Paystack API Authentication

How to authenticate Paystack API requests: one Bearer API key plus a connectionId. MindCloud stores your API key securely — set it once, never resend it.

Every Paystack API request through MindCloud needs two things: a MindCloud API Key and a connectionId for your Paystack account. This page covers both, plus exactly how to send them, so you do not need to visit any other page to get authenticated.

Steps to authenticate

Create a MindCloud account at app.mindcloud.co if you do not already have one.
Generate a MindCloud API Key in API Keys. This is the Bearer token you send on every request. Keep it on your server.
Create a Paystack connection in Connections. Paystack uses an API key. You generate the key in your Paystack account, then paste it in when you create the connection — MindCloud stores it securely and never returns it in a response.
Copy the connection’s connectionId — you will send it on every request alongside your MindCloud API Key.

How requests are authenticated

Authentication has two layers. Your MindCloud API Key authenticates the request to MindCloud, sent as a Bearer token in the Authorization header. The connectionId selects the connected Paystack account that should run the action. MindCloud stores and refreshes the Paystack credentials behind that connection, so you never send provider tokens with your requests.

Pass connectionId in the query string for GET and DELETE actions, and in the JSON body for POST, PUT, and PATCH actions.

For example, calling List Transactions with an Paystack connection looks like this:

curl --request GET \
  --url "https://connect.mindcloud.co/v1/universal/paystack/latest/actions/list-transactions" \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer $MINDCLOUD_API_KEY" \
  --get \
  --data-urlencode "connectionId=$CONNECTION_ID"

The Authorization: Bearer <your MindCloud API Key> header authenticates you to MindCloud; the connectionId tells MindCloud which Paystack account to run the action against. Missing or invalid Authorization returns 401, and a missing or mismatched connectionId returns 400.

Get your Paystack API keys

You need access to the Paystack dashboard for the business you want to connect.

Sign in to the Paystack dashboard
Open the Paystack dashboard for the account you want to connect.
Open API Keys & Webhooks
In the dashboard, go to the API Keys & Webhooks area and reveal your test or live secret key.
Copy the secret key
Paste the secret key into the MindCloud connection field used for the Paystack secret key.
Optionally copy the public key
If your team wants the public key stored for reference, copy it from the same page. It is not used for backend Paystack API authorization.

Keep your key safe

Keep your MindCloud API Key on your server; do not ship it in browser code, mobile apps, public repositories, or logs. Anyone with the key can call the Universal API as your MindCloud account, across every connection you have created.