A DeepSeek API key lets whoever holds it call DeepSeek’s models and have the usage charged to your account balance. Unlike a cloud credential it does not reach servers or databases, and it does not read your chat history in the web app. The risk is spending and abuse: someone else’s prompts, run on your prepaid funds, under your name. The key is quick to replace, so do that first and then look at what was consumed.
Check your GitHub account for leaked secrets — free
- Provider
- DeepSeek
- Severity
- High
- Impact
- SaaS account access and billing
- Checked live by LeakWatch
- Yes
What a DeepSeek API key looks like
A DeepSeek key is sk- followed by 32 lowercase hexadecimal characters, with nothing else after it:
sk-…XXXX DeepSeek API key (masked)
That shape is what makes this one easy to confuse. OpenAI and OpenRouter keys also start with sk-, and so do several other providers’ keys. The DeepSeek key is the short, all-hex one; OpenAI project keys are much longer and use sk-proj-, and OpenRouter keys carry sk-or-. If your key is longer or has a different second part, you are probably looking at the OpenAI API key or OpenRouter API key case instead. When you are not sure which provider a key belongs to, the safest check is to look in each provider’s key list for the matching last characters.
How DeepSeek API keys get leaked
- Hardcoded in a script. A quick
client = OpenAI(api_key="sk-…", base_url="https://api.deepseek.com")call, because DeepSeek’s API is compatible with the OpenAI client libraries, committed with the key inline. - Environment files.
.envfiles, Docker compose files and notebook configs copied into a repository. - Open-source chat front ends. Self-hosted chat UIs and agent frameworks that store keys in a config file that ends up in a public fork.
- Browser code. A key placed in front-end JavaScript to call the API directly from a web page, where every visitor can read it.
- Tutorials and shared notebooks. A key pasted in a Colab notebook, a gist or a screenshot while demonstrating an integration.
What to do in the first hour
- Create a new key. Sign in to the DeepSeek platform, open the API keys page and create a new key. Give it a name that says where it is used, so you can tell keys apart next time.
- Deploy the new key to the application or secret store that used the old one, and confirm the app still works.
- Delete the exposed key. On the same API keys page, delete the leaked one. Match it by the name you gave it, or by the last characters shown in the list, which is a better check than guessing. Once deleted, requests made with it are rejected.
- Check usage. Open the platform’s usage page for the period since the exposure. Look for days or hours with volume you cannot explain, and for models you do not use.
- Check your balance. DeepSeek is prepaid. Compare the balance with your last known level, and keep the balance low enough that a leak cannot cost much more. If you use auto top-up, switch it off until you have finished reviewing.
Not sure what else leaked? Run a free scan.
6. Look for other keys in the same place. A repository that contained a DeepSeek key often has other provider keys in the same .env or config file. Rotate each of them at its own provider.
7. Move the key out of the code. Read it from an environment variable or a secret manager, call the API from a backend rather than from the browser, and remove the old value from the repository. See I accidentally pushed an API key to GitHub.
Revoke it at DeepSeek
DeepSeek keys are managed from the API keys page of the DeepSeek platform, after you sign in with the account that created the key. Find the exposed key in the list and delete it; the key stops working at once. If you cannot find it, you are probably signed in to the wrong account, or it is not a DeepSeek key at all. Check the prefix and length described above before searching further. The page can change over time, so if the wording differs from this guide, look for the section where API keys are created and listed.
How LeakWatch detects it
The rule is called DeepSeek API Key. It matches sk- followed by exactly 32 lowercase hexadecimal characters, as a whole word, so longer sk- keys from other providers are not reported as DeepSeek. This type is checked live: LeakWatch can check whether a detected key is still active with a read-only request that lists the available models. It never sends a prompt, reads your data or spends your credits.
LeakWatch can check whether a detected key is still active with a read-only request to DeepSeek. It never reads your data or spends your credits.
FAQ
Is it really a DeepSeek key, or an OpenAI key?
Count the characters after sk-. A DeepSeek key has 32 hexadecimal characters and nothing else. A key that is longer, or has a project or provider marker in it, is a different provider’s. Check the matching list of keys at that provider before you delete anything.
Can someone read my past conversations with this key?
No. The API key calls the models; it does not open your account’s chat history. What it exposes is your balance and the ability to run requests as you.
The key was only in a private repository. Should I still replace it?
Yes, if the repository has collaborators, forks or CI logs, or you are not certain who has read access. Replacing a key is cheap, and a key you doubt is worth less than a clean one.