Create Account & API Key

Step 1: Sign Up

Go to app.chuizi.ai and click Sign Up. You can authenticate with:

• GitHub — recommended for developers
• Google — use your Google account

No password setup is required. Use GitHub or Google to complete authentication.

Step 2: Top Up Your Balance

New accounts start at $0. To use the API, top up at least $5 — payment is via Stripe (card) or Alipay. You only ever pay upstream cost × 1.05, no monthly fees, no hidden charges.

You can check your balance at any time on the Billing page.

Step 3: Create an API Key

1. Navigate to API Keys in the dashboard sidebar
2. Click Create Key
3. Enter a descriptive name (e.g., "dev-local", "cursor-editor", "production-backend")
4. Click Create

Your new key is displayed once. Copy it immediately.

ck-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Warning: The full key is shown only at creation time. Chuizi.AI stores only a securely encrypted version of the key — the plaintext cannot be recovered. If you lose it, delete the key and create a new one.

Key Format

All Chuizi.AI API keys follow this format:

The ck- prefix identifies the key as a Chuizi.AI key across all three protocols (OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini).

Key Management

From the API Keys page you can:

• View active keys — see name, prefix (ck-xxxx), creation date, and status
• Delete a key — immediately revokes access; irreversible
• Set rate limits — configure per-key requests-per-minute (RPM)
• Restrict models — limit which models a key can access
• IP whitelist — restrict key usage to specific IP addresses

Using Your Key

Pass the key in the Authorization header (OpenAI/Gemini protocols) or x-api-key header (Anthropic protocol):

# OpenAI protocol
curl https://api.chuizi.ai/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ck-your-key-here" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"model": "openai/gpt-4.1", "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Hi"}]}'

# Anthropic protocol
curl https://api.chuizi.ai/anthropic/v1/messages \
  -H "x-api-key: ck-your-key-here" \
  -H "anthropic-version: 2023-06-01" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"model": "claude-sonnet-4-6", "max_tokens": 1024, "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Hi"}]}'

Security Best Practices

• Store keys in environment variables, never in source code
• Use separate keys for development, staging, and production
• Set IP whitelists for production keys
• Rotate keys periodically — create a new one, update your config, then delete the old one
• Monitor usage in the dashboard to detect unauthorized access

Next Steps

• First Request — send your first API request
• API Key Format Reference — full key specification details
• API Key Best Practices — detailed security guidance