API keys / OpenAI

The OpenAI key

One OpenAI API key draws Art Dept frames on GPT Image 2.5 — it edits a frame without losing it and keeps text legible. Five steps, about ten minutes. This is the API, not ChatGPT: a ChatGPT subscription does not pay for it.

Two of the steps are where people stop. They are marked.

1. 1

   Sign in to the API platform

   platform.openai.com ↗

   The account you use for ChatGPT works, or a new one. The API is billed on its own: Plus or Pro covers none of it.

2. 2

   Add credits

   Billing ↗ · Add payment details → credit amount

   OpenAI bills in advance, from $5. Without credits every frame is refused. Auto-reload is switched on during setup — switch it off if you do not want top-ups on their own. Bought credits expire after a year.

3. 3

   Create the key

   API keys ↗ · Create new secret key → permissions: All

   Any name. OpenAI shows the key once — copy it before closing the window. A restricted key has to be allowed to create images.

4. 4

   Verify the organization, if asked

   Organization ↗ · Settings → Organization → General → Verify Organization

   OpenAI may ask for an ID check before GPT Image draws for you. The studio says so in the frame's error. After verification, access can take a few minutes to appear.

5. 5

   Paste the key and draw a frame

   Studio ↗ · account menu → API keys → OpenAI

   The studio checks the key with OpenAI as you save it, so a wrong one is turned away right there. Then one frame in the Art Dept on GPT Image 2.5: about $0.04 for a 2K frame, a cent more for each reference.

When something doesn't work

“OpenAI did not accept this key”

A deleted key, a key with a character missing, or one from another product. Copy it again from API keys: the studio checks it the moment you save.

“Your organization must be verified”

The key is fine — OpenAI wants the ID check before it draws. Step 4.

“Your OpenAI balance is empty” or credit_balance_exhausted

The prepaid credits ran out. Top up in Billing; the balance takes a few minutes to update.

“used up its images for this minute”

A new OpenAI account gets 5 images a minute on GPT Image. Ask for fewer variants at once, or wait a minute; the limit grows as the account spends.

“Rejected as a result of our safety system”

Not the key. OpenAI's content filter refused the prompt or a reference; the studio already asks for its less strict setting. Rephrase and render again.