Authentication

Every request to Push To Display requires authentication. The recommended way to authenticate is by logging in with your account.

Log in with your account

The CLI and MCP server use your Push To Display account — the same account you use in the mobile app. No API key needed.

Browser login (default)

pushtodisplay auth login

This opens your browser, you sign in, and the CLI receives your credentials automatically.

Device code login (headless)

If you're on a machine without a browser (SSH, containers, remote servers):

pushtodisplay auth login --device-code

The CLI prints a URL and a code. Open the URL on any device, enter the code, and approve the login.

MCP server

The MCP server inherits your CLI session. If you've already run pushtodisplay auth login, the MCP server authenticates automatically — no extra configuration needed. See MCP Setup for tool-specific configuration.

API keys

API keys are for programmatic access — HTTP API calls and CI/CD pipelines where no interactive login is available.

An API key is a string that starts with pt_. You get one from the Quick Start screen in the mobile app, or you can create more in the web portal under API Keys.

Using an API key with the HTTP API

Include it in the X-Api-Key header:

curl -X POST https://api.pushtodisplay.com/v1/updates \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "X-Api-Key: pt_your_api_key_here" \
  -d '{ "boardId": "<board-id>", "blocks": [{ "text": "Hello" }] }'

Using an API key with GitHub Actions

Store it as a GitHub secret and reference it in your workflow:

- uses: pushtodisplay/action@v1
  with:
    api-key: ${{ secrets.PTD_API_KEY }}
    text: "Deploy completed"

Managing your API keys

API keys can be managed from the web portal or the mobile app:

Revoking a key takes effect immediately — any request using that key will get a 401 Unauthorized response.

Check your auth status

To see how the CLI is currently authenticated:

pushtodisplay auth status

To log out and remove stored credentials:

pushtodisplay auth logout