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name: openevidence-install-auth description: | Install and configure OpenEvidence API authentication. Use when setting up a new OpenEvidence integration, configuring API credentials, or initializing OpenEvidence in your healthcare application. Trigger with phrases like "install openevidence", "setup openevidence", "openevidence auth", "configure openevidence API key". allowed-tools: Read, Write, Edit, Bash(npm:), Bash(pip:), Grep version: 1.0.0 license: MIT author: Jeremy Longshore jeremy@intentsolutions.io

OpenEvidence Install & Auth

Overview

Set up OpenEvidence API access and configure authentication for clinical decision support queries.

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+ or Python 3.10+
• Package manager (npm, pnpm, or pip)
• OpenEvidence Enterprise API access (contact sales@openevidence.com)
• Signed BAA (Business Associate Agreement) for PHI handling
• API credentials from OpenEvidence dashboard

Instructions

Step 1: Install SDK

# Node.js
npm install @openevidence/sdk

# Python
pip install openevidence

Step 2: Configure Authentication

# Set environment variables (NEVER commit to git)
export OPENEVIDENCE_API_KEY="oe_live_***"
export OPENEVIDENCE_ORG_ID="org_***"

# Or create .env file
cat >> .env << 'EOF'
OPENEVIDENCE_API_KEY=oe_live_***
OPENEVIDENCE_ORG_ID=org_***
OPENEVIDENCE_ENVIRONMENT=production
EOF

Step 3: Add to .gitignore

# Prevent credential exposure
echo '.env' >> .gitignore
echo '.env.local' >> .gitignore
echo '.env.*.local' >> .gitignore

Step 4: Verify Connection

import { OpenEvidenceClient } from '@openevidence/sdk';

const client = new OpenEvidenceClient({
  apiKey: process.env.OPENEVIDENCE_API_KEY,
  orgId: process.env.OPENEVIDENCE_ORG_ID,
});

// Test connection with a simple query
async function verifyConnection() {
  try {
    const health = await client.health.check();
    console.log('OpenEvidence connection verified:', health.status);
    return true;
  } catch (error) {
    console.error('Connection failed:', error.message);
    return false;
  }
}

verifyConnection();

Output

• Installed SDK package in node_modules or site-packages
• Environment variables configured with API credentials
• .gitignore updated to prevent credential exposure
• Successful connection verification output

Error Handling

Error	Cause	Solution
Invalid API Key	Incorrect or expired key	Verify key in OpenEvidence dashboard
Missing BAA	No signed Business Associate Agreement	Contact OpenEvidence compliance team
Organization Not Found	Wrong org_id	Check organization settings in dashboard
Network Error	Firewall blocking	Ensure outbound HTTPS to api.openevidence.com
Module Not Found	Installation failed	Run npm install or pip install again

Examples

TypeScript Setup

import { OpenEvidenceClient } from '@openevidence/sdk';

const client = new OpenEvidenceClient({
  apiKey: process.env.OPENEVIDENCE_API_KEY,
  orgId: process.env.OPENEVIDENCE_ORG_ID,
  timeout: 30000, // 30 second timeout for clinical queries
  retries: 3,
});

export default client;

Python Setup

import os
from openevidence import OpenEvidenceClient

client = OpenEvidenceClient(
    api_key=os.environ.get('OPENEVIDENCE_API_KEY'),
    org_id=os.environ.get('OPENEVIDENCE_ORG_ID'),
    timeout=30,
    max_retries=3
)

Environment-Based Configuration

const environments = {
  development: {
    baseUrl: 'https://api.sandbox.openevidence.com',
    timeout: 60000,
  },
  staging: {
    baseUrl: 'https://api.staging.openevidence.com',
    timeout: 45000,
  },
  production: {
    baseUrl: 'https://api.openevidence.com',
    timeout: 30000,
  },
};

const env = process.env.NODE_ENV || 'development';
const client = new OpenEvidenceClient({
  apiKey: process.env.OPENEVIDENCE_API_KEY,
  ...environments[env],
});

Resources

• OpenEvidence
• OpenEvidence API Terms
• OpenEvidence Security

Next Steps

After successful auth, proceed to openevidence-hello-world for your first clinical query.