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Get a Google AI Studio key

Who this is for: anyone who wants Gemini models through SpiderGate on their own Google AI Studio project.

What this does: walks you through creating a Gemini API key in Google AI Studio and adding it to your SpiderGate vault, and explains when Google's free quota may not be used.

Before you begin

  • A Google account that has verified you are 18 or older. Google says the Gemini API is "for professional or business purposes, not for consumer use".

  • To be in a country where Google offers the Gemini API.

  • About 3 minutes.

Limits and terms to know first

New accounts start on Google's Free Tier. Google does not publish fixed free numbers: limits "vary depending on the specific model", are applied "per project, not per API key", and are shown in AI Studio. Daily quotas reset at midnight Pacific time.

Warning: Google's terms say "You may use only Paid Services when making API Clients available to users in the European Economic Area, Switzerland, or the United Kingdom." If your agents or apps serve people there, the free quota is not for you; upgrade the project to Google's paid tier first.

Warning: On the free quota, Google uses what you send "to provide, improve, and develop Google products", and "human reviewers may read" it. Google's own words: "Do not submit sensitive, confidential, or personal information to the Unpaid Services."

Note: Since 28 May 2026, AI Studio creates only "auth keys", and the Gemini API rejects unrestricted standard keys. Google staff say new keys start with AQ., not AIza. The placeholder in SpiderGate's dialog still shows AIza...; paste whatever AI Studio gives you.

Steps

Step 1 — Create the key

Open aistudio.google.com/api-keys. If you are new, AI Studio creates a Google Cloud project and a key for you once you accept the terms. Otherwise click Create API key and copy the new key.

Step 2 — Add the key in SpiderGate

Open Gate → Vault (/dashboard/gate/vault) and click Add Provider. Type Google AI Studio in Search providers... and pick it from the Free keys group.

Fill in the dialog:

  • API Key — paste the key from AI Studio

  • Label — a name you will recognise later, for example the account it came from.

Under Routing, turn Share with SpiderIQ key pool off. It is on by default, and while it is on, other brands can draw on this key's free quota. Your provider's terms tie the key to your account (see the warnings above), so keep it to your brand.

Click Add key. The button reads Saving... while SpiderGate checks the key.

Verify it worked

When you click Add key, SpiderGate sends one request to Google with the key before it stores anything: it lists one model at https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/models.

If Google accepts the key, the dialog closes and the key appears in your vault list.

If it does not, the dialog stays open and shows:

The google_ai key did not pass its check: <reason>. Nothing was saved.

The reason is SpiderGate's own wording, never Google's error text. The usual ones are Invalid API key (401 Unauthorized), Access denied (403 Forbidden) and The account behind this key has no credit left (402).

To see the key serve a request, give it a slot in one of your own routing aliases and send a request to that alias. The trace shows which provider answered.

Troubleshoot

AI Studio says "You do not have permission to create a key in this project". Google says you lack the IAM permissions on that Cloud project. Ask the project owner, or create the key in a project you own.

The check fails with Access denied (403 Forbidden). Google's 403 means the key "does not have permission for this resource". An old unrestricted key is the usual cause: Google blocks dormant unrestricted keys and shows them with a Blocked tag. Create a new key in AI Studio.

Requests fail with a 429. Google has two: a per-minute limit and a daily quota. The daily one resets at midnight Pacific time. Check the project's limits in AI Studio.

Too many keys checked for this workspace; try again in …s. SpiderGate runs at most 20 key checks per brand in any 10 minutes. Wait the number of seconds it gives, then click Add key again.

Request timed out (15s) or Could not reach … to check the key. Try again later. The provider did not answer in time. Nothing was saved. Try again in a minute.

The provider is rate-limiting us (429). Try again in a minute. The provider throttled the check itself. Wait a minute and retry.

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