Drain and rinse the chickpeas, then spread them on a clean kitchen towel or paper towels and pat completely dry. Wet chickpeas steam instead of crisping, so take a full minute here — this is the most important step.

Pinch off any loose skins that come away easily and discard them. You do not need to peel every chickpea, but removing the loosest skins helps the batch crisp more evenly.

Tip the dry chickpeas into a bowl, drizzle with the olive oil and toss to coat. Sprinkle over the smoked paprika, garlic powder, cumin, salt, black pepper and cayenne if using, and toss again until every chickpea is evenly coated.

Preheat the air fryer to 390°F (200°C) for 3 minutes.

Spread the chickpeas in the basket in a single layer with space between them. Cook for 12 to 15 minutes, shaking the basket well at the halfway mark, until deeply golden and crisp. Smaller air fryers may need two batches — never pile them up.

Tip the chickpeas onto a plate and let them cool for 5 minutes. They firm up and get crunchier as they cool — taste one, add an extra pinch of salt if needed, and serve.

Serve warm as a snack, scatter over salads, grain bowls or soup, or cool completely and store in a jar (see storage notes below).