API Key Setup

API Key Setup

All ChainGPT API products require an API key for authentication. This page walks through obtaining a key, configuring it for use with the plugin, and managing your credit balance.

Getting an API key

1. Visit app.chaingpt.org and connect a crypto wallet to create an account.
2. Navigate to API Keys and click Create New Secret Key.
3. Copy the key immediately — it is only displayed once.
4. Store it securely using an environment variable or secret manager.

Configuring the key

Environment variable (recommended)

Set the CHAINGPT_API_KEY environment variable in your shell:

export CHAINGPT_API_KEY="your-key-here"

Add this to your .bashrc, .zshrc, or .env file so it persists across sessions.

Plugin installs

If you installed via /plugin install, the MCP server reads CHAINGPT_API_KEY from your environment automatically via the .mcp.json configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "chaingpt": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/mcp-server/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "CHAINGPT_API_KEY": "${CHAINGPT_API_KEY}"
      }
    }
  }
}

Manual installs

If you installed via git clone, set the key in your .claude/settings.json MCP server configuration (see Installation).

Loading credits

API calls consume credits. To load credits:

1. Visit app.chaingpt.org/addcredits.
2. Choose a payment method: crypto (USDT, USDC, ETH, BNB, TRX, $CGPT) or credit card.
3. 1,000 credits costs $10 USD (1 credit = $0.01).
4. Pay with $CGPT tokens for a 15% bonus on every purchase.

Credits never expire.

Verifying your setup

Test that your key works by asking Claude to check your credit balance (requires the MCP server):

"Check my ChainGPT credit balance"

Or test manually with cURL:

curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" \
  -X GET "https://api.chaingpt.org/nft/get-chains?testNet=false" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $CHAINGPT_API_KEY"

A 200 response means your key is valid. A 401 means the key is invalid or expired — regenerate it from the dashboard.

Common issues

Key not found: Ensure there are no trailing whitespace characters or newlines in the key value. Check with: echo -n $CHAINGPT_API_KEY | wc -c

Wrong header format: The Authorization header must use the Bearer prefix: Authorization: Bearer <key>. Not Token <key> or just the raw key.

Insufficient credits: HTTP 402 or 403 responses indicate your credit balance is too low. Top up at app.chaingpt.org/addcredits.

API authentication details

All ChainGPT API products share the same authentication mechanism:

Setting	Value
Base URL	https://api.chaingpt.org
Auth header	Authorization: Bearer <API_KEY>
Rate limit	200 requests/minute per key
Content type	application/json for POST requests