docs/api-access.md

# API access

Members can use the co-op's models programmatically through an OpenAI-compatible
API. It's the same infrastructure that powers the chat — any OpenAI-compatible
client works.

## Quick facts

- **Base URL:** `https://gateway.inference.coop/v1`
- **Auth:** a bearer API key (create one in the [Member Dashboard](https://dashboard.inference.coop))
- **Format:** OpenAI chat completions — `POST https://gateway.inference.coop/v1/chat/completions`
- **Models:** see the [model list](models.md).
- **Not only chat:** the gateway also serves a decision endpoint,
  `POST https://gateway.inference.coop/v1/systemone` — see
  [Decisions](models.md#decisions). It takes a different request shape, so
  it is not reachable through an OpenAI SDK's `chat.completions` call.

API usage draws from the **same monthly allowance as chat** — there's no separate
quota.

## What the co-op stores about your requests

Usage records, and nothing else: the model, token counts, cost, and which key made
the request — that is how your monthly metering works. **Your prompts and the
responses are not stored on our side.** The API path keeps no conversation, so there
is no transcript to delete later.

Two things worth being precise about:

- The **chat interface** is different — it saves your conversations so you can revisit
  them. If you want the API's behaviour there instead, use a **temporary chat**.
- The **provider** is a separate question. Whether a model's operator retains anything
  is set by that provider, not by us, and it varies by model — the
  [model list](models.md) distinguishes policy-based zero retention from
  enclave-based protection.

Full detail, including what we can and cannot see: [privacy policy](privacy-policy.md).

## Get a key

Log in to the [Member Dashboard](https://dashboard.inference.coop) and create an
API key. The key is an `sk-…` string you pass as a bearer token.

## Plain `curl`

```bash
curl https://gateway.inference.coop/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk-your-key" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"model": "tinfoil/deepseek-v4-1-flash", "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"}]}'
```

## OpenAI SDK (Python, Node, etc.)

Point the SDK at our base URL and use your member key:

```python
from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI(
    base_url="https://gateway.inference.coop/v1",
    api_key="sk-your-key",
)
resp = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="tinfoil/deepseek-v4-1-flash",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"}],
)
```

Any OpenAI-compatible client works the same way: set the base URL to
`https://gateway.inference.coop/v1` and the API key to your member key.

## Decisions (Metis)

Alongside the chat models, the gateway exposes GreenPT's **Metis** decision model
at `POST https://gateway.inference.coop/v1/systemone`. It is the same key and the
same base URL — only the path and the request body differ. For what it is, the
three question types, and a full `curl` example, see
[Decisions in the model list](models.md#decisions).

Two practical notes:

- **It is not an OpenAI chat endpoint.** You send a `state` plus typed `questions`
  and receive probabilities; there is nothing for an OpenAI SDK's
  `chat.completions` to parse. Post the body directly (`curl`, `requests`,
  `httpx`, or an SDK's generic POST).
- **Its usage is not yet metered** (see the note in the model list): calls
  currently register no spend against your key. Use it as though it counted
  toward your allowance, because that is what it is meant to do.

## Coding agents and other OpenAI-compatible clients

Any tool that speaks the OpenAI API works. Where a tool asks for provider or
endpoint configuration:

- **Base URL / endpoint:** `https://gateway.inference.coop/v1`
- **API type / protocol:** "OpenAI compatible" (or `openai-completions` where a
  protocol string must be named) — not "Ollama", "Anthropic", or "Responses"
- **API key:** your member key (the `sk-…` string)
- **Model:** one from the [model list](models.md), e.g. `tinfoil/deepseek-v4-1-flash` or `greenpt/glm-5.3-flash`

A typical provider entry looks like:

```json
{
  "providers": {
    "inference-coop": {
      "baseUrl": "https://gateway.inference.coop/v1",
      "api": "openai-completions",
      "apiKey": "sk-your-key",
      "models": [
        { "id": "tinfoil/deepseek-v4-1-flash" },
        { "id": "tinfoil/gpt-oss-120b" },
        { "id": "tinfoil/glm-5.3" },
        { "id": "greenpt/glm-5.3-flash" }
      ]
    }
  }
}
```

If a tool's own docs show a local-server example (e.g.
`baseUrl: http://localhost:11434/v1` with `api: "openai-completions"`),
substitute our base URL and your member key for `apiKey` — the protocol value
stays the same. Some tools append `/chat/completions` to the base URL themselves;
if your base URL already ends in `/v1`, that's correct and you should not add
`/chat/completions`.