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Connecting OpenAI

This article covers obtaining an OpenAI API key, fixing common errors, and keeping keys safe. Adding the key in Limb is done under Chatbot → AI Settings (see your AI Settings documentation for that flow).

Before you start: OpenAI’s API needs billing enabled. Have a payment method ready; keys will not work until billing is set up.

Getting your OpenAI API key

Follow these steps in the OpenAI dashboard:

  1. Open the API keys page — https://platform.openai.com/api-keys (sign in or create an OpenAI account).
  2. Set up billing — in OpenAI go to Settings → Billing, add a payment method, and set usage limits if you want cost caps.
  3. Create a secret key — use Create new secret key, give it a clear name (e.g. your site or environment), optionally assign a project, then confirm.
  4. Copy the key once — it starts with sk- or sk-proj-. Copy it immediately; OpenAI does not show it again. If you lose it, create a new key and retire the old one in the dashboard.

Important: Without billing, the API returns auth or usage errors even if a key exists. Set usage alerts or budgets under OpenAI Settings → Limits if you want notifications or hard caps.

Troubleshooting

Invalid API key

  • Confirm the full key was pasted with no spaces or line breaks.
  • Check the key is still active and not rotated or revoked in OpenAI.
  • Ensure billing is active and the account is in good standing.

Insufficient quota / rate limit

  • You may have hit usage or rate limits; review limits and billing in OpenAI.
  • Add credits, raise limits, or wait for the window to reset.
  • New accounts sometimes have lower initial rate limits.

Was working, then stopped

  • Check usage caps, failed payments, or a revoked key in OpenAI.
  • Check the OpenAI status page for outages.

Security best practices

  • Never publish keys, paste them in public tickets, or commit them to Git.
  • Use clear key names and separate keys for production, staging, and experiments where possible.
  • Set budgets and alerts in OpenAI; review usage regularly.
  • Revoke any key you believe is exposed and replace it in Limb.
  • Keep a secondary key available for failover only if your process allows it—never share it broadly.