diff --git a/docs/cli/me-apikey.md b/docs/cli/me-apikey.md
index 52930a2e..a636ec47 100644
--- a/docs/cli/me-apikey.md
+++ b/docs/cli/me-apikey.md
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ Minting and revoking keys authenticate with your **session** (`me login`); an AP
 Mint a new API key. With no target option, mints a **personal access token** for yourself; with `--agent`, mints a key for that agent; with `--service`, mints a key for that service account in the active space. The raw key is shown only once — store it securely.
 
 ```
-me apikey create [name] [--agent <agent> | --service <service>] [--expires <timestamp>]
+me apikey create [name] [--agent <agent> | --service <service>] [--expires <timestamp> | --ttl <duration>]
 ```
 
 | Argument | Required | Description |
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ me apikey create [name] [--agent <agent> | --service <service>] [--expires <time
 | `--agent <agent>` | Mint a key for one of your agents (id or name) instead of yourself. |
 | `--service <service>` | Mint a key for a service account (id or name) in the active space. |
 | `--expires <timestamp>` | Expiration timestamp (ISO 8601). |
+| `--ttl <duration>` | Expiration from now, e.g. `30d`, `24h`, `30m`. |
 
 Names are unique per principal, so you can't mint two keys with the same name for the same target. The auto-generated default carries a random suffix, making repeated `me apikey create` calls extremely unlikely to collide.
 
@@ -45,6 +46,7 @@ Names are unique per principal, so you can't mint two keys with the same name fo
 # A personal access token for yourself (e.g. to use headlessly in a VM)
 me apikey create
 me apikey create my-laptop          # …with a name
+me apikey create vm-key --ttl 30d   # expires 30 days from now
 
 # A key for one of your agents
 me apikey create --agent claude-code-agent plugin-key
diff --git a/e2e/cli.e2e.test.ts b/e2e/cli.e2e.test.ts
index 95915a1b..0aa3c7c9 100644
--- a/e2e/cli.e2e.test.ts
+++ b/e2e/cli.e2e.test.ts
@@ -1080,7 +1080,40 @@ describe.skipIf(
       `pat-${rand()}`,
     ]);
 
-    // `me apikey list` (no --agent) lists the caller's OWN keys — all three.
+    const ttlStart = Date.now();
+    const ttl = await meJson<{ id: string }>([
+      "apikey",
+      "create",
+      `ttl-${rand()}`,
+      "--ttl",
+      "30d",
+    ]);
+    const fetchedTtl = await meJson<{
+      apiKey: { id: string; expiresAt: string | null } | null;
+    }>(["apikey", "get", ttl.id]);
+    expect(fetchedTtl.apiKey?.id).toBe(ttl.id);
+    expect(fetchedTtl.apiKey?.expiresAt).toBeTruthy();
+    const expiresAt = Date.parse(fetchedTtl.apiKey?.expiresAt ?? "");
+    expect(expiresAt).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(
+      ttlStart + 30 * 86_400_000 - 5_000,
+    );
+    expect(expiresAt).toBeLessThanOrEqual(Date.now() + 30 * 86_400_000 + 5_000);
+
+    const conflictingExpiry = await me([
+      "apikey",
+      "create",
+      `bad-expiry-${rand()}`,
+      "--ttl",
+      "30d",
+      "--expires",
+      "2099-01-01T00:00:00.000Z",
+    ]);
+    expect(conflictingExpiry.code).not.toBe(0);
+    expect(`${conflictingExpiry.stdout}${conflictingExpiry.stderr}`).toContain(
+      "Use only one expiration option",
+    );
+
+    // `me apikey list` (no --agent) lists the caller's OWN keys.
     const { apiKeys } = await meJson<{ apiKeys: { id: string }[] }>([
       "apikey",
       "list",
@@ -1089,6 +1122,7 @@ describe.skipIf(
     expect(ids.has(pat1.id)).toBe(true);
     expect(ids.has(pat2.id)).toBe(true);
     expect(ids.has(named.id)).toBe(true);
+    expect(ids.has(ttl.id)).toBe(true);
 
     // The PAT authenticates as the user themselves (kind "u"), no session.
     const patEnv = { ME_API_KEY: pat1.key, ME_SESSION_TOKEN: "" };
diff --git a/packages/cli/commands/apikey.ts b/packages/cli/commands/apikey.ts
index 9bc33adf..a62108a5 100644
--- a/packages/cli/commands/apikey.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/commands/apikey.ts
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
  * is the removal. A personal access token has full access as you (headless/CLI
  * use); minting/revoking always requires a `me login` session.
  *
- * - me apikey create [name] [--expires <ts>]: mint a personal access token (you)
+ * - me apikey create [name] [--expires <ts>|--ttl <duration>]: mint a PAT (you)
  * - me apikey create --agent <agent> [name]:   mint a key for one of your agents
  * - me apikey create --service <svc> [name]:   mint a service-account key
  * - me apikey list [--agent <agent>|--service <svc>]
@@ -20,7 +20,12 @@ import { randomBytes } from "node:crypto";
 import * as clack from "@clack/prompts";
 import { Command } from "commander";
 import { resolveCredentials } from "../credentials.ts";
-import { getOutputFormat, output, table } from "../output.ts";
+import {
+  getOutputFormat,
+  type OutputFormat,
+  output,
+  table,
+} from "../output.ts";
 import {
   buildUserClient,
   handleError,
@@ -45,19 +50,50 @@ function defaultKeyName(): string {
 function assertSingleTarget(
   agent: string | undefined,
   service: string | undefined,
-  fmt: ReturnType<typeof getOutputFormat>,
+  fmt: OutputFormat,
 ): void {
   if (agent === undefined || service === undefined) return;
-  const msg = "Use only one key target: --agent or --service, not both.";
-  if (fmt === "text") clack.log.error(msg);
-  else output({ error: msg }, fmt, () => {});
+  failWith("Use only one key target: --agent or --service, not both.", fmt);
+}
+
+function failWith(message: string, fmt: OutputFormat): never {
+  if (fmt === "text") clack.log.error(message);
+  else output({ error: message }, fmt, () => {});
   process.exit(1);
 }
 
+/** Parse a duration like "30d" / "24h" / "30m" into an ISO expiry timestamp. */
+function parseTtl(raw: string, fmt: OutputFormat): string {
+  const m = /^(\d+)([dhm])$/.exec(raw.trim());
+  if (!m) {
+    failWith(`Invalid --ttl '${raw}'. Use <n>d | <n>h | <n>m (e.g. 30d).`, fmt);
+  }
+  const n = Number(m?.[1]);
+  if (!Number.isSafeInteger(n) || n <= 0) {
+    failWith(`Invalid --ttl '${raw}'. Use a positive duration like 30d.`, fmt);
+  }
+  const unitMs = { d: 86_400_000, h: 3_600_000, m: 60_000 }[m?.[2] ?? "d"] ?? 0;
+  return new Date(Date.now() + n * unitMs).toISOString();
+}
+
+function resolveExpiresAt(
+  opts: { expires?: string; ttl?: string },
+  fmt: OutputFormat,
+): string | null {
+  if (opts.expires !== undefined && opts.ttl !== undefined) {
+    failWith(
+      "Use only one expiration option: --expires or --ttl, not both.",
+      fmt,
+    );
+  }
+  if (opts.ttl !== undefined) return parseTtl(opts.ttl, fmt);
+  return opts.expires ?? null;
+}
+
 async function resolveApiKeyTarget(
   user: ReturnType<typeof buildUserClient>,
   creds: ReturnType<typeof resolveCredentials>,
-  fmt: ReturnType<typeof getOutputFormat>,
+  fmt: OutputFormat,
   opts: { agent?: string; service?: string },
 ): Promise<{ memberId: string; targetKind: "user" | "agent" | "service" }> {
   assertSingleTarget(opts.agent, opts.service, fmt);
@@ -98,6 +134,7 @@ function createApiKeyCreateCommand(): Command {
       "mint a key for a service account in the active space (id or name)",
     )
     .option("--expires <timestamp>", "expiration timestamp (ISO 8601)")
+    .option("--ttl <duration>", "expiration from now, e.g. 30d | 24h | 30m")
     .action(async (name: string | undefined, opts, cmd) => {
       const globalOpts = cmd.optsWithGlobals();
       const creds = resolveCredentials(globalOpts.server);
@@ -108,6 +145,7 @@ function createApiKeyCreateCommand(): Command {
       const keyName = name ?? defaultKeyName();
 
       try {
+        const expiresAt = resolveExpiresAt(opts, fmt);
         const { memberId, targetKind } = await resolveApiKeyTarget(
           user,
           creds,
@@ -117,7 +155,7 @@ function createApiKeyCreateCommand(): Command {
         const result = await user.apiKey.create({
           memberId,
           name: keyName,
-          expiresAt: opts.expires ?? null,
+          expiresAt,
         });
         output(result, fmt, () => {
           clack.log.success(`Created API key '${keyName}'`);