API keys

An API key is your credential for the gateway. It identifies the caller, authorizes the request, and ties every call to your account for metering.

What a key tracks

Each key independently records:

• Spend — the running cost of all requests made with it.
• Usage — request counts and token totals, per model.
• Budget — an optional hard ceiling on spend.

Because tracking is per-key, you can attribute cost to a specific app or environment just by looking at the key.

Validation

When a request arrives, the gateway validates the key, checks it has budget remaining, then routes to the target model. An invalid or over-budget key is rejected before any provider is called, so you are never billed for a request that could not run.

Lifecycle

1. Create a key in the dashboard. The full value is shown once.
2. Use it as a bearer token against the gateway endpoint.
3. Revoke it when it is no longer needed. Revocation is immediate.

Keys do not expire on their own — they remain valid until revoked.