Get an OpenAI API key
Who this is for: anyone who wants OpenAI models through SpiderGate, billed to their own OpenAI platform account.
What this does: walks you through creating an OpenAI API key, buying prepaid credit, and adding the key to your SpiderGate vault.
Before you begin
An OpenAI platform account at platform.openai.com. In some countries OpenAI asks you to verify a phone number before your first key; one number can be used for this at most 3 times.
To be in a country OpenAI supports. OpenAI says use outside them "may result in your account being blocked or suspended".
A payment card, if you want more than OpenAI's free tier.
About 5 minutes.
Limits and terms to know first
OpenAI bills the API by prepaid credit: the minimum purchase is $5, the default is $10, and purchased credit expires after 1 year. OpenAI also lists a Free tier for users in an allowed geography, with a $100-a-month usage limit. Paid tiers (Build, Launch and Grow) raise your limits as your total purchases grow.
OpenAI says data sent to the API "is not used to train or improve OpenAI models" unless you opt in.
Warning: OpenAI's Services Agreement says you may not "share Account access credentials" between users, may not "resell or lease access" to your account, and may not "buy, sell, or transfer API keys" with a third party. Keep this key to your own brand.
Steps
Step 1 — Add credit
On the OpenAI platform, open billing, select Add payment details, and buy credit.
Step 2 — Create the key
Open platform.openai.com/api-keys and create a new key. Copy it now: OpenAI says "a full secret key is only shown when you create it".
Step 3 — Add the key in SpiderGate
Open Gate → Vault (/dashboard/gate/vault) and click Add Provider. Type OpenAI in Search providers... and pick it from the Pay-as-you-go group.
Fill in the dialog:
API Key — paste the key
Label — a name you will recognise later, for example the account it came from.
If you want SpiderGate's embeddings to use this key, turn on Use for embeddings under Routing. Only OpenAI keys have this toggle.
Under Routing, the Share with SpiderIQ key pool toggle does not apply to a metered key: SpiderGate never pools a key that bills per call, whatever the toggle shows. Switch it off anyway so the dialog matches what happens.
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 OpenAI with the key before it stores anything: it lists your models at https://api.openai.com/v1/models.
If OpenAI 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 openai key did not pass its check: <reason>. Nothing was saved.The reason is SpiderGate's own wording, never OpenAI'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.
SpiderGate's check proves the key is valid. It does not prove the account has credit: a key on an empty balance can pass the check and then fail on its first real request.
Troubleshoot
Requests fail with a 429 that says credit_balance_exhausted. OpenAI reports an empty prepaid balance as a 429, not a 402. Buy more credit.
Requests fail with a 429 that says "Rate limit reached". You hit your tier's limit. OpenAI raises it automatically as your total purchases grow.
You lost the key. OpenAI cannot show it again. Delete it with the trash-can icon on the API keys page and create a new one, then replace it in your vault.
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.