API Key and Authentication

Every request you send to the i14 API must include a Bearer token in the Authorization header. The token is an API key that you generate from the i14 developer platform. Without a valid key the API returns a 401 error and discards the request - no partial processing occurs. This page shows you how to get a key, attach it to requests, keep it secure, and interpret authentication errors when they arise.

Get your API key

1. Log in or create an account on the i14 Platform with your email address or Google account.
2. Open API Keys.
3. If you have a referral code, click Redeem a code and enter it.
4. Click Create key.
5. Copy the key right away - the dashboard shows the full value only once.

No referral code? Join the waitlist.

Keys are scoped to the models your account has access to. If your key does not have access to a specific model, the API returns a 403 error for that model even if the key is otherwise valid.

Pass Your Key in Requests

Include your key as a Bearer token in the Authorization HTTP header on every request.

Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY

cURL

macOS and Linux (bash or zsh)

curl https://api.i14.ai/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $I14_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "model": "i14-sugarglider-nemotron3-super-120B-v1",
    "messages": [
      { "role": "user", "content": "Your message here" }
    ],
    "max_tokens": 2048
  }'

Python

import os
from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI(
    base_url="https://api.i14.ai/v1",
    api_key=os.environ["I14_API_KEY"],
)

response = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="i14-sugarglider-nemotron3-super-120B-v1",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Your message here"}],
    max_tokens=2048,
)

print(response.choices[0].message.content)

Replace Your message here with your own prompt.

Keep Your Key Safe

Your API key grants full access to your i14 account. Follow these practices to protect it:

• Use environment variables. Store the key in I14_API_KEY (or any name you choose) and read it at runtime. Never hard-code it in source files.
• Keep it out of version control. Add .env files and any file containing secrets to your .gitignore. If you use a secrets scanner such as git-secrets or GitHub secret scanning, enable it on every repository that touches the key.
• Rotate immediately if exposed. If you suspect your key has been leaked - for example, committed to a public repo - go to the dashboard, revoke the key, and create a new one. Old keys stop working as soon as you revoke them.
• Create per-environment keys. Use separate keys for development, staging, and production so you can revoke one without affecting the others.

Caution

If you accidentally push an API key to a public repository, revoke it from the dashboard right away. Treat any exposed key as compromised even if you delete the commit, because git history can be cached by third-party indexers.

Authentication Errors

The i14 API returns standard HTTP status codes for authentication and authorization failures. The response body is a JSON error object with a message, a type, and a machine-readable code:

{
  "error": {
    "message": "Model 'example-model' is not available to this API key.",
    "type": "permission_error",
    "code": "model_not_allowed"
  }
}

Status	code	Meaning	Common Cause
401 Unauthorized	missing_api_key	The request could not be authenticated.	The Authorization header is missing, or the Bearer prefix was omitted.
401 Unauthorized	invalid_api_key	The request could not be authenticated.	The key is wrong or has been revoked.
403 Forbidden	model_not_allowed	The request was authenticated but not authorized.	Your key does not have access to the requested model, or the model ID is misspelled. Use i14-sugarglider-nemotron3-super-120B-v1.

When you receive a 401, check that:

1. The Authorization header is present and formatted as Bearer YOUR_API_KEY (note the space after Bearer).
2. You are using a key from platform.i14.ai and not a key from another provider.
3. The key has not been revoked in the dashboard.