Last updated 27 July 2026
Cannot reveal or view my API key
On Settings -> Security you click Reveal, type your password and the key still does not appear. There are only two reasons this happens. The first is that the page has gone out of date: if you signed out and signed back in, or signed in again in another tab, while this Security page stayed open, the page can no longer talk to the server. Nothing on screen looks wrong, and no password will work, until you reload the page itself. Signing in again does not fix it and often causes it, so always reload the Security page afterwards. The second reason is a wrong password. This box asks for your AutoTrader sign-in password, not your stock broker's password, and your web browser may have filled the box for you with an older saved password without you noticing. Clear the box, type the password by hand, and try again. If the message says your password does not match, sign out and sign back in with that same password to confirm which one is correct.
When this happens
- 1 You signed out and signed back in, or signed in again in another tab, while the Security page stayed open. The page is now out of date and must be reloaded.
- 2 The browser filled the password box for you with an older saved password.
- 3 Your stock broker's password was entered instead of your AutoTrader sign-in password.
- 4 The password was simply typed incorrectly.
What you see
On Settings → Security you click Reveal, type your password and click Show key — and the key stays hidden. You may see a short message in red, or only the word error, or nothing helpful at all.
This is not a problem with your account, your licence or your broker. Your API key is safe and unchanged.
First: reload the page
This is the fix people miss, and it is the more common of the two causes.
Your browser loads the Security page once. If you then sign out and sign back in — or sign in again in another tab or another window — the page you are looking at is left behind. It still shows all your settings and still looks completely normal, but it can no longer talk to the server. Every attempt to reveal the key will fail, no matter how many times you try, and no matter how correct your password is.
Reloading the page is the only thing that clears it.
- Press Ctrl + Shift + R (on a Mac, Cmd + Shift + R) while on the Security page.
- If you are not sure the reload happened, close the tab completely, open AutoTrader Web again, and go to Settings → Security from the menu.
- Now click Reveal and enter your password.
Signing out and signing back in does not fix this on its own — it is usually what causes it. If you sign in again for any reason, reload the Security page afterwards.
Second: check which password you are typing
If the page tells you your password does not match, the reveal is working correctly and the password is the problem.
- This box asks for your AutoTrader sign-in password — the one you use to sign in to AutoTrader Web. It is not your stock broker’s password, and not your broker’s API key.
- Your browser may have filled the box for you. If the box already showed dots when you arrived, that is a saved password your browser remembered, and it may be an old one from before you last changed it. Clear the box completely and type the password yourself.
- Type it by hand rather than pasting, so a stray space at the start or end cannot creep in.
Still not sure which password is right? Sign out, sign back in using that password, then reload Settings → Security and try the reveal again. If the password signs you in, it will also reveal the key.
If it still will not reveal
If you have reloaded the page and are certain of your password, contact support. Tell us roughly what time you tried, so we can look it up.
You can also click Re-generate on the same page to get a brand new key without ever seeing the old one. Only do this if you are ready to update every program and client that uses the key — the old key stops working the moment the new one is created.
