Zerodha (Kite) — How to Get Your API Access Token
Before you can use Kite Connect, you need to create an app on Zerodha's developer
site and obtain an API Key and API Secret. This guide
covers only that — getting your credentials. It stops there.
Before You Start
- An active Zerodha trading account
- A Kite Connect subscription — Zerodha's official pricing page lists this as a paid add-on (₹500/month at time of writing; confirm current pricing on Zerodha's own site, as this can change)
Zerodha's documentation does not mention any 2FA/TOTP requirement specifically for the developer registration step itself (TOTP is part of the normal Zerodha login, covered below).
Step 1: Log in to the Kite Connect developer console
Go to developers.kite.trade and log in with your Zerodha credentials.
📸 Screenshot 1: Developer login page
Highlight the login form and the "Signup now" link for first-time developers.
Step 2: Create a new app
From your developer dashboard, create a new Connect app. Zerodha's documentation
states that an api_key + api_secret pair is issued once you
register, and that you must also register a redirect URL as part of this step.
📸 Screenshot 2: Create app form
Highlight the app name field and the redirect URL field.
Step 3: Copy your API Key and API Secret
Once the app is created, Zerodha displays your api_key and
api_secret. These are your credentials.
📸 Screenshot 3: App details screen showing API Key and API Secret
Mask the actual key/secret values before sharing this screenshot with anyone —
use dummy values like api_key: xxxx1111 if illustrating this step.
What You Should Have Now
- API Key (
api_key) — generated when you create the app
- API Secret (
api_secret) — generated when you create the app
Zerodha's own documentation separately describes a daily login flow that produces a
request_token (valid only a few minutes) and, after exchange, an
access_token. That daily flow is outside the scope of this guide — a
request_token/access_token is generated fresh each trading day, not something you
"obtain" once like the API Key/Secret above.
Important Limitations
- Paid subscription required — Kite Connect API access is a paid add-on to a Zerodha account (confirm current price on Zerodha's site).
- Daily token expiry — per Zerodha's documentation, the access_token expires at 6 AM the next day as a regulatory requirement, regardless of activity.
- Short-lived request_token — Zerodha's documentation states the request_token has a lifetime of only a few minutes and must be exchanged quickly.
- Rate limits are not specified in the documentation pages reviewed for this guide — check Zerodha's developer forum or docs directly if you need exact figures.
🔒 Security warning: Keep your API Secret confidential. Never share it,
your request_token, or your access_token publicly. Never include real credentials in
screenshots — use dummy values or mask them.
Screenshot Checklist
- Developer login page
- Create app form (app name + redirect URL)
- App details screen showing API Key and API Secret
Source: Zerodha's official Kite Connect documentation (kite.trade/docs/connect/v3) and developers.kite.trade.
ZORVO