Connect to the API

The Control Layer provides an OpenAI-compatible API. Use any OpenAI client library by changing the base URL.

Create an API key

1. Click API Keys in the sidebar
2. Click Create API Key
3. Enter a name and click Create
4. Copy the key immediately—you won't see it again

API keys inherit your user permissions. You can only access models assigned to your groups.

Key options

When creating a key, you can optionally set:

• Description: Notes about what this key is for
• Rate limit: Maximum requests per second (1–10,000) and burst size (1–50,000)

Leave rate limits empty for unlimited requests.

Configure your client

Point your OpenAI client to the Control Layer:

Python

from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI(
    base_url="https://your-control-layer/ai/v1",
    api_key="your-api-key"
)

response = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="gpt-4o",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Hello!"}]
)

Node.js

import OpenAI from 'openai';

const client = new OpenAI({
    baseURL: 'https://your-control-layer/ai/v1',
    apiKey: 'your-api-key'
});

const response = await client.chat.completions.create({
    model: 'gpt-4o',
    messages: [{ role: 'user', content: 'Hello!' }]
});

curl

curl https://your-control-layer/ai/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer your-api-key" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"model": "gpt-4o", "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Hello!"}]}'

Model names

Use model names exactly as shown on the Models page. The Control Layer routes requests to the correct provider automatically.

If your admin configured model aliases, you can use either the original name or the alias.

Streaming responses

Streaming works the same as with OpenAI directly:

stream = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="gpt-4o",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Hello!"}],
    stream=True
)

for chunk in stream:
    print(chunk.choices[0].delta.content or "", end="")

Managing keys

From the API Keys page:

• View usage: The "Last used" column shows when each key was last used
• Delete keys: Select keys and click Delete, or click the delete icon on a single key
• Revoke compromised keys: Delete them immediately—there's no separate revoke action

Create separate keys for different applications so you can revoke one without affecting others.

Troubleshooting

401 Unauthorized: Your API key is invalid or deleted. Check you copied it correctly, or create a new one.

403 Forbidden: Your user account doesn't have access to the requested model. Ask your admin to add you to a group that has access.

404 Model not found: The model name doesn't match any available model. Check the exact name on the Models page.

429 Too Many Requests: You've hit the rate limit configured on your API key. Wait and retry, or ask your admin to increase the limit.

502/503 errors: The upstream model provider is having issues. Check the provider's status page.