Quickstart

Learn how to get up and running — generate your API key, configure the Base URL, and send your first request.

Overview

This guide walks you from zero to a working API call. You will create a key, set the Base URL, and verify a response.

Tip: keep your key out of frontend bundles. Prefer a backend or edge proxy for production traffic.

What you will need

An OctopusX account
Access to the console
A terminal or any HTTP client

Create an API key

Steps

Open the console and select your workspace
Go to API Keys and click Create
Copy the key immediately — it is shown only once

FAQ

How do I get my API key?

In the console, open your workspace settings and create an API key. Copy it immediately and store it in a secrets manager.

Tags: API Key · Console

Can I rotate keys without downtime?

Yes. Create a second key, update your services, then revoke the old key after traffic has moved.

Configure the Base URL

The Base URL is the host used by every request. Full paths look like:

text

{BASE_URL}/v1/chat/completions

FAQ

What is the Base URL?

The Base URL is the endpoint host used by the OctopusX API. It is required to build the full request URL for each call.

Tags: API · Endpoint

Do staging and production share the same host?

No. Use the environment-specific Base URL from the console so keys and quotas stay isolated.

Send your first request

cURL

bash

curl https://api.example.com/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "gpt-4o-mini",
    "messages": [{ "role": "user", "content": "Hello" }]
  }'

Expected shape

json

{
  "id": "chatcmpl_demo",
  "choices": [
    {
      "message": {
        "role": "assistant",
        "content": "Hello! How can I help?"
      }
    }
  ]
}

FAQ

How can I make my first request?

Use the curl/SDK examples, replace the API key and model name, and send a small text request. Verify status 200 and a non-empty choices array.

Tags: curl · SDK

Which model should I start with?

Pick a small, cheap text model for smoke tests. Promote to larger models after your integration is stable.

Checklist before production

Item	Done?
Key stored as a secret	☐
Retries with backoff	☐
Timeout configured	☐
Logging without leaking keys	☐

Next steps

Read API & Integration for streaming and auth headers
Browse the model list for capability / pricing fit
Set spend alerts in Billing