Dhan access token vs API key

An API key generally identifies an app or integration. An access token authorizes requests for a specific broker account or session context. Exact naming and lifecycle details should always be verified against official Dhan documentation.

Both values should be protected. Neither belongs in browser code, public screenshots, analytics payloads, or Telegram messages.

If a user or support operator confuses these credentials, troubleshooting becomes risky. A missing API key may mean the integration is not configured. An invalid access token may mean account authorization has expired or needs renewal. The remediation path is different.

Good docs should explain what each credential does without encouraging users to paste secrets into support channels.

Credentials should be stored server-side, encrypted, and redacted from logs. Error messages should say that a credential is missing or invalid without printing the credential. Analytics events should track setup state, not secret values.

Screenshots used in content should use placeholders or redacted examples. A real token should never appear in SEO content.

Vantaro treats credential readiness as a prerequisite for live execution. A user can review docs and dry-run certain workflow states, but live broker calls require valid setup, successful validation, and explicit confirmation.

If an access token is invalid, the product should block live execution, show a clear setup message, and link to the relevant Dhan auth docs.

The common mistakes are hardcoding credentials, logging tokens during debugging, pasting tokens into chat, confusing app-level and account-level credentials, and assuming a dry-run failure can be fixed by repeated live retries. Each mistake should be prevented by product design.