API Keys

API keys are the simplest way to authenticate with the GPTfake API. Each key is a secret bearer token tied to your account and plan tier. Send it in the Authorization header on every request.

Create a key

Generate keys from your account dashboard. Each key shows its plan tier, creation date, and last-used time. You can hold multiple keys — useful for separating environments (development, CI, production) so you can rotate one without disrupting the others.

Use a key

curl https://api.gptfake.com/v1/monitoring/chatgpt/metrics \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

In a SDK, pass the key to the client constructor:

from gptfake import GPTfakeClient
 
client = GPTfakeClient('YOUR_API_KEY')
metrics = client.get_metrics('chatgpt')

Store keys safely

Load keys from environment variables instead:

export GPTFAKE_API_KEY="your_api_key"

import os
from gptfake import GPTfakeClient
 
client = GPTfakeClient(os.environ["GPTFAKE_API_KEY"])

Rotate and revoke

• Rotate keys on a schedule. Create the new key, deploy it, then revoke the old one — zero downtime.
• Revoke immediately if a key is leaked. Revoked keys stop working at once and return 401 Unauthorized.

Rate limits per key

Each key inherits the limits of its plan tier:

When you exceed the limit the API returns 429 with a retry_after value (seconds):

{
  "error": {
    "code": "RATE_LIMIT_EXCEEDED",
    "message": "Rate limit exceeded",
    "retry_after": 3600
  }
}

Next steps

• Need delegated, per-user access? See OAuth 2.0.
• Back to Authentication overview.