> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.getvalenceai.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Introduction

> This section outlines the required inputs and expected outputs of each endpoint, along with describing all optional parameters. API usage examples are also included.

## Authentication

All API endpoints are authenticated using API Keys. These can either be passed directly to the URL or they can be defined in an environment file.

**Passing Directly:**

```json theme={null}
"headers": [
  {
    x-api-key: "YOUR_KEY"
  }
]
```

**Environment Variables:**

<CodeGroup>
  ```bash Python theme={null}
  export VALENCE_API_KEY= "api_key_here"
  export VALENCE_DISCRETE_URL= "https://discrete-api-url" # Optional: custom Discrete audio endpoint
  export VALENCE_ASYNCH_URL= "https://asynch-api-url" # Optional: custom Asynch audio endpoint
  export VALENCE_LOG_LEVEL= "DEBUG"  # Optional: INFO, DEBUG, ERROR
  ```

  ```bash Javascript theme={null}
  VALENCE_API_KEY= your_api_key                    # Required: Your Valence API key
  VALENCE_DISCRETE_URL= https://discrete-api-url   # Optional: Discrete audio endpoint
  VALENCE_ASYNCH_URL= https://asynch-api-url        # Optional: Asynch audio endpoint  
  VALENCE_LOG_LEVEL= info                          # Optional: debug, info, warn, error
  ```
</CodeGroup>