Inference quick start

This guide takes you from a new API key to your first chat completion.

Prerequisites

Pro plan or Organization

Required for personal accounts.

Credits

A balance above zero.

Python or cURL

Or any HTTP client.

Make your first request

Create an API key

In the dashboard, go to Settings > API Keys and click Create API Key. Copy the key, which starts with sk_live_. You can’t view it again after you close the dialog.To bill an Organization instead of your personal balance, switch to the Organization first, then create the key.

Pick a model

The examples below use glm-5.3-flash. To use another model, replace it with an ID from Available models, or copy one from the model’s page under Models.glm-5.3-flash is a reasoning model: it thinks before it answers, and the thinking counts against max_tokens. That’s why the examples set max_tokens to 2048. See Reasoning models.

Send a request

Python
OpenAI SDK
cURL

import requests

url = "https://api.hyperbolic.ai/inference/v1/chat/completions"
headers = {
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
    "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"
}
data = {
    "model": "glm-5.3-flash",
    "messages": [
        {"role": "user", "content": "What are three tips for learning to code?"}
    ],
    "max_tokens": 2048,
    "temperature": 0.7
}

response = requests.post(url, headers=headers, json=data)
response.raise_for_status()
print(response.json()["choices"][0]["message"]["content"])

from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI(
    api_key="YOUR_API_KEY",
    base_url="https://api.hyperbolic.ai/inference/v1"
)

response = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="glm-5.3-flash",
    messages=[
        {"role": "user", "content": "What are three tips for learning to code?"}
    ],
    max_tokens=2048,
    temperature=0.7
)

print(response.choices[0].message.content)

curl -X POST "https://api.hyperbolic.ai/inference/v1/chat/completions" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "model": "glm-5.3-flash",
    "messages": [
      {"role": "user", "content": "What are three tips for learning to code?"}
    ],
    "max_tokens": 2048,
    "temperature": 0.7
  }'

Keep your API key secret. Don’t put it in client-side code or commit it to a repository. If a key leaks, revoke it under Settings > API Keys. Revocation takes effect within about a minute.

Common issues

403 with inference_requires_pro

Your personal account is on the Free Tier. Upgrade with a one-time $5 deposit: click Upgrade to Pro for $5 under Settings > Plan. Retry after about 30 seconds. Or use an Organization API key. See Plan.

401 with legacy_key_unsupported or api_key_malformed

The key isn’t an sk_live_ key. Keys from the previous inference API aren’t accepted. Create a new key under Settings > API Keys.

402 with insufficient_balance

Your balance, or your Organization’s balance, has run out. Add credits under Billing.

404 from api.hyperbolic.xyz

You’re calling the previous, decommissioned API. Change the base URL to https://api.hyperbolic.ai/inference/v1.

See Errors for every error code.

Next steps

Chat completions

Streaming, multi-turn conversations, and parameters.

Inference overview

Pricing, billing, and the Model Playground.

Overview

GPUs

Managed Kubernetes

Rental Operator

Inference

Account & Billing

API Reference

References

Prerequisites

Pro plan or Organization

Credits

Python or cURL

Make your first request

Common issues

Next steps

Chat completions

Inference overview

​Prerequisites

Pro plan or Organization

Credits

Python or cURL

​Make your first request

​Common issues

​Next steps

Chat completions

Inference overview

Prerequisites

Make your first request

Common issues

Next steps