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An OpenAI API key is created in the OpenAI API Platform, not in ChatGPT settings. You can create a project key, limit its permissions, and load it into your application through the OPENAI_API_KEY environment variable.
API access is billed separately from a ChatGPT subscription. New API accounts use prepaid billing, so add credits before making paid API requests.
Before you begin
You need an account on the OpenAI API Platform. ChatGPT and the API are separate platform areas, so a ChatGPT plan does not automatically configure API billing or API keys.
Check that you can access the project where you want to create the key. Project members can create project-level keys, and organization readers can create keys in projects they belong to. Organization owners can create projects and view all projects, members, and API keys. If you cannot see a project or its API Keys controls, confirm that you selected the right project and belong to it.
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How to create an OpenAI API key
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Sign in to the API Platform. Go to platform.openai.com and sign in.
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Open the API Keys page. Go to platform.openai.com/api-keys. The page is labeled API Keys.
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Choose the project. If you have access to multiple projects, select the one associated with your application.
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Create a key. Open Organization settings, select the project, choose API Keys, and click + Create new secret key.
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Choose permissions. Select the least permissive option that supports your application:
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Permission What it means When to use it All Full permissions; this is the default. Only when the application needs broad access. Restricted Configure permissions for individual endpoints or resources, such as None, Read, or Write. When you want to limit the key to the operations it performs. Read Only Read permissions for all endpoints. Applications that retrieve information but do not create or modify resources. -
Copy and secure the secret immediately. Store the complete key in a password manager or another secure secrets store. OpenAI displays the full secret only when the key is created; you cannot retrieve it later.
What to do if you need a separate project
Projects separate API resources, access, and usage. If you are an organization owner and need a new project, hover over the project name in the upper-left project selector, choose Create project, enter the project information, and click Create. Only organization owners can create projects.
Every organization has a Default project, which cannot be deleted. Members and service accounts cannot be added directly to that project.
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How to store the API key on macOS or Linux
Do not paste the secret into source code, a public repository, a client-side JavaScript bundle, or a support ticket. OpenAI SDKs can read the key from the OPENAI_API_KEY environment variable.
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In a macOS or Linux terminal, set the variable for the current shell session:
export OPENAI_API_KEY=”your_api_key_here”
Replace your_api_key_here with the secret you copied. For a production application, use your hosting provider’s encrypted environment-variable or secrets-management facility rather than committing a file containing the key.
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Set up API billing
Creating a key and paying for API usage are separate steps. New API accounts are enrolled in prepaid billing. To add credits, open the account’s billing overview and select Add payment details.
- The minimum initial credit purchase is $5.
- The default purchase amount is $10.
- The maximum purchase depends on the account’s Trust Tier.
- Purchased credits expire after one year and are non-refundable.
- If free credits are available, they are used before purchased credits.
- Purchased credits may take a few minutes to appear in the balance.
During prepaid-billing setup, auto-recharge is enabled by default, but you can turn it off before confirming the purchase. If enabled, configure the recharge amount, the balance threshold that triggers a recharge, and optionally a monthly recharge limit. The minimum auto-recharge amount is $5; the maximum depends on your Trust Tier. Manual credit purchases do not count toward the monthly auto-recharge limit.
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Control spending at the project level
Project spending controls are under Organization settings → select project → Limits. A project’s monthly spend limit is a soft monitoring threshold unless you configure a hard limit. A soft limit does not stop requests when exceeded.
Prepaid billing has separate failure behavior. If a payment fails during initial setup, credits are not deposited. If auto-recharge fails, OpenAI sends an email, and API usage stops when the account balance reaches $0. When available credits are consumed, requests can return a billing-quota error; use Add to balance in the billing portal to purchase more credits.
OpenAI notes that access may not stop immediately when credits are exhausted. This can produce a negative credit balance, which is deducted from the next credit purchase.
Creating a key for a non-human application
For a server, automated job, or other application identity, use a service account instead of a key tied to an individual employee where appropriate.
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Open Organization settings.
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Select the project.
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Open Members.
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Click + Service account.
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Click Create.
Only organization owners and project owners can create service accounts. The service-account key is generated immediately after creation, and its secret is shown only at that time. It is project-scoped and cannot be used outside that project.
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Service-account creation does not show the same permission choices as a user-owned key. Its permissions initially default to read/write access to all project API resources. You can change them later in the project’s API Keys settings.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Common API-key problems
| Problem | Likely cause or fix |
|---|---|
| You cannot find the key page | Use the API Platform URL, platform.openai.com/api-keys, rather than ChatGPT settings. |
| The full key is gone | It cannot be viewed again. Create a replacement key, update the application, and securely remove the old value wherever it was stored. |
| API Keys or key-creation controls are missing | Confirm that you selected the correct project and belong to it. Organization readers can create keys in projects they belong to; organization owners can view all projects and keys. |
| A request returns an authorization error | The key may be Restricted or Read Only while the endpoint requires write access. Adjust only the required resource permissions. |
| The key works in one project but not another | Keys are scoped to the selected project. Create or use a key belonging to the project that owns the requested resource. |
| Requests fail with a billing or quota error | Check the prepaid balance and use Add to balance to purchase additional credits if necessary. |
| The application still uses the wrong key | Check the environment where the program runs. A terminal, local development environment, container, and production host may each have different secret values. |
Security checklist
- Never share an API key. OpenAI explicitly warns against sharing keys.
- Keep keys on a server, not in browser code or a mobile app distributed to users.
- Prefer a Restricted key when the application does not need full access.
- Use separate projects or keys for unrelated applications where practical.
- Rotate a key immediately if it may have been exposed.
- If a key is lost, create a new one rather than trying to recover the original secret.
- Review billing and project limits before deploying an automated workload.
Official references
- OpenAI API Keys
- Where do I find my OpenAI API key?
- OpenAI project and API-key management
- Assign API-key permissions
- Set up prepaid billing
FAQ
Is an OpenAI API key the same as a ChatGPT password or subscription?
No. ChatGPT and the OpenAI API are separate platform areas. Create and manage API keys at platform.openai.com/api-keys, and configure API billing separately.
Can I see my OpenAI API key again after creating it?
No. The complete secret is shown only at creation. If you lose it, create a replacement key and update your application.
Do I need to add a payment method to create an API key?
Key creation and billing setup are separate, but API use requires available billing credits. New API accounts use prepaid billing, with an initial purchase minimum of $5.
Why can’t I create a project?
Only organization owners can create projects. If you are not an owner, ask an organization owner to create the project and add you to it.
What is the safest API-key permission setting?
Use Restricted and enable only the resources and operations the application needs. Read Only is suitable for applications that never need write access.
Should I use a service-account key?
A service-account key is appropriate for a non-human application identity such as an automated server or job. It is project-scoped and can be created by organization owners or project owners.
The Bottom Line
Create the key at platform.openai.com/api-keys, select the correct project, choose the narrowest workable permissions, and copy the secret into secure storage immediately. Then configure OPENAI_API_KEY and add prepaid billing credits before sending API requests.
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