand/groups) — each group carries its own commission policy.

:::

## Step 2: Find your API key

Every server-side call to the tracking API — sales, refunds, and server-mode leads — authenticates with a Bearer token that is unique to your program. Integrations, SDKs, the CLI, and AI agents all use this same key.

1. Select **Settings** in the left menu.
2. Under **Developer**, select **API Key**.

The key is stored hashed and displays masked. The full value is revealed exactly once — at the moment it is generated. If you no longer have the current key stored anywhere, you can't recover it from the dashboard; regenerate it instead (Step 3).

Store the key as a server-side environment variable:

```bash
# .env — server-side only. Never ship this key to the browser.
AFFITOR_API_KEY=YOUR_PROGRAM_API_KEY
```

:::note

The **API Key** section also gives you a one-line instruction for an AI coding agent. It points the agent at [skill.md](https://docs.affitor.com/skill.md) with your program ID and key variable, so the agent can install tracking for you — see [Agent Integration](/api-reference/agent-integration).

:::

## Step 3: Regenerate the key

Rotate the key if it may have leaked, if it was committed to a repository, or as routine hygiene when a team member with key access leaves.

:::caution

Regenerating invalidates the old key immediately. Every integration still sending it starts receiving `401` responses until you deploy the new key. The new key's full value is shown one time only — copy it before you close the reveal.

:::

1. In **Settings** → **API Key**, regenerate the key.
2. Copy the new key from the one-time reveal.
3. Update `AFFITOR_API_KEY` everywhere the old key was stored — deployment environment, secret manager, CI — and redeploy.

## Verify it worked

Send a test-mode sale with the new key. It authenticates exactly like a real sale but creates no commission and no platform fee.

Request — `POST /api/v1/track/sale`:

```bash
curl -X POST https://api.affitor.com/api/v1/track/sale \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_PROGRAM_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "additional_data": { "test_mode": true },
    "amount_cents": 9999,
    "currency": "USD",
    "sale_type": "payment"
  }'
```

Expected response:

```json
{
  "success": true,
  "message": "Test sale event tracked successfully",
  "data": {
    "eventId": 789,
    "programId": 1,
    "test_mode": true
  }
}
```

<VerifySuccess
  network={[
    "`POST /api/v1/track/sale` with the new key returns `200` and `\"success\": true` — the key authenticates",
    "If you regenerated, the same request with the old key now returns `401` — rotation is complete",
  ]}
  dashboard={[
    "The test event appears under your program's tracking events, flagged as a test — no commission is created",
  ]}
  ifNotWorking={[
    "A `401` means the header is malformed or the key doesn't match an active program — copy the key again from **Settings** → **API Key** and check your env variable for trailing whitespace",
    "See the [error reference](/api-reference/errors) for every `401` cause and fix",
  ]}
/>

## Next steps

<FeatureCards>
  <FeatureCard icon="book" title="API Reference" href="/api-reference/overview">Base URL, auth modes, and every tracking endpoint your key unlocks.</FeatureCard>
  <FeatureCard icon="zap" title="3-Step Integration Guide" href="/brand/tracking/quickstart-integration">Put the key to work: get clicks, signups, and sales tracking live end to end.</FeatureCard>
  <FeatureCard icon="code" title="Agent Integration" href="/api-reference/agent-integration">Hand the one-line instruction to an AI coding agent and let it wire up tracking for you.</FeatureCard>
</FeatureCards>