Instant Database

Get a working ZeroDB project with API key in one request — no signup, no auth, no credit card.

Perfect for prototyping, hackathons, tutorials, and AI agents that need immediate database access.

Create Instant DB

POST/api/v1/public/instant-db🔒

No authentication required.

curl -X POST https://api.ainative.studio/api/v1/public/instant-db

import requests

response = requests.post("https://api.ainative.studio/api/v1/public/instant-db")
db = response.json()

print(f"API Key: {db['api_key']}")
print(f"Project ID: {db['project_id']}")
print(f"Expires: {db['expires_at']}")

const response = await fetch("https://api.ainative.studio/api/v1/public/instant-db", {
  method: "POST"
});
const db = await response.json();

console.log(`API Key: ${db.api_key}`);
console.log(`Project ID: ${db.project_id}`);

Response:

{
  "api_key": "tmp_a1b2c3d4...",
  "project_id": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000",
  "base_url": "https://api.ainative.studio",
  "expires_at": "2026-04-25T12:00:00Z",
  "claim_token": "clm_xyz789..."
}

Authenticated Users Get Permanent Keys

If you include an Authorization header with a valid JWT, the returned key uses the sk_ prefix instead of tmp_, and the project is auto-assigned to your Default Workspace. No claiming required.

Field	Description
`api_key`	API key — `tmp_` prefix if unauthenticated, `sk_` prefix if authenticated
`project_id`	Your project UUID
`base_url`	API base URL for all ZeroDB operations
`expires_at`	Expiration (72 hours from creation, N/A for authenticated)
`claim_token`	Token to convert to permanent project (unauthenticated only)

Limits:

5 instant databases per IP per day
Projects expire after 72 hours unless claimed
Free tier storage limits apply

Claim Your Project

Convert a temporary instant-db into a permanent project owned by your account.

POST/api/v1/public/instant-db/claim🔒

curl -X POST https://api.ainative.studio/api/v1/public/instant-db/claim \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "project_id": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000",
    "claim_token": "clm_xyz789..."
  }'

Response:

{
  "project_id": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000",
  "api_key": "zdb_live_newpermanentkey...",
  "status": "claimed",
  "owner_id": "your-user-id"
}

The temporary tmp_ key is replaced with a permanent zdb_live_ key. All data is preserved.

Merge a Temp Identity

If you already have data under a tmp_ key and later created a real account, merge the temp identity into your real account:

POST/api/v1/auth/merge-identity🔒

curl -X POST https://api.ainative.studio/api/v1/auth/merge-identity \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"temp_api_key": "tmp_your_temp_key..."}'

This transfers all projects and API keys from the temp identity to your real account and deactivates the temp user.

Use With ZeroDB CLI

## Create instant DB and configure CLI in one step
npx zerodb-cli init --instant

## Or manually
npx zerodb-cli init
## Paste the api_key and project_id when prompted

Use With MCP Servers

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "zerodb": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "ainative-zerodb-memory-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "ZERODB_API_KEY": "sk_your_project_key...",
        "ZERODB_PROJECT_ID": "550e8400-..."
      }
    }
  }
}

For AI Agents

Instant DB enables zero-human provisioning — agents can create their own database without any user interaction:

POST /api/v1/public/instant-db — get credentials
Use credentials to store vectors, memory, files, or tables
When the user signs up, claim the project to make it permanent — or use POST /auth/merge-identity to absorb temp data into the real account

MCP Config and tmp_ Keys

The MCP config endpoint (GET /api/v1/public/mcp/config) rejects tmp_ keys for authenticated users (returns 400 TEMP_KEY_NOT_ALLOWED). Use your project-scoped sk_ or zdb_live_ key instead.

This is the foundation of AINative's agentic experience (AX) — agents operate autonomously without waiting for human setup.