Data Skills Tutorial: How to Create and Use a NEON API Token in R and Python

Original author：NEON Science

Original source：https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ibvb8FfNwJE

Starting in June 2026, a NEON API token is required to download NEON data programmatically. In this tutorial, we walk through the complete process of creating a NEON user account, generating an API token, and configuring it as an environment variable so it can be used securely in both R and Python programming languages. Using environment variables keeps your token secure and allows your scripts and applications to authenticate automatically when downloading NEON datasets. In this step‑by‑step guide you’ll learn how to: • Create or sign in to a NEON user account • Generate a NEON API token from your account page • Store the token securely as an environment variable • Configure the token for use in R (.Renviron) • Configure the token for use in Python (.env file) • Save the token as a variable in R or Python to use in neonutilities or other scripts that interact with the NEON API This is a video-walk through of the self-paced online tutorial: Set up a NEON API Token (https://www.neonscience.org/resources/learning-hub/tutorials/api-token-setup). For a more in-depth tutorial showing more options for using tokens in R and Python, check out: Using an API Token when Accessing NEON Data with neonUtilities (https://www.neonscience.org/resources/learning-hub/tutorials/neon-api-tokens-tutorial). Suggested citation for this video: National Ecological Observatory Network. June 10, 2026. Data Skills Tutorial: How to Create and Use a NEON API Token in R and Python [Video file]. Courtesy: Battelle. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/Ibvb8FfNwJE Social Links: https://www.instagram.com/neon.sci https://www.facebook.com/NEONScienceData https://www.linkedin.com/company/neon-science/ x.com/NEON_Sci 📸 Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/neonsciencedata 💭 Observatory Blog: https://www.neonscience.org/impact/observatory-blog 🏡 https://www.neonscience.org/