Getting your key

Which one?

Either works in the app.

• Anthropic (Claude), using the Opus model, gave Auturis its most reliable results in our testing. Sonnet uses the same key, costs roughly half as much, and is slightly less reliable. If you already use Claude, start here.
• Google (Gemini). Auturis uses Gemini 2.5 Pro, which is what it was developed on. But if you've never used Gemini's API before, choose Anthropic: Google now limits 2.5 Pro to accounts that have used it in the past, so a brand-new key may not work with Auturis.

The desktop app also accepts OpenAI and DeepSeek keys; see the home page.

Anthropic (Claude)

1. Open the Claude Console. Go to platform.claude.com and sign in, or create an account. This is Anthropic's developer site, not the Claude chat app.
2. Add credit. Go to Settings → Billing, add a payment card, and buy a small amount of credit to start. Credit is paid in advance, so you can't spend more than you've put in. Leave automatic reload off if you want it to stay that way.
3. Create the key. Go to Settings → API keys (direct link) and click Create key. Name it Auturis. If you're asked what kind of key, a personal key is the right choice.
4. Copy it straight away. The key starts with sk-ant-, and the Console shows it only once. Copy the whole thing. If you lose it, just delete it and create a new one.
5. Paste it into Auturis where it asks for your key, and choose Opus (recommended) or Sonnet.

Google (Gemini)

For people who already use Gemini 2.5 Pro through Google's API. A brand-new account may not be given access to it; see Which one? above.

1. Open Google AI Studio. Go to aistudio.google.com/apikey and sign in with a Google account.
2. Create the key. Click Create API key. If it asks about a project, let it create a new one for you. The key starts with AIza. Copy the whole thing.
3. Turn on billing. The key works straight away on Google's free tier, but that isn't enough for Auturis: it uses Gemini's Pro model, and real use needs the paid tier. There's a second reason to switch: on the free tier, Google says it may use what you send to improve its products, and on the paid tier it says it doesn't. In AI Studio, find Set up billing next to your key and add a payment card.
4. Set a budget alert. Unlike Anthropic, Google bills after use. In Google Cloud's Billing → Budgets & alerts, set a small monthly budget so you get an email if spending passes it. A budget warns you; it doesn't stop spending.
5. Paste it into Auturis where it asks for your key.

Keeping it safe

• Treat the key like a password. Anyone who has it can spend on your account.
• Don't paste it into a chat with any AI assistant, Claude included. Auturis is the only place it needs to go.
• Auturis keeps the key on your own device and sends it only to the provider it came from.
• If you think it has leaked, delete it in the Console or AI Studio and create a new one. The old one stops working at once.

Where your words go

Auturis has no server of its own. What you write goes from your computer to the provider whose key you use, under that provider's terms, and nowhere else. Your record stays on your computer.

Providers decide for themselves how long they keep what you send; some keep a short-lived copy to speed up repeated requests. If that matters to your organization, check your provider's terms and settings, not ours: we never have a copy to keep.

If something goes wrong

"Invalid key" or "key not recognised"

Usually part of the key is missing, or a space came along with it. Copy it again, all of it. If you've lost it, create a new one.

Anthropic: "credit balance too low"

Add credit under Settings → Billing.

Gemini: "quota exceeded" or "resource exhausted"

Billing isn't on yet, so the key is still on the free tier. See step 3 above.

Still stuck? Email mdkurak@gmail.com and say which step you reached. Never send the key itself.