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If you are wiring image search into a presentation builder, website agent, or content pipeline, first identify which Lightdrift endpoint your application actually uses. A browser sign-in, an API key, and access to public documentation serve different purposes.

Match the endpoint to the credential

Both MCP servers use Streamable HTTP. Name them separately, such as lightdrift and lightdrift-docs. An Images MCP OAuth session does not configure the API key used by a standalone Python script.

Find the symptom, then check the configuration

The numeric symptoms above are documented in the Images MCP troubleshooting reference. For a REST failure, inspect the actual HTTP status and response in your private development environment rather than assuming every failure is authentication. Empty results or a degraded ranking response also do not, by themselves, identify a credential problem.

Configure credentials without sharing them

Create or manage a key in API keys. Keep it in your backend secret manager or private client configuration. Do not put it in browser-delivered code, a shared project configuration, a public repository, screenshots, or support messages. Environment variables are one way to pass a secret to a process; they are not a reason to dump that process’s environment into logs. For MCP, follow the canonical Images MCP setup. Placeholder keys in configuration examples must be replaced only in private storage. If a key has been exposed, revoke it in the dashboard and update the affected clients with a replacement.

Verify with one REST request

First check your account entitlement and current search pricing. As checked September 26, 2026, a successful search costs $0.005. This example sends one potentially billable search, without retries. It does not establish free credit. Listing MCP tools instead checks tool availability without running a paid image search, but does not prove a search will succeed. Save this as check_lightdrift.py and run python3 check_lightdrift.py in a terminal. It uses only the Python standard library, reads LIGHTDRIFT_API_KEY if supplied, and otherwise prompts without echoing the key. It prints no credential, request headers, or response body.
A successful response with a query ID verifies this REST request, not your separate MCP connection or future requests. Zero candidates is not proof of authentication failure. After an uncertain timeout, check account usage before repeating the search: a repeat can charge again. A successful public pricing-page fetch does not verify your API key.

Continue with a real workflow

Use the runnable terminal walkthrough to inspect presentation or itinerary requests without a key. Its dry-run makes no search calls; live execution is a separate step that consumes search entitlement. Return to the REST quickstart, Images MCP setup, or Docs MCP setup for the connection you use. Before placing any returned image in a product, check its source page, subject, license conditions, and required attribution. Preserve source links and credits through export. Returned rights metadata is a source declaration, not clearance for every use; see Rights answers. Create an account to try your first request.