How Do I Securely Manage My Application Programming Interface Key? or What’s the Best Way to Protect

Hardcoding is a big no-no, my dude. Even if you think "it's just a side project," it's like leaving your front door wide open.

For local dev, .env files are fine (just add them to .gitignore!!!).

For prod, use a secrets manager or at least restrict the application programming interface key permissions so it can’t do much if leaked.

Check out the OWASP guide on secrets management—super helpful.