Authentication

All API requests require a valid API key sent as a bearer token.

API Key Format

API keys start with sk_ followed by a random string. You can create and manage up to 3 active keys from the Dashboard → API Keys page.

http

Authorization: Bearer sk_your_api_key_here

Using with cURL

bash

curl https://api.cheapaiapi.com/v1/credits \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_your_api_key" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json"

Using with JavaScript

javascript

const res = await fetch('https://api.cheapaiapi.com/v1/credits', {
  headers: {
    Authorization: 'Bearer sk_your_api_key',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json',
  },
});

const data = await res.json();
console.log(data);

Using with Python

python

import requests

response = requests.get(
    "https://api.cheapaiapi.com/v1/credits",
    headers={
        "Authorization": "Bearer sk_your_api_key",
        "Content-Type": "application/json",
    },
)

print(response.json())

Key Security Best Practices

Never commit API keys to version control
Use environment variables such as CHEAPAI_API_KEY
Set a daily spend limit on development and staging keys
Use expiration dates for temporary access
Use separate keys for development and production
Revoke any key immediately if you suspect it was exposed

Common Errors

If authentication fails, you'll typically receive a 401 Unauthorized response:

json

{
  "success": false,
  "error": "Invalid API key"
}

If a key has expired, the response will indicate that the API key expired. If a key reaches its daily spend cap, the API may return 429.