Authentication

API Keys

All TokenLab API requests require an API key. For OpenAI-compatible endpoints, send it as:

Authorization: Bearer sk-your-api-key

For Anthropic-compatible /v1/messages requests, you can also use:

x-api-key: sk-your-api-key

Management Tokens

Management API endpoints use a separate token type:

Authorization: Bearer mt-your-management-token

Use management tokens only with /v1/management/* endpoints. Create them on the Settings page in Console. The full token is shown only once when you generate or rotate it.

Management tokens cannot be used for model inference, and standard sk-... API keys cannot be used for the Management API.

Get an API key

Sign in to TokenLab Console
Open API Keys
Create a new key
Give it a descriptive name
Copy it immediately because it is shown only once

Never expose API keys in client-side code
Never commit API keys to version control
Use environment variables or a secret manager
Rotate keys periodically
Delete unused keys

Use an API key

curl https://api.tokenlab.sh/v1/responses \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKENLAB_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "gpt-5.6-terra",
    "input": "Hello!"
  }'

import os
from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI(
    api_key=os.environ.get("TOKENLAB_API_KEY"),
    base_url="https://api.tokenlab.sh/v1"
)

import OpenAI from 'openai';

const client = new OpenAI({
  apiKey: process.env.TOKENLAB_API_KEY,
  baseURL: 'https://api.tokenlab.sh/v1'
});

Set a usage limit

You can set a usage limit on each API key:

Setting	Description
No Limit	Key uses your account balance without restrictions
Fixed Limit	Key stops working after reaching the specified amount

Key prefix

All TokenLab API keys start with sk-.

Anthropic Compatibility

For the /v1/messages endpoint, the Anthropic-style header works as expected:

curl https://api.tokenlab.sh/v1/messages \
  -H "x-api-key: sk-your-api-key" \
  -H "anthropic-version: 2023-06-01" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "claude-sonnet-5",
    "max_tokens": 1024,
    "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Hello!"}]
  }'

Use Authorization: Bearer ... with OpenAI-compatible APIs such as /v1/responses, /v1/chat/completions, and /v1/models.

Error Responses

Status Code	Type	Code	Description
401	`invalid_api_key`	`invalid_api_key`	Missing or invalid API key
401	`expired_api_key`	`expired_api_key`	API key has expired
402	`insufficient_balance`	`insufficient_balance`	Account balance is insufficient
402	`quota_exceeded`	`quota_exceeded`	API key usage limit reached

Example:

{
  "error": {
    "message": "Invalid API key provided",
    "type": "invalid_api_key",
    "code": "invalid_api_key"
  }
}

Getting Started

Core Guides

Media Guides

API Keys

Management Tokens

Get an API key

Use an API key

Set a usage limit

Key prefix

Anthropic Compatibility

Error Responses

​API Keys

​Management Tokens

​Get an API key

​Use an API key

​Set a usage limit

​Key prefix

​Anthropic Compatibility

​Error Responses

API Keys

Management Tokens

Get an API key

Use an API key

Set a usage limit

Key prefix

Anthropic Compatibility

Error Responses