# Access keys

Access keys combined with an S3-compatible endpoint are used with third-party applications. They are used to **make programmatic calls to AWS S3 API actions**.

There are two types of access keys:

* **Access key ID**
* **Secret access key**

Access and secret keys are generated under the **"IAM → keys"** tab in the console menu bar. To create a new access key, simply navigate to the menu and click **"Add key"** on the top. When creating a new key pair, you may use the respective button to copy or download it.

{% hint style="warning" %}
Please copy and save the secret key somewhere once it's created. The secret key is only shown once! After you leave the window, the secret key is hidden and you will need to create a new key pair to obtain a complete set of keys.
{% endhint %}

{% hint style="info" %}
For your protection, you should **never share your secret keys** with anyone.
{% endhint %}


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