Update Identity

Update an identity's metadata and rate limits. Only specified fields are modified - others remain unchanged.

Perfect for subscription changes, plan upgrades, or updating user information. Changes take effect immediately.

Important
Requires identity.*.update_identity permission
Rate limit changes propagate within 30 seconds

1 min read

post/v2/identities.updateIdentity

Request example

package main

import(
	"context"
	"os"
	unkey "github.com/unkeyed/sdks/api/go/v2"
	"github.com/unkeyed/sdks/api/go/v2/models/components"
	"log"
)

func main() {
    ctx := context.Background()

    s := unkey.New(
        unkey.WithSecurity(os.Getenv("UNKEY_ROOT_KEY")),
    )

    res, err := s.Identities.UpdateIdentity(ctx, components.V2IdentitiesUpdateIdentityRequestBody{
        Identity: "user_123",
        Meta: map[string]any{
            "email": "alice@example.com",
            "name": "Alice Smith",
            "plan": "premium",
        },
    })
    if err != nil {
        log.Fatal(err)
    }
    if res.V2IdentitiesUpdateIdentityResponseBody != nil {
        // handle response
    }
}

Response

{
  "data": {
    "id": "<string>",
    "externalId": "<string>",
    "meta": {},
    "ratelimits": [
      {
        "id": "rl_1234567890abcdef",
        "name": "api_requests",
        "limit": 1000,
        "duration": 3600000,
        "autoApply": true
      }
    ]
  },
  "meta": {
    "requestId": "req_123"
  }
}

post/v2/identities.updateIdentity

Authorization

Authorizationstringheaderrequired#

Unkey uses bearer tokens for authentication. Public integrations use root keys, while the dashboard proxy uses short-lived JWTs.
To authenticate, include the token in the Authorization header of each request:

Authorization: Bearer unkey_123

Root keys have specific permissions attached to them, controlling what operations they can perform. Legacy permissions use tuple strings like api.*.create_key; resource permissions use Unkey Resource Names plus actions, like unkey:v1:ws_123:keyspaces/*#create_key.
Security best practices:

Keep root keys secure and never expose them in client-side code
Use different root keys for different environments
Rotate keys periodically, especially after team member departures
Create keys with minimal necessary permissions following least privilege principle
Monitor key usage with audit logs.

Body

application/json

identitystringrequired#

The ID of the identity to update. Accepts either the externalId (your system-generated identifier) or the identityId (internal identifier returned by the identity service).

Length: min 1

metaobject#

Replaces all existing metadata with this new metadata object.
Omitting this field preserves existing metadata, while providing an empty object clears all metadata.
Avoid storing sensitive data here as it's returned in verification responses.
Large metadata objects increase verification latency and should stay under 10KB total size.

ratelimitsobject[]#

Replaces all existing identity rate limits with this complete list of rate limits.
Omitting this field preserves existing rate limits, while providing an empty array removes all rate limits.
These limits are shared across all keys belonging to this identity, preventing abuse through multiple keys.
Rate limit changes take effect immediately but may take up to 30 seconds to propagate across all regions.

Items: max 50

Show child attributes

namestringrequired#

The name of this rate limit. This name is used to identify which limit to check during key verification.

Best practices for limit names:

Use descriptive, semantic names like 'api_requests', 'heavy_operations', or 'downloads'
Be consistent with naming conventions across your application
Create separate limits for different resource types or operation costs
Consider using namespaced names for better organization (e.g., 'files.downloads', 'compute.training')

You will reference this exact name when verifying keys to check against this specific limit.

Length: 3–128

limitintegerrequired#

The maximum number of operations allowed within the specified time window.

When this limit is reached, verification requests will fail with code=RATE_LIMITED until the window resets. The limit should reflect:

Your infrastructure capacity and scaling limitations
Fair usage expectations for your service
Different tier levels for various user types
The relative cost of the operations being limited

Higher values allow more frequent access but may impact service performance.

Range: >= 1

durationintegerrequired#

The duration for each ratelimit window in milliseconds.

This controls how long the rate limit counter accumulates before resetting. Common values include:

1000 (1 second): For strict per-second limits on high-frequency operations
60000 (1 minute): For moderate API usage control
3600000 (1 hour): For less frequent but costly operations
86400000 (24 hours): For daily quotas

Shorter windows provide more frequent resets but may allow large burst usage. Longer windows provide more consistent usage patterns but take longer to reset after limit exhaustion.

Range: >= 1000

autoApplybooleanrequired#

Whether this ratelimit should be automatically applied when verifying a key.

Default: false

Responses

application/json

Identity successfully updated

dataobjectrequired#

Show child attributes

idstringrequired#

Identity ID

externalIdstringrequired#

External identity ID

metaobject#

Identity metadata

ratelimitsobject[]#

Identity ratelimits

Show child attributes

idstringrequired#

Unique identifier for this rate limit configuration.

Length: 8–255Pattern: ^rl_[a-zA-Z0-9_]+$

namestringrequired#

Human-readable name for this rate limit.

Length: 1–128

limitintegerrequired#

Maximum requests allowed within the time window.

Range: 1–1000000

durationintegerrequired#

Rate limit window duration in milliseconds.

Range: 1000–2592000000

autoApplybooleanrequired#

Whether this rate limit was automatically applied when verifying the key.

metaobjectrequired#

Metadata object included in every API response. This provides context about the request and is essential for debugging, audit trails, and support inquiries. The requestId is particularly important when troubleshooting issues with the Unkey support team.

Show child attributes

requestIdstringrequired#

A unique id for this request. Always include this ID when contacting support about a specific API request. This identifier allows Unkey's support team to trace the exact request through logs and diagnostic systems to provide faster assistance.

metaobjectrequired#

Show child attributes

requestIdstringrequired#

errorobjectrequired#

Base error structure following Problem Details for HTTP APIs (RFC 7807). This provides a standardized way to carry machine-readable details of errors in HTTP response content.

Show child attributes

detailstringrequired#

A human-readable explanation specific to this occurrence of the problem. This provides detailed information about what went wrong and potential remediation steps. The message is intended to be helpful for developers troubleshooting the issue.

statusintegerrequired#

HTTP status code that corresponds to this error. This will match the status code in the HTTP response. Common codes include 400 (Bad Request), 401 (Unauthorized), 403 (Forbidden), 404 (Not Found), 409 (Conflict), and 500 (Internal Server Error).

titlestringrequired#

A short, human-readable summary of the problem type. This remains constant from occurrence to occurrence of the same problem and should be used for programmatic handling.

typestringrequired#

A URI reference that identifies the problem type. This provides a stable identifier for the error that can be used for documentation lookups and programmatic error handling. When followed, this URI should provide human-readable documentation for the problem type.

errorsobject[]required#

List of individual validation errors that occurred in the request. Each error provides specific details about what failed validation, where the error occurred in the request, and suggestions for fixing it. This granular information helps developers quickly identify and resolve multiple issues in a single request without having to make repeated API calls.

Show child attributes

locationstringrequired#

JSON path indicating exactly where in the request the error occurred. This helps pinpoint the problematic field or parameter. Examples include:

'body.name' (field in request body)
'body.items[3].tags' (nested array element)
'path.apiId' (path parameter)
'query.limit' (query parameter)
Use this location to identify exactly which part of your request needs correction.

messagestringrequired#

Detailed error message explaining what validation rule was violated. This provides specific information about why the field or parameter was rejected, such as format errors, invalid values, or constraint violations.

fixstring#

A human-readable suggestion describing how to fix the error. This provides practical guidance on what changes would satisfy the validation requirements. Not all validation errors include fix suggestions, but when present, they offer specific remediation advice.

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