AI Spend Keys

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How It Works

1. You create a spend key in the Lava dashboard (or via REST API).
2. You paste the key into your AI tool as the API key, and point it at https://api.lava.so.
3. Lava routes your requests to the right provider, tracks usage, and enforces the limits you set.

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Key Types

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Creating a Spend Key

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From the Dashboard

1. Open Dashboard > AI Spend.
2. Click Create Spend Key.
3. Fill in the details:
   • Name for your own reference (e.g. “Claude Code”, “Production Agent”)
   • API format: OpenAI (/v1/chat/completions) or Anthropic (/v1/messages), depending on your tool
   • Model access: allow all models, or restrict to specific ones
   • Spend limit (optional): set a cap per day, week, month, or total
4. Click Create and copy the full lava_sk_* key.

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From the Command Line

export LAVA_WALLET_API_KEY="lava_wk_your_key_here"

curl -X POST "https://api.lavapayments.com/v1/manage/spend_keys" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $LAVA_WALLET_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "CLI Test Opus",
    "allowed_models": ["claude-opus-4-6"],
    "allowed_providers": ["anthropic"],
    "spend_limit": { "amount": "100.00", "cycle": "monthly" },
    "status": "active"
  }'

curl "https://api.lavapayments.com/v1/manage/spend_keys?limit=20" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $LAVA_WALLET_API_KEY"

curl -X PUT "https://api.lavapayments.com/v1/manage/spend_keys/sk_your_id" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $LAVA_WALLET_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{ "status": "paused" }'

curl -X DELETE "https://api.lavapayments.com/v1/manage/spend_keys/sk_your_id" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $LAVA_WALLET_API_KEY"

curl -X POST "https://api.lavapayments.com/v1/spend_keys/sk_your_id/rotate" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $LAVA_WALLET_API_KEY"

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Managing Keys

• Pause or resume a key without revoking it
• Edit the name, spend limit, or model restrictions
• Rotate the secret if you think it was exposed (your limits and usage history stay the same)
• Revoke a key permanently
• View usage per key, including current cycle spend, total spend, and last used timestamp

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Tool Setup Guides

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Troubleshooting

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”Invalid API key” or 401 errors

• Make sure you’re using the full lava_sk_* key, not the preview ending in ****.
• Check that the key is active, not paused or revoked. You can see this on the AI Spend dashboard.
• If you lost the original key, rotate it from the dashboard to get a new one.

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”Model not allowed” errors

• Your key may have model restrictions. Check the allowed models on the key card in the dashboard, and make sure the model you’re requesting matches one of them.

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Spend limit reached

• If your key has a spend limit and you’ve hit it, requests will be rejected until the next cycle resets (or you raise the limit).
• You can edit the spend limit from the dashboard or REST API without revoking the key.

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Wrong API format

• If you’re getting unexpected errors, double-check that the API format on your spend key matches what your tool expects. Claude Code and the Anthropic SDK need Anthropic format. Most other tools need OpenAI format.

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Base URL issues

• Anthropic-format tools: use https://api.lava.so (without /v1), because the Anthropic SDK appends /v1/messages automatically.
• OpenAI-format tools: use https://api.lava.so/v1, because the OpenAI SDK appends /chat/completions.

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FAQ

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Next Steps