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How-to: manage multiple RunPod accounts and switch between them per command

This is a worked task that spans several rp auth sub-commands plus one per-call override route. The reference pages (rp doc auth login, rp doc auth switch, rp doc auth status) document the individual flags; this page shows the account model composed into daily use.

Goal: keep several RunPod API accounts in one store, make global calls under the active one, and override the account for a single command without disturbing the active selection.

The account model

rp keeps a per-user credential store under $RP_CONFIG_HOME (defaults to ${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-$HOME/.config}/rp). Each account is one file under credentials.d/<name> holding the API key (and optional S3 keys); a single active pointer names the account used for all API calls. Exactly one account is active at a time. There is no OAuth — Runpod is API-key only, so login just captures the key you copy from console > Settings > API Keys.

Steps

  1. Add accounts as you need them. login is additive and marks the new account active:

$ rp auth login --name work --api-key <key> $ rp auth login --name personal --api-key <key>

You can import an existing runpodctl install instead of pasting a key (interactive login also offers this, then prompts for the key with input hidden; with no flags at a pipe it reads the key from stdin):

$ rp auth login --name old --from-runpodctl

  1. Inspect and switch:

$ rp auth list # one line per account, active marked $ rp auth switch work # change the active account (alias: rp auth use work) $ rp auth status # active account + where the key came from

rp auth status reports the effective source of each key — an exported environment variable, an account file, or the user/install .env — so you can see which one is actually in force.

  1. Override a single command without switching. Every rp command accepts a global --account <name> flag (or the RP_ACCOUNT env var) that selects an account for that one call only, leaving the active pointer untouched:

$ rp volume list --account personal $ RP_ACCOUNT=personal rp volume list

One tier above it, an exported RUNPOD_API_KEY always wins over every stored source, including --account — the guaranteed per-command override for scripts and CI:

$ RUNPOD_API_KEY=<key> rp volume list

The focused guide to the per-call override — including the RUNPOD_API_KEY_FILE form for file-held tokens — is Target a single command at a named account without switching.

S3 keys are separate

rp volume sync rides the S3-compatible API and needs its own key pair, distinct from the REST API key. Store it at login:

$ rp auth login --name work --api-key <key> \
    --s3-access-key <ak> --s3-secret-key <sk>

rp auth status shows whether S3 keys are configured; they are only needed for rp volume sync.

Notes

  • Resolution order inside rp is (highest first): exported RUNPOD_API_KEY/RUNPOD_API_KEY_FILE → --account/RP_ACCOUNT → the active pointer → the default file → the single stored account (if exactly one) → the user/install .env → none.
  • Remove an account with rp auth logout [--name <n>]; if it was active and others remain, the active pointer moves to another stored account.